Iowans’ stories are newsworthy

I remember my first time on the second floor of the Adler Journalism Building. Paul Jensen, the then internship coordinator for the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication, showed me a video about where SJMC alumni are now. The places they end up ranged from interviewing celebrities in Hollywood to reporting breaking news on Capitol Hill. There was just one common trend-none of them stayed in Iowa.

The Hawkeye State is often overlooked in the media from the East and West coast. I used to wish for nothing more than to move halfway across the country and get my byline in a prestigious publication, such as the New York Times. Then I went through journalism school.

During journalism school, I wrote opinion columns for the Daily Iowan, which had to be geared toward a local audience. I completed assignments for school which had to have UI, Iowa City, or Iowa ties. Going to journalism school in Iowa, and writing for a publication in Iowa, put me in a position where I told the stories of people in Iowa and discovered their newsworthiness.

I told the story of a UI student with mental illnesses and how they have impacted her college experience. I advocated for Iowans who experienced abuse in an assisted living home to not be returned there until reform is implemented. For one of my class assignments, I interviewed a licensed mental health counselor in Iowa City.

Iowa is full of people whose stories can touch hearts. A good example of this is the people who participated in a walk to remember Mollie Tibbetts on the five-year anniversary of her last run. Another example is all the pediatric cancer patients at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital

These types of stories, and the people behind them, have so much worth and value. They have the ability to bring people together. The Tibbetts case has been politicized by both liberals and conservatives. The walk brought people together in remembering and honoring her life. Kinnick Stadium is full of divisions of jerseys and sports teams. Kids with cancer bring everyone together in cheering and waving for them, regardless of what jersey they wear on game day.

Stories about politicians and celebrities just do not bring people together. Political stories, even those that are objective, and news related, just create a bigger divide. Celebrity drama, such as the divorce of Amber Heard and Johnny Deep, causes people to argue over a fight that is not their business and between people they don't even know personally.

How can more people in rural Iowa get their stories told? Major news outlets -The Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, Fox News- can cover more stories centered in the rural Midwest. An example of a story a national level publication could have picked up from my hometown is Bella VanGorp, a woman with Down syndrome, being a runner-up for the Miss Amazing Contest.

It is also possible journalists at national level publications just are not aware of these stories due to the difference in geographic location. Iowa’s local journalists should not be afraid to try to freelance and submit their work to these publications.

Ordinary people are extraordinary. My time in journalism school taught me I don’t need to move halfway across the country to tell the stories of newsworthy people. I am already surrounded by them in small town, rural Iowa.

Ally Pronina graduated from the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication and is a former opinion columnist for the Daily Iowan. She lives in Pella.