Meg Kissinger of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel paid a visit to my digital journalism class last weekend to share stories about her start in journalism and how she ended up one of the biggest advocates for mental illnesses. Prior to the class, students were asked to read some of Kissinger's work with the Journal-Sentinel to get a feel for her writing. The emotion that she poured out onto the words of her pieces was something that really stood out to me and I was sure to ask her about how to get that effect in our own writing.
Although her stories were about her family hardships, she did a great job of putting it out there for others to read as a way of getting a feel of how real the pain of mental illnesses is not only on the person suffering but the families that take care of the patients as well. Yet, Kissinger managed to stay positive while talking about the writing process.
She went from being a hot shot high school editor to working her way up in the ranks from a newspaper in Upstate New York to the Milwaukee Journal (joined with the Sentinel in 1995). Her versatility as a writer was underscored when she spoke about writing for the gossip columns and covering scientific studies on plastic before her focus shifted to mental illnesses.
Kissinger's work for mental illnesses is not considered complete by her until the situation for those suffering is improved in Milwaukee and can set a standard for everywhere else in the country. Later on in the semester, Professor Herbert Lowe will have the class focus on putting together interviews and profiles of people close to mental illness patients. Kissinger will be there to guide the class along the way, but has already become a role model for the type of work that many of us in the class aspire to do.
Although her stories were about her family hardships, she did a great job of putting it out there for others to read as a way of getting a feel of how real the pain of mental illnesses is not only on the person suffering but the families that take care of the patients as well. Yet, Kissinger managed to stay positive while talking about the writing process.
She went from being a hot shot high school editor to working her way up in the ranks from a newspaper in Upstate New York to the Milwaukee Journal (joined with the Sentinel in 1995). Her versatility as a writer was underscored when she spoke about writing for the gossip columns and covering scientific studies on plastic before her focus shifted to mental illnesses.
Kissinger's work for mental illnesses is not considered complete by her until the situation for those suffering is improved in Milwaukee and can set a standard for everywhere else in the country. Later on in the semester, Professor Herbert Lowe will have the class focus on putting together interviews and profiles of people close to mental illness patients. Kissinger will be there to guide the class along the way, but has already become a role model for the type of work that many of us in the class aspire to do.