Jump to content

Hilde Lysiak

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Simon d (talk | contribs) at 00:21, 29 December 2019. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Hilde Lysiak
Lysiak in 2016
Born
Hilde Kate Lysiak

2006 (age 18–19)
New York City, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationJournalist
Years active2014–present
Websitehttp://orangestreetnews.com/

Hilde Kate Lysiak (/ˈliːʃæk/ LEE-shak; born 2006) is an American journalist who publishes the Orange Street News, a local newspaper in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania from 2014 to 2019 and in Patagonia, Arizona since moving there in 2019. She is the youngest member of the Society of Professional Journalists.[1] She has a book deal with Scholastic and a TV mystery series based on her life, titled Home Before Dark, is to be produced by Apple, with Brooklynn Prince playing Lysiak. On May 10, 2019, Lysiak became the youngest person in U.S. history to deliver a commencement speech when she addressed the graduating class at West Virginia University's Reed School of Media. Lysiak and journalist Christiane Amanpour were awarded the 2019 Zenger Award for Press Freedom,[2] given to a journalist who fights for freedom of the press and the people’s right to know.

Early life

Her father, Matthew Lysiak, worked as a journalist for the New York Daily News until moving back to his hometown of Selinsgrove;[3] he used to take Hilde to the newsroom while researching stories, and in his words "hooked her on the rush of chasing news".[4] Her father told Today Show host Sheinelle Jones "[S]he loves it ... I don't really want to get in the way of her passion."[5] In an interview for Brit+Co, Lysiak stated that her "favorite beat is crime. My second favorite beat is crime. And my third favorite beat is crime! Covering crime is like solving a giant moving puzzle. The job of a crime reporter might be the best job in the world."[6] She told the Columbia Journalism Review in 2015 that rather than working for a newspaper, she ultimately wants to own her own.[7] In 2019, Hilde and her family moved cross-country from Selingsgrove, Pennsylvania to Patagonia, Arizona.[8][9]

If you want me to stop covering news, then you get off your computers and do something about the news. There, is that cute enough for you?[10]

Lysiak strongly defends the right for children to have a voice:

Kids should know that if they work hard, they can do amazing things.[11]

Orange Street News

Lysiak founded the Orange Street News in 2014 with her father's assistance. The paper's tagline is The ONLY Newspaper Devoted to Selinsgrove.[12] Its first news item was an exclusive story announcing the birth of Lysiak's baby sister, Juliet.[3][4] Initially a family newspaper written in crayon, it grew to include a Facebook page, a website, a YouTube channel, and print subscriptions with postal delivery.[10] According to the paper's website as of April 2016, subscribers outside the United States are encouraged.[13]

Lysiak is assisted by her older sister Isabel, who edits articles, posts videos and writes a kids' column for a local newspaper, The Daily Item.[4] Her father talks with Lysiak about her stories and occasionally helps tighten up a lede, but mostly leaves her in the driver's seat so that it remains "a kid's paper".[7]

On April 2, 2016, Lysiak was at the police station asking the police about the conclusion of a vandalism case she was following, when she overheard the police chief state that he had to leave because something important was happening. Lysiak quickly discovered that the call was for a murder only a few blocks away from her home: a woman had died violently and the police suspected her husband of having murdered her with a hammer. Lysiak went to the crime scene and then hurried home to give her father a report, which he edited and posted on the website with the headline, "EXCLUSIVE: MURDER ON NINTH STREET". She then returned to the murder scene and shot a short video. Her story included quotes from neighbors and police. She scooped her competitors by several hours.[4][10]

Lysiak was mentioned in the January 2017 issue of National Geographic with an article titled "I Am Nine Years Old".[14] In his book LikeWar, Peter Singer uses Lysiak as one of two examples to illustrate the "shift" in journalism "eliminating gatekeepers" in favor of everyone telling their story.[15]

Defense of crime reporting

Immediately after Lysiak reported on the local murder, her newspaper's Facebook page received negative comments about a 9-year-old covering such a scene. Commenters challenged her parents' choices to allow a child to "pretend to be a reporter"; some wrote that she should be playing with a tea set or with dolls. Lysiak responded that she normally does not read the comments, but felt that she should respond to the negativity from her readers. She read out several of the comments on video to her sister, and then they posted the video on their website and on YouTube.[10]

I don't think people should be able to decide for me who I should be and what I should be doing. I never began my newspaper so that people would think I was cute. I started the Orange Street News to give people the information they need to know... I want to be taken seriously. I'm sure other kids do, too.[16]

In February 2019, Lysiak was in Patagonia, Arizona, researching stories including residents' opinions on the Border Patrol and the proposed Border Wall, when she was stopped by the town marshal, Joseph A. Patterson, who asked "You taping me?" and then falsely claimed "if you put my face on the Internet, it's against the law in Arizona." She posted video on YouTube[17] and on her newspaper's website, noting that this is permitted under the First Amendment, and the town reportedly disciplined the marshal.[18]

Awards and honors

In 2016 Lysiak and her sister Isabel received a Tribeca Disruptive Innovations Award.[19]

Lysiak also had the honor of interviewing Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai, during a visit to Providence, Rhode Island,[20] and reacted by donating all the advertising revenue from the Orange Street News for a month to the Malala Fund promoting female education.[21]

On September 20, 2019, Lysiak was awarded a junior Zenger Award for Press Freedom.[2]. In her acceptance speech, Lysiak spoke about the need for reporters to stay focused on the truth.

