Lorra Lynch Jones, 13WMAZ News Director and Alum, December 2021 Guest Curator

To further our mission to talk about process and quality in journalism, each guest curator has highlighted what they see as the “don’t want to miss” pieces posted to Newsource that month, along with some constructive reflection about the journalism.

About This Month’s Guest Curator 

Lorra Lynch Jones is the News Director at 13WMAZ, the TEGNA-owned CBS affiliate in Macon/Warner Robins, Georgia. Her mission is to serve central Georgia with local news that informs, inspires and entertains. With more than a decade of reporting experience, her passion has always been telling great stories. She leads an ever-changing staff of journalists and takes great pride in the teaching and coaching process. Jones has called central Georgia home since 2005 when she took her first role at 13WMAZ as a reporter. She later earned a promotion to weekend anchor and in 2007, moved to the anchor desk five days a week alongside Frank Malloy. After the move to the anchor desk, Jones continued to deliver daily reports from the field. Her stories primarily focused around the people, events and issues affecting Houston County. She launched a series called “Behind the Lines” from Robins Air Force Base, telling the stories of the thousands of people who work at central Georgia’s largest employer. Jones moved into her current role of news director in 2016.

1
Charcuterie: Slowing Down Meals Down in a Culture of Busyness by Mary Martin Harper

This headline caught my attention, because I love a good charcuterie board, and doesn’t everyone need to slow down a bit this time of year? This was a visually beautiful piece to take in. The photographs in the story add appeal, and the video is nicely edited to music with text highlighting items included on the charcuterie boards.

2
Small Town Comes Together to Feed People in Need (Grady Newsource 11/17/21) By Megan Mittlehammer

This story does a nice job of community reporting – finding real people that are working together to make a difference in their community. It’s not focused around officials, but the people giving their time and talents to improve the lives of others. It creates an opportunity for viewers to get behind the effort and support local businesses.

3
Turkey Dinner Costs from Grady Newsource (11/15/21) By Ballard Ackaway

Putting dinner on the Thanksgiving or holiday table won’t be cheap this season. This piece offers the data to support the increased costs, but also presents the information in an engaging visual way. The reporter takes the viewer on a shopping trip and offers a good use of music, sound effects and graphics. Well done!

4
"Schools’ Safe Havens: How Fine Arts Programs Inspire, Protect" By Autumn Sanford

This piece brings an interesting point of view to the table about the struggles that many fine arts programs face. I enjoyed hearing about the perspective of the teachers and supporters. That added emotion and connected me to their plight. The data and graphics add context on how these programs improve the students’ academic performance.

5
"Digital Debris: How An App Is Changing the Trajectory of Athens’ Litter Abatement" By Reed Winckler

Love that Newsource has a specific section for solutions journalism. It’s one thing just to present the problem, but presenting solutions take it a step further! This story provides a strong explanation of the issue, how the app works, and how it’s helped the litter problem in Athens-Clarke County. Kudos for including a graphic breaking down numbers!

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