News Enterprise

Dr. Cady Short-Thompson began her tenure as president of Northern Kentucky University in October 2023. 

Six months later in April, her inauguration was held, headlined with guest speakers and symbolic traditions.

I was able to report on the inauguration, covering both the events that took place throughout the day and interviewing key sources.

After controversial protestors came to campus and attempted to provoke students, I looked at the bigger picture of free speech and demonstrations with this story. Along with a rookie reporter who I mentored, we spoke with the NKU chief of police, a tenured law professor and students who were at the demonstration.

The article explored how, no matter how outrageous someone's opinions might be, public universities are an open forum for the exchange of ideas and conversation.

The police chief also provided advice for how to handle potentially triggering protests. The law professor gave key insight on why the first amendment is so important, especially on college campuses.

After NKU danced its way to the NCAA tournament, the men's basketball coach was awarded a sparkly new contract extension. While many of the breaking news releases were met with pride, there seemed to be a deeper story at play. 

In a time of faculty cuts and the budget deficit, I conducted extensive research to dig deeper into this topic. I made my first open records request, compared peer institution's coaches' salaries, conducted key interviews, pressed athletics for a statement and drew a connection between the men's and women's coaches' salaries. 

The story was featured in our monthly magazine and received great interaction on social media.

Following the release of a breaking news story about the tragic murder-suicide which affected an NKU student, I decided to dig deeper and follow up on the story. I was put in contact with three of the survivor's closest friends through lots of efforts and connections. 

Through these friends, I was able to portray the survivor in a light that showed who she was and what was next for her. The emotion and storytelling style of this article was incredibly powerful. 

This article became The Northerner's second most-viewed article of the year, largely because of its angle and a dig into who Samantha really was, when so many other outlets only portrayed her as a victim.

At a time when Christian revival was heightened around the country, especially in Kentucky, this story localized how a movement made its way to campus. 

Drawing connections to the international Asbury University revival and those who planned the NKU revival, a story that is rarely told was able to be put on full display, earning our most interactions and shares to date on social media. 

This article grew to be the most-read story on our site for the year 2023, with nearly 80,000 views.