I was recently asked to participate in “Making News,” a podcast produced by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee lecturer Jane Hampden for her journalism classes. It’s about journalism and news literacy. It was an honor to do an a lot of fun.
Here it is!
My favorite stories I worked on during my time at the Journal Sentinel were about a rape victim whose story was used inaccurately in campaign ads.
Our reporting got those ads removed.
Television stations asked to pull pro-Kelly Supreme Court ads featuring a rape victim’s case
Business group pulls pro-Kelly Supreme Court ads featuring a rape victim’s case
During my time at the Journal Sentinel, I did a series of stories about Foxconn. A continuation of work I started at Wisconsin Public Radio.
Here are some of the pieces.
Federal class action lawsuit alleges Foxconn not fully paying Wisconsin employees
Milwaukee residents will have a chance to participate in a historic election April 5. For the first time since 2004, there is no incumbent on the ballot.
On the ballot is Bob Donovan, a self-described conservative who served as an alder for many years and acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson. If Johnson wins, he will be the city’s first elected Black mayor.
Wisconsin had 315 homicides last year, up from 185 in 2019, according to the state Department of Justice.
Law enforcement experts say the reasons for the ongoing increases in homicides vary from too many guns on the street to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to human desperation.
Like many of the country’s minority neighborhoods, urban renewal programs of the 1960s and 1970s destroyed much of Bronzeville. Freeway construction in the 1960s led to the loss of more than 8,000 homes, churches and businesses — scattering the once tight-knit community across Milwaukee. Now efforts are underway to restore the neighborhood to its glory as a hub of Black culture.
In November 2021 I covered Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial in Kenosha, Wis. for three weeks for Wisconsin Public Radio and NPR. Here are some of the stories I did during the trial.
Jury selection begins for Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot and killed 2 protesters
Opening arguments begin in murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse
Kyle Rittenhouse testified that he feared for his life the night he shot 3 people
The judge in the Rittenhouse trial gains attention from his courtroom comments
The jury’s verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial could hinge on the ruling of two mistrial motions
All across the country, there are hundreds of thousands of people paying more in rent than they would for a mortgage. That’s in part because they’re low income, or their credit score is keeping them from qualifying to buy a house.
But a Milwaukee resident, Reginald Reed, is taking out the middle men and has a goal of getting 100 people in rehabbed homes. Here is my story.
The last time the Milwaukee Bucks were in the NBA Finals, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the star of the team and a prominent civil rights advocate.
He was instrumental in the Bucks winning the NBA Finals in 1971, and he’d be named the NBA’s MVP three times in the next four years. And while Abdul-Jabbar was giving everything he had to the team, he was also bringing racial inequalities and lack of access to jobs for people of color to the forefront.
Now, nearly 50 years later, the Bucks finally have another chance to bring home the championship title. But the players and their organization see the same problems in Milwaukee.
Here’s my story for WPR.
Rodney Armstrong Jr. wanted to be a computer technician when he graduated from Washington High School in Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood.
His mom, Sheila Jordan, said the 16-year-old was a computer whiz, who also loved his church and her — even getting her name and birthdate tattooed on his arm.
“He would have been considered a nerd,” Jordan said. “I think maybe that’s why people were able to manipulate him. Rodney was just a smart nerd.”
Rodney was shot and killed May 5 while in the backseat of a car near North 68th Street and West Fond du Lac Avenue on Milwaukee’s Northside. Milwaukee police have not released any additional details about the shooting.
In Milwaukee, where homicide rates hit a record high in 2020 and are on pace to do the same this year, Rodney’s death happened at a time when teens have more access to weapons and are dealing with the destabilizing effects of the pandemic.
I talked to Rodney’s mom and others about why this is happening and what can be done help some of these teens.
In many cities, there’s an entire ecosystem built up to support people who work in offices, and many of those businesses suffered a huge financial hit after offices closed for the pandemic. Across the country, many white-collar workers still haven’t returned to their offices and don’t plan to until fall at the earliest.
I worked on a story for All Things Considered where I spoke to dry cleaners and hot dog stand owners to find out what it has been like.
Corrinne Hess 