Nov. 19—GLASTONBURY — Jackie Post spent much of her career in broadcast news, reporting on traffic or being an anchor. Since 2018, though, she has created her own "hyperlocal" online publication, The Scoop Glastonbury, dedicated to promoting businesses in the Glastonbury area.

Jackie Post

Who she is: Creator of The Scoop Glastonbury, an online publication that showcases local businesses.

Hometown: Glastonbury.

Bost of Connecticut Spotlight at WVIT-TV in Connecticut; launched The Scoop in 2018.

Recent posts: Dental doctors of Somerset, Glastonbury Youth Wrestling, Spa Pointe.

Online: Thescoopglastonbury.com, Facebook, and Instagram.

Born and raised in Glastonbury, Post graduated from the University of Connecticut with a communications degree in 1999. She briefly lived in West Hartford before buying her parents' house, where she's lived since.

"I have always had an interest in both TV and writing," she said. "When I was in elementary school, my friends and I would take our boombox and record our own radio shows. Once the VHS video cameras came out, I would always be the one, that said, 'Let's make a movie. Let's make a show.'"

It took a long time, she said, to define for her what she really wanted to do, but her life journey has brought her to where she is today.

"I took everything in college," she said. "I took creative writing. I took journalism. I did not like the journalism writing courses. It is so specific and I think there was a creative side of me that couldn't wrap my head around that."

After college, she became a traffic reporter for NBC Connecticut.

"I did that for a short time," she said. "I got a reporter/news anchor job in Springfield at 22 News. I did that for about eight years. I was getting up 2:30 in the morning doing the morning show. It was definitely a tough schedule. I had my first baby when I was doing that show. I went back and did it again. Then when I had my second, I was just like, 'I just can't do this anymore.'"

After 12 years with 22 News in Springfield, she stopped working, to raise her children, until she was invited by NBC Connecticut to host its show Connecticut Spotlight, which she did until she decided to pursue her current project, The Scoop, in 2018.

"I started The Scoop at the tail end of that," she said. "I had always had this pull to be doing something on my own."

The obvious place to start The Scoop was Glastonbury, she said.

"I thought I would love to do something fun where I highlight businesses and talk about what's coming in, what's moving, what's being built, all that kind of stuff," Post said. "I kept thinking it would be the story behind the business. I love hearing people's stories about how they started their business, where they got their business' name. It was fascinating to me. I think it's so incredibly brave to start your own business. You take this giant leap of faith and you put yourself out there and you pray for the best. It's so interesting to me how people decide to do that."

Being the only person operating The Scoop Glastonbury, she focuses on Glastonbury or anything that people in Glastonbury would be interested in.

"I do try to stay hyperlocal," she said. "I think Glastonbury is a very interesting town. I know a lot of people who don't like to even leave Glastonbury. They want to do all their shopping here. They want to do all of their restaurants here. They want to know who these people are. They're coming into contact with them on a daily basis. They want to know who they are.

"There's so much happening in Glastonbury," she said. "I think Glastonbury is in this sort of evolution. It's changing from that small farm town. This has been happening for decades. It's changing from that small farm town to getting that sort of West Hartford vibe. It's got all the restaurants and everything. But, if you go into South Glastonbury, the farms are stunning. It's so beautiful. It's a place where people want to do business. That part of it is growing. I have not yet run out of ideas."

She said she's not sure what is in the future for The Scoop Glastonbury and if she will expand the business into other towns.

"I'm trying to be very targeted about what that looks like," she said. "People who read The Scoop, they're highly engaged and they take action on things that I put in there. They say, 'I just read this person's story. I love it. It resonates with me. I want to do business with them.' That's my goal, to connect the business owners with their customers through telling their story."

Post says she's happy with her life now, and settled in her niche of sharing others' stories. "Whether that is through The Scoop or some other publication, I would love to continue on that creative path and continue telling interesting stories about people."

For coverage of local restaurants, cultural events, music, and an extensive range of Connecticut theater reviews, follow Tim Leininger on Twitter: @Tim_E_Leininger, Facebook: Tim Leininger's Journal Inquirer News page, and Instagram: @One_Mans_Opinion77.