By Katelyn Norris and Leah Wilkinson
Katelyn Norris
In my three years at Bellarmine, there has been one constant: Knights Media Network. It has been the organization that has reminded me time and time again that journalism is something I want to do for the rest of my life.
When I became a part of the Bellarmine Community in 2018, one of my goals was to join the university newspaper. I knew nothing about writing for a collegiate press or if Bellarmine even had a student newspaper, but luckily BU had The Concord.
Walking into my first meeting for The Concord was one of the most intimidating things I have ever experienced. I was an inexperienced first-year student who expected to be able to jump into writing my first article ever. Well, I was mistaken, and I did not have any idea to start with writing an article or how to gather the sources.
My first-ever published piece for The Concord was about the new homeowners of what was formerly the BU president’s house. This article was something I was working on with Wynn McDonald, who became a frequent collaborator over the past three years.
I will always be grateful for him and how he taught me the ropes of The Concord when I joined. He helped me understand much of the interviewing process as well as what it takes to pull an article all together.
Since my first semester being a writer for The Concord a lot has changed. The first big thing being that The Concord is now Knights Media Network, and we are online and have expanded to doing more than just written articles. We are no longer an RSO, and now we have a whole class dedicated to creating content and learning skills.
Another change occurred within me. Over my three years, I have become a better journalist. In the past, I could barely manage to get an article out every two weeks. But this semester, I have produced more than 15 pieces of content, and they are better than any of the articles I wrote in 2020.
I came to BU to learn how to be a journalist. It’s always what I wanted to do, and when I came here, I knew that this was the place to do it. I knew I was going to graduate this school as a better writer than I could have ever imagined, and I think I have.
I owe a lot of my improvement to Knights Media’s lifeblood, Stacie Shain. She has shaped the way I approach my writing and tackle a story. She has also taught me that I do not know where to place comma, and no matter how much I edit, she will always find a way to improve my articles. And for that I am grateful.
Another important person in my KMN life is Leah Wilkinson. She has become one of my partners in crime and article collaborators. She continues to make every class an adventure and remains a great person to brainstorm with. Her writing has continued to push me to be my best, and I am thankful for her.
Overall, my time as a journalist on Knights Media has been insightful and stressful, but I am happy for the combination. This newspaper has given me skills and experience that I will carry with me after graduation, and it will remain one of the best things I ever decided to do.
Leah Wilkinson
My time at Knights Media Network is something I feel like I will always cherish as I look back at my college years. I began writing for Knights Media in the fall of 2019, and in my four semesters being a part of this organization, I feel as if I’ve not only learned and grown a lot, but I also hope I’ve left a legacy future contributors can look to for inspiration or for guidance.
I’ve always loved writing, but when I began writing for KMN, I truly had no idea what I was doing. Through the unwavering support and encouragement of Stacie Shain, I began to develop a passion for student journalism. I’ve always been a fairly quiet, shy person, and I don’t know that I ever saw myself as being someone who was so heavily involved in an organization, but Stacie and KMN as a whole have allowed me to leave what I hope is a meaningful impact on this school. Through writing hard news stories, features and filming the occasional video (shoutout to Gary Fogle and Mike LaRocco for guidance here), I’ve been able to dabble in a few different areas in the journalism realm. I also run the KMN Instagram and Twitter accounts.
When I look back at my KMN journey, two feature stories I believe were highlights for me are Darryl Woodson: Drawing interest and Sharon Gibson serves good vibes at UDH (who doesn’t love either of these people, right?). Profile pieces are always fun because they allow me to encapsulate someone’s vibe to the best of my ability.
I think my most treasured experiences will be writing investigative news stories that include many student voices, as I think it’s so important for student journalism to focus on the student population as a whole and not just a select few. Bellarmine students want corrective action for injustices, which won the Society of Professional Journalists’ Louisville Pro Chapter Award for Best News Story (and was written with Grace Potts) and SGA, students band together in response to snow day virtual classes are two of my personal favorites. Through it all, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Katelyn Norris on many stories. Her strong work ethic inspires me every day we’re in the Fish Bowl, and I’m so happy to have gotten to share this experience with her. One of my favorite collaborations with Katelyn is Non-Catholic students, Catholic institution, which we wrote just a few weeks ago.
I love the rush that comes with writing stories like these, as you’re essentially dedicating your whole day to perfecting them until they’re finished (and hopefully still published in a timely manner when students are still talking about the topic at hand).
As I step away from KMN and my undergraduate years, I look forward to the future and to reading the many stories I know are left to be published by those who will continue to carry on this Knights Media legacy for years to come.
Thanks for everything, Knights Media Network.
Peace,
Leah