By JOE SCHROEDER, Democrat intern
Hello, Brown County,
My name is Joe Schroeder and I am a new reporting intern at the Brown County Democrat. I am a 21-year-old journalism and history student at Indiana University, but I am originally from the south side of Indianapolis. I have a strong passion for reporting, especially in small communities, but I have not always valued local news as much as I should.
Initially, my storytelling interests were sparked by ESPN profiles of Pacers players and New York Times features on my favorite movies. I read big publications, uninterested in my local paper. I worked at my high school’s student paper, even serving as editor-in-chief my senior year, but was blind to the significant effects these outlets had on a community, the ways they informed the public. Instead, I was drawn to a more glamorous side of journalism.
All of this changed when I arrived in Bloomington in the fall of 2017. I was attending IU’s Media School and knew I wanted to be a reporter. However, I didn’t know what exactly I wanted to cover. I ended up joining the student newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student, on a whim.
My first beat assignment was covering local crime in Bloomington, a daunting task for an 18-year-old. I was nervous and scared and honestly did not see what difference reporting on these small crimes could make. Nevertheless, I went down to the police station for my first daily press briefing, and my outlook was forever changed.
Immediately, my eyes were opened to the plethora of untapped stories going untold in my community. I realized the significance of local reporting and became more and more involved in the paper. I embedded myself in the community unlike ever before and told stories of abuse, injustice and theft, alerting the public to what was occurring in their area.
I served as the crime reporter for a semester and from there moved to the Arts and Entertainment desk, working as the desk editor for six months. Up until that point, a majority of the local reporting I had been involved in showed the dark-yet-relevant side of the city, but this position gave me a new perspective. I began covering concerts, art exhibitions and dance recitals.
This coverage showed me another facet of local reporting, the way that a community paper can be a celebration of a town. I realized that these papers gave a voice to the voiceless in a given area and saw how happy this coverage can make an individual. At this point, I had fallen in love with local reporting.
Since my initial work at the IDS, I have broadened my reporting devices to include more than written words, learning how to make news videos, take photos and design interactive graphics. All of these different media formats can be used to tell an important story in a unique way, which is what I look to do in my reporting.
Despite living most of my life in Indianapolis, I feel drawn to this Monroe and Brown County area and I look forward to using my multimedia skills to tell this area’s story.
If you have any questions regarding my reporting or have a story suggestion, please feel free to reach out to me. I always am delighted to discuss my process with readers.
Joseph “Joe” Schroeder is working at The Democrat through the Eugene S. Pulliam newspaper internship program through the Hoosier State Press Association. He’ll be with us through the end of July. He can be reached at [email protected] or 812-988-2221.
