There was a time in US history when a kid involved in the newspaper business couldn’t be a journalist. Instead, a child’s role was limited to hawking the paper on the streets or delivering it by bicycle every morning.
But a girl in Selinsgrove, Pa. has found herself a more prominent job in the journalism business. At only 9 years old, Hilde Kate Lysiak is the editor and chief reporter of the Orange St. News, which has both a print edition and a website. While Hilde’s parents help her to post her material to the web, and screen her incoming mail, they have very little involvement in the actual writing or editing of the paper.
Hilde started the paper back in 2014, with a focus on fun little tidbits of news that would mostly interest other kids. But as her skills have grown, the daughter of former New York Daily News reporter Matthew Lysiak has shifted her focus to more serious news items. She covers social events, community happenings, environmental issues and even crime in her small town.
Last week the young journalist heard about a murder in town. She took the initiative to locate and talk to people in the neighborhood where the crime had happened, and published her story quickly.
In fact, Hilde got the scoop on all of the adult papers in the area.
While Hilde and her parents were very proud of her accomplishment in breaking this serious story, there were those who were less impressed. According to the Huffington Post, the Lysiaks reported that the OSN Facebook page received plenty of negative comments. Some respondents were unhappy that a child was doing the reporting, saying that she should be “playing with dolls” instead. Others commented on her gender, suggesting that she “have a tea party” rather than producing a newspaper. There were even a few f*** bombs dropped on the little girl.
Hilde responded to her critics like the strong, independent, young woman that she is:
“I know some of you want me to just sit down and be quiet because I’m 9. But if you want me to stop covering the news, then get off your computer and do something about the news.”
As if this come back isn’t good enough, she topped it off with:
“There, is that cute enough for you?”
Featured image via YouTube Screengrab.