Commencement Speech

On May 10 2019 Lysiak became the youngest person in U.S. history to deliver a commencement speech when she outlined her vision for the future of journalism for the graduating class at West Virginia University's Reed School of Media. The speech [https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/12-year-old-reporter-gives-west-virginia-university-commencement-speech was called "The most inspirational commencement speech of the year."[citation needed]

In the 13-minute speech, which was covered nationally, Lysiak confronted the current generation of journalists.

Books and television series

In June 2016, Lysiak signed a deal with Scholastic to co-write a series of four books with her father under the title Hilde Cracks the Case.[22][23] The main characters will be based on Lysiak and her sister and photographer, Izzy, with fictionalized versions of real stories that Lysiak has written.[22] Paramount Television and Anonymous Content are also developing a television show based on the book and have optioned Lysiak's life story.[24][25][26] Apple announced in 2018 that they would be producing the series titled Home Before Dark, with Brooklynn Prince in the lead role of Lysiak.[27]

Fundraising

In March 2016, Lysiak began a GoFundMe site to raise $40,000 for her borough in Selinsgrove to hire an additional police officer in response to increasing vandalism. She planned on keeping the funding site active even after she reaches the goal of $40,000, since two officers would be even better. She was to attend the borough council meeting.[28] On April 5, 2016, the Orange Street News reported that a new police officer had been hired for the borough.[29]

References

  1. ^ Gutierrez, Anna (November 2, 2017). "SPJ's youngest member proves journalism is for anyone with the drive to do it". Quill. Society of Professional Journalists. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Zenger Award for Press Freedom". University of Arizona. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "About Matthew Lysiak". Matthew Lysiak. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d Jackman, Tom (April 5, 2016). "9-year-old reporter breaks crime news, posts videos, fires back at critics". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  5. ^ Murray, Elizabeth (September 27, 2015). "Parents: Meet Hilde Lysiak, Pennsylvania's 8-year-old newspaper reporter". Today. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  6. ^ "Future Women of America: Young women making bold moves". Brit+Co. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Pompeo, Joe (September–October 2015). "Is this 8-year-old's newspaper better than yours?". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  8. ^ Garcia, Uriel J. "Famous kid reporter Hilde Lysiak has moved to Arizona, and she's not happy about it". azcentral. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  9. ^ "EDITORIAL – A Final Goodbye to Selinsgrove". Orange Street News. July 29, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d De Groot, Kristen (April 5, 2016). "The Big Story: 9-year-old reporter defends homicide coverage after backlash". Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016.
  11. ^ Lysiak, Hilde Kate (April 6, 2016). "Yes, I'm a nine-year-old girl. But I'm still a serious reporter". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  12. ^ "Home Page". The Orange Street News. WordPress. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  13. ^ "Want the OSN Delivered to your door for $14.99!". The Orange Street News. WordPress. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  14. ^ Conant, Eve (January 2017). "I Am Nine Years Old". National Geographic. ISSN 0027-9358.
  15. ^ Singer, Peter; Masters, Ian (October 11, 2018). "Full Program". KPFK. Soundcloud. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  16. ^ Walters, Joanna (April 6, 2016). "Hilde Lysiak: 'Just because I'm nine doesn't mean I can't do a great story'". The Guardian. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  17. ^ OSN Publisher Hilde Lysiak Threatened With Arrest.
  18. ^ Farzan, Antonia Noori (February 22, 2019). "An Arizona officer threatened to arrest a 12-year-old journalist. She wasn't backing down". Washington Post – via San Francisco Chronicle.
  19. ^ "Class of 2016: Hilde Kate Lysiak & Isabel Lysiak — Orange Street News". Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards. April 11, 2016. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016.
  20. ^ Naylor, Donita (July 28, 2016). "Youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala, brings message to Providence". Providence Journal. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  21. ^ "OSN To Donate %100 Sept Advert Money to Malala Fund!". Orange Street News. WordPress. August 2, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  22. ^ a b Kickham, Dylan (June 30, 2016). "9-year-old crime reporter Hilde Lysiak signs major book deal". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  23. ^ Jackman, Tom (July 18, 2016). "Hilde Kate Lysiak, 9-year-old crime reporter from Pennsylvania, lands a book deal". Washington Post. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  24. ^ Jackman, Tom (August 29, 2016). "Paramount to film TV show based on 9-year-old crime reporter Hilde Kate Lysiak". Washington Post. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  25. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (August 25, 2016). "Paramount TV, Anonymous Content Nab Rights to 9-Year-Old Reporter Hilde Lysiak's Books". Variety. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  26. ^ Hipes, Patrick; Hipes, Patrick (February 23, 2019). "Hilde Lysiak, The 12-Year-Old Journo Inspiration Of Apple TV Series, Strikes Again". Deadline. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  27. ^ Otterson, Joe (August 17, 2018). "Home TV News: 'Florida Project' Star Cast in Lead Role of Apple's Hilde Lysiak Series". Variety. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  28. ^ Krize, Nikki (March 7, 2016). "9 Year Old Raising Money for New Cop". WNEP, ABC. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  29. ^ Lysiak, Hilde Kate (April 6, 2016). "Grove Chooses New Cop". The Orange Street News. WordPress. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Hilde_Lysiak&oldid=932921710"