New reporting team at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel aims to answer reader questions
At the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, it’s our job to cover the news.
You come to us to find out who won the mayoral election, who got cut from the Packers roster or the Wisconsin Center's new name. But we also want to provide information to readers that may not be “new.” Information focused on how. How to vote, for example, and where to get the latest vaccine or a free COVID test, or even how to avoid traffic delays for the Pink concert.
To answer those questions and more, we have launched a new service journalism coverage team, called Milwaukee Connect.
The team assembled at the end of May and so far has written more than 150 stories. The reporters have researched how to protect yourself and your loved ones from air quality issues, where to go to see the Northern Lights, when construction on I-43 will be done (probably not this year), and more.
It’s all part of an effort to offer information that you can use to navigate life.
Some of the formats may feel a bit different – they might be written as a Q&A or presented as a list, or the stories might be quite short. That’s because we’re mindful of your time, especially when you are looking for answers in the moment.
But we’ve found the stories resonate. You do want to know how to watch that golf tournament in Stevens Point, how to avoid ticks this summer or if wildfire smoke is harming your garden.
The concept of public service journalism isn’t new. The Milwaukee Journal had a Public Service Bureau up until the 1990s. People would come to our State Street lobby to pay utility bills and buy maps, tickets and stamps and to even mail letters – the Milwaukee Journal was a Post Office. Residents could obtain travel guides and maps or purchase books written by reporters.
These days, we navigate life a bit differently. You probably pay your electric bill online. Yes, we have the TV listings in the newspaper, but they are also built into a lot of cable TV packages. So we ask: What does service journalism look like today?
We aim to make news useful for you. To answer your questions. To draw that connection between news and your daily life.
At the Juneteenth Day festival, our newsroom set up a booth with partners at WUWM 89.7FM - Milwaukee’s NPR. Reporters asked festivalgoers what they wanted us to write about, what questions could we answer. People told us they wanted to know why there are so many potholes and what the city is doing to fix them. They wanted to know what’s on the ballot at election time. They want to know how to make their neighborhoods and schools better.
We can’t solve the world’s problems, but we hope we can help you understand what’s happening in Milwaukee and Wisconsin.
Now, we’d like to hear from you. Please tell us what questions about the city and state we can answer by filling out the form below or by emailing me, lainey.seyler@jrn.com with the subject line: Connect Team question.
Meet the team:
Claire Reid, reporter
Claire Reid is the newest member of the Connect team. She’s a recent graduate of the University of Notre Dame. Her prior career experience include summer internships at the Journal Sentinel and Los Angeles Times and a year of covering county government, public safety and general assignment stories at the South Bend Tribune. Reid was born and raised in Madison and likes hiking, traveling, going to the lake and running marathons. She is especially proud of breaking three hours at the Boston Marathon in April.
Drew Dawson
Drew Dawson has been a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for 18 months. In that time, he’s covered the suburbs, courts and is now a member of the Connect team. A graduate of Marquette University, he found his way back to Milwaukee and newspapers after spending five years working in the magazine industry for Men’s Health, Runner’s World and Popular Mechanics. When not writing, he’s either running and spending time on the water or recovering from running and spending time on the water. He is not the fastest person on the Connect team anymore.
Alex Groth
Alex Groth started working as a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Connect team reporter in May after about two years on the suburban team. After graduating from Marquette University in 2019, she moved to Appleton, where she was a producer and reporter covering local government and education. When not reporting, she spends time listening to her colleagues talk about running. In her free time, she enjoys reading and spending time with family and friends.
Steve Martinez, assistant editor
Steve Martinez has worked as a journalist in the Milwaukee area for nine years. Before editing the Connect team, he oversaw suburban and breaking news coverage at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. In his free time, he enjoys complaining about the Milwaukee Brewers, playing rec league sports, weightlifting, shooting pool and thinking about tattoos he can't afford. He does not run — ever.
Lainey Seyler is deputy editor for audience at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. You can reach her via lainey.seyler@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel team aims to answer reader questions
