Lauren Slome
Emmy-nominated Multi-platform Producer
Multimedia work
During my time at the University of Missouri and abroad, I had the opportunity to gain experience in multiple newsrooms. I've worked for an NPR affiliate station, designed information graphics for a newspaper and its digital site, and written and edited for Newsy. My emphasis in convergence reporting taught me that a story is often best told in more than one format and gave me the insight and ability needed to plan and create those additional components. That hands-on experience led to my passion for experimenting with and creating multimedia content, which I bring to my work at WBIR every single day.
Projects
Smokies Stronger: The night that changed Sevier County
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November 28, 2016 was an unforgettable day in East Tennessee. I'd only been here five months, but already I'd fallen in love with the Smokies. And for a lot of our audience and our staff, this little area tucked away from the world has been home for decades, or life. So watching parts of it burn to the ground was unthinkable.
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A year later, it still wasn't easy to think about. But we'd gotten some answers, and found some hope. Our station went all in on telling those stories that week in 2017. I dove in online. In this longform piece, I wanted to paint a bigger picture of what happened that night, and in the days leading up to it. I interwove reports from the National Park Service with the phenomenal storytelling of our reporters in the weeks and months after the fire. And for the first time, I sat down with the staff that was working that night to share their experiences and struggles through the coverage. The result, was powerful. It also won 2nd place for the Best Digital Content in the East Tennessee Society for Professional Journalists Golden Press Card awards.
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Anyone can early vote
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Elections? They're my passion. And when it comes to voting, I'm self-admittedly a bit of a nut. Because it's one of the times we get to use our megaphone for good. We can advocate for people to use their vote. So through our three elections in 2018, I made sure our viewers had access to everything they needed. Information about registering to vote, about candidates, and this hulk. I wanted to make sure the viewers in our 10 largest counties had access to the 5 W's of their early vote, and everyone could get to their sample ballot.
This article has molted and matured through three elections, so please bear with the many embeds.
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Reynolds Journalism Institute: A semester studying the Apple Watch
For my senior journalism capstone, I worked with two other journalists and RJI Fellow Victor Hernandez to study the Apple Watch and it's potential as a journalistic tool. During those four months we conducted a survey of millenial watch and wearable-using habits, and I created several blog posts evaluating the watch's technical capabilities and limitations. We also tested the Apple Watch's reporting abilities in a showdown with the Apple iPhone 6 (the results of which can be found in the video to to the right.) The following video shows a recap of all the information we learned throughout the semester, with a fun touch of course.
Read about reporting with the Apple Watch here
Columbia Missourian: Information graphics
I spent a semester working for the Columbia Missourian's graphic desk creating both stand alone and supplementary graphics for the paper. I designed these graphics with a web-first approach, incorporating interactive elements when possible before creating a version best suited for print. The position challenged me to think of ways to tell stories visually and to break down complex information. My most in-depth graphic investigated Missouri's growing number of homeless students. It involved HTML and CSS coding ability, extensive work with Adobe Illustrator, and research on the local, state and national level.
KOMU 8 News: Five Sex Offenders Living Illegally Next to Columbia Schools
This is a television news piece I completed with two other journalists in the summer of 2014. We researched a tip about the number of sex offenders in the area, looking into the laws and addresses listed on the county registry. We found there were five registered sex offenders living illegally close to schools in Boone County. Local NBC affiliate KOMU 8 News asked to run the story.
I was specifically responsible for research — measuring distances, researching laws, conducting interviews with sources — scripting, and the creation of secondary components, including the timeline and compiling the information that led to the creation of the map.
This story was awarded the Korva Coleman Excellence Award for 2015.
Reuters Television: Cockroaches have personalities, study finds
This is a story I helped to complete during my time as an intern at Reuters News Agency this semester. I was responsible for the reporting that went into the story and conducting the interview seen in the video.
Within 24 hours of releasing the video, it had been used by 77 outlets around the world and aired more than 135 times. It can be seen on the Washington Post and was a subject on Live with Kelly and Michael.
KBIA Radio: Dual immersion language program could be coming to Columbia
This is a radio piece I completed for our local NPR affiilate, KBIA, during my time as a student reporter for the station. I reported the story, interviewed sources and then compiled an audio file and wrote the script you find at the link. The audio story aired on a morning broadcast.