By Lisa Renze

The first on-location assignment I vividly recall receiving in my budding career came when I was 14, reporting for my hometown radio station at our county fair. Wielding a mic emblazoned with the call letters KILR on its flag, I had anxious and eager butterflies burning holes in my belly. Managing that first live hit without bumbling the conversation entirely remains my eternal green flag into journalism. I was hooked. 

The business has changed — SO VERY MUCH — in the last four decades, but at least one truth remains: local news attracts and keeps an audience. And fair coverage is great local news, making it not just good for the community, but good for business. 

To that end, Free Press Indiana is teaming up with the good folks at the Statehouse File to help you provide the stories you crave for your audiences from this year’s Indiana State Fair. 

Need Band Day photos? We can help. Have a young person participating in a special event that you just can't cover, let us know about it — if we can get to it, we sure will try. 

With the fair less than a week away, we’re asking for your help to guide us to the stories we should tackle. Please complete this Google sheet with as much info as you have available. Then, we’ll work with Colleen Steffen, the wonderful coach of the Statehouse File team, and her students, to figure out how many stories can be completed.  

We won't be able to get to everything, but the sooner we know what folks may be seeking, the better we'll be able to plan. And we’ll let you know what our plans are when they’re set.

This is the second year for this partnership, and we’re eager to see it expand. If you’re curious about how it works, reach out to folks like Chris Hardie at the Western Wayne News and ask him how they incorporated the students’ coverage. Chris and his team had the opportunity to cover some of the Band Day events, but because there were so many local bands participating that day, they just couldn't be everywhere for everything. The Statehouse File content was a good option for Chris and his team, and the expanded coverage gave readers more opportunity to see local students doing great things. 

Please reach out with any questions you may have. 

Thanks for reading. 

 

Lisa Renze

Director of Strategic Partnerships

Free Press Indiana