I am a proud Chicago native and third-generation journalist. My passion for local news and community service drives my career. Throughout my five-year career thus far, I have honed my skills as a reporter and editor and risen to leadership roles within several community news organizations. My work also has instilled in me a deep interest in audience development work, and I am now focused on leveraging my skills to develop effective strategies to secure a sustainable future for local journalism that is dedicated to serving our communities.
In February 2023, I became the first-ever managing editor for audience development at The Keene Sentinel in New Hampshire. In this role, I work with our newsroom to understand what our print and digital audiences want from our journalism, and seek to reach new and underserved communities with our work. I also collaborate with The Sentinel’s senior leaders to develop strategies to put us at the forefront of digital-first local news, and find funding sources to ensure our 224-year-old newspaper continues to serve the community well into the future.
Before my current job, I worked as The Sentinel’s deputy local news editor, starting in October 2021. I joined The Sentinel in May 2020, and spent about a year and a half as the education reporter before being promoted.
I started my post-graduation journalism career in March 2018 at the Daily Record in Wooster, Ohio, where I primarily covered criminal justice and public safety, but also spent time on the business, city government and education beats. I have also written for The Observer at the University of Notre Dame, the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, the Concord Monitor in New Hampshire, and the Tampa Bay Times. After graduating in 2016, I spent a year working for Notre Dame’s study abroad programs in Ireland before jumping back into journalism.
Jack Rooney 