Kara's portfolio

bio

resume

portfolio

research

photos

scattered paper clips

SCHOLARLY PERIODICAL

Newspaper dispensers (c) FreeFoto.com

I have worked for three newspapers: The Daily Tar Heel, The Baltimore Sun and The (Durham) Herald-Sun.

My favorite kind of writing is feature stories, so most of the portfolio pieces I've chosen are of that nature.
They represent my best work and they're most fun to read (and write!).

Get links to some of my articles below.
Most have links straight to PDF versions because the newspapers' Web sites generally require payment for users to see their archives.
So I can't just point you to the Web site, but I can give you the PDFs I made.

I've been unable to get most articles from The Baltimore Sun because of copyright issues, but they should be coming shortly.

For Summer 2003, I was a general assignment reporter at the Annapolis bureau of The Sun.

Easing Kids' Divorce Trauma
September 30, 2003
(posted on the Web site of the organization featured in the story)
This is a story idea I pitched to my editors and pursued on my own, when I wasn't following an assigned daily story. It became a centerpiece for the front page of the Metro section, and ran in all versions across the city. The story sprouted from my own interest in divorce trends because I come from a divorced family. The article didn't run until after I left for the summer because we were waiting for the photographer to get entrance rights to the divorce counseling group.

For Spring 2004, I served as the beat reporter for Chatham County, south of Chapel Hill.
Many of my stories fell under two categories:

"Chatham Hometown" stories, which are pretty lengthy feature stories printed every Saturday
articles following the controversial Compact Communities Ordinance that's been stirring up the county commissioners
and residents (see final two stories in this list)

Explorer scouts get chance to consider law enforcement careers
April 9, 2004

Group works to help GrassRoots grow
Second annual music event needs volunteers to assist in all areas
March 27, 2004

Report cites foul water, injury, sloth as concerns
Chatham health report says work needed on cancer, heart disease
February 28, 2004

Local talent raises money, awareness
‘The Vagina Monologues’ visits Chatham County for first time
February 21, 2004

Fun and fund-raiser for grocery store:
Organizers seeking donors for Chatham Marketplace co-op
February 14, 2004

Longing for a return to routine days
Some teachers opt to work, but they’re ready for students to return
January 30, 2004

The Compact Communities Ordinance debate:
Both of these stories were written under deadline directly after the meetings took place.
I felt the high-pressure aspect of being a reporter.

Pittsboro protesters call for growth control
January 21, 2004

Many oppose revised ordinance
Residents want communities to remain compact
March 24, 2004

I worked for the campus newspaper for my first two years of college, before I took most of my journalism classes.
Here's one of the more interesting stories I wrote, after a fun interview with the graduating Student Body President.

Young Reflects on His Year as SBP: Unexpected Trials, Some Successes
April 2, 2002
browser link (non PDF)

As a student in a course on Southern politics and column writing, I assisted professor Ferrel Guillory, who runs an organization called the Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life. Last fall, the Program was compiling data on the media landscape of the South, for an in-depth analysis to be printed in the next issue of its SouthNow publication. I collected facts and figures on Louisiana, my assigned state, and wrote a corresponding analytical brief. This is my resulting page in the winter issue:

Louisiana: Family Ownership Persists
February 2004

While taking a course in photojournalism, I volunteered to do some work for the Carolina Communicator, the quarterly publication of our journalism school. The Communicator was doing a profile on Frank Fee, a copyediting professor, and I took the assignment to get some pictures of him. We went outside one sunny day and I instructed him through a little photo shoot. It was a fun experience for my first non-class photography work. The picture is included in this PDF link.

Fee combines academic credentials, decades of experience in newsrooms
Winter 2004

Menu bar photo from http://www.freeimages.co.uk.

Site created and maintained by Kara Eide at UNC-Chapel Hill. Last updated 04/19/2004 .