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I have 10 years experience and while I have focused on the criminal beat, I am versatile and quite familiar with government, business and education issues.
I am a Michigan native who moved to Texas two years ago to work as a police/courts reporter for The Weatherford Democrat, a daily in Weatherford, TX. While there I averaged three stories per day and established lines of communication with law enforcement that were previously closed to them. I regretfully left when my mother in Michigan became seriously ill. That situation is resolved and I am anxious to get back to work. I graduated from Madonna University in Livonia, MI., where I majored in English/ Journalism and held a minor in criminal justice. While attending Madonna, I worked as a cops and courts reporter for the bi-weekly Dearborn Times Herald in Dearborn, MI. In my career, I have covered an extensive range of high profile stories such as body parts found behind an A&W, the Ford Rouge explosion that killed six, raids on suspected terrorist cells in Dearborn, and the mother that killed her twin 4-year-old sons as they lay sleeping. Several of the stories I covered were subsequently picked up by the national news media. I also worked as a freelance reporter for The Midland Daily News, both prior to The Dearborn Times Herald and during, covering education and politics in Gladwin County. While I feel I’m a great reporter, I’m always open to learning new skills and techniques. I love being a reporter and a writer. I live and breathe the job. I have an insatiable curiosity, the ability to seek information beyond police reports and city council meetings, and the skill to accurately and articulately express my findings while trying never to leave any question unanswered. I have handled situations that were tense, gruesome, or dangerous, without flinching. I have made it my business to understand the legal issues, terminology, criminal procedures and forensics involved in each of my stories. One of my greatest strengths has been to establish a mutual respect with tight-lipped lawmen and stony-faced spokesmen that turns them into valuable sources. I’m also very versatile and can work on multiple stories at a time. I have started days covering a double homicide, then went to a train wreck before I had to be in court for an arraignment of a judge accused of drunk driving - and I still made deadline. |
