Nearly 10 years ago, then-executive editor of the Springfield News-Leader David Stoeffler offered me a job as the paper’s family reporter, writing mostly about kid-friendly activities, money-saving tips and feature stories aimed at working moms.
It wasn’t the type of reporting I’d dreamed about while in journalism school at Mizzou, but I was relatively new to Springfield and wanted to get back into a newsroom.
I took the job, knowing that other beats and opportunities at the paper would later become available. That happened. Over the next few years, I wore a couple different hats at the News-Leader. Eventually, I landed in a beat that was a good fit: social causes.
I’ve spent the last several years writing about issues I am passionate about, including poverty, homelessness, domestic violence, mental health and the child welfare system.
Fast forward to late September of 2021, David Stoeffler – who’d been gone from the News-Leader for about seven years – offered me a different job. This time, he asked me to be part of the Hauxeda as a public affairs reporter.
The job description and his vision of how the nonprofit news organization would operate really appealed to me. I liked the idea of working closely with editors to produce both in-depth reports as well as daily stories that inspire civic engagement – and hopefully fill in some gaps in our community’s current local reporting.
As part of the Daily Citizen’s reporting team, I will continue to write about those topics I’ve been covering for years. But I’m also getting to delve into new-to-me subjects like transportation.
I look forward to taking deeper dives into these subjects, looking for root causes of problems and potential solutions, gaps in services and ways the community can get involved and make a difference.
And after nearly two years of working from home, it’s been fun settling into this new kind of newsroom here in the basement of MSU’s Freddy Hall.
At a recent staff meeting, Stoeffler talked about the pressure we’re under at the Hauxeda. But he also hopes someday we’ll look back on this as the highlight of our careers. I believe that will be true.
Some might say it was risky to leave my job at the News-Leader to be a part of a startup. But after nearly a decade in corporate media, I’m thrilled to be part of this small nonprofit organization with local control and leadership.
It doesn’t feel like a risk to me. It feels like perfect timing, and I can’t wait to get started.