Kaylie McLaughlin
Verified
(She/Her)
As seen in:
Johnson County Post,
Kansas City Star,
Wichita Eagle,
EIN News,
KCUR-FM (Kansas City, MO),
KSNT-TV (Topeka, KS),
KBIA-FM (Columbia, MO),
KMUW-FM (Wichita, KS),
Kansas State Collegian,
The Olathe Reporter,
The Manhattan Mercury
and
Covers:
City Government, County Government, Local Politics, Education, Sports, Community Features
@johnsoncntypost reporter for Overland Park and Olathe | Tips: kaylie@johnsoncountypost.com | Past @kstatecollegian, @kansasdotcom and @olathereporter
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
My first paid job was as a staff writer at the Kansas State Collegian.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
I did once at a children's museum. It was part of an interactive exhibit.
How is social media changing news?
I think it's speeding up the process of sharing information, but it's also making great reporters more important than ever.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
MacKenzie McHale from The Newsroom
What does it mean to be a journalist?
At its very core, journalism is about telling stories and sharing perspectives that most people would never otherwise hear or experience.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
I prefer to be pitched in my email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Camayak, AP Stylebook, Adobe Premiere and Photoshop, Slack, Trello, Google Drive, Merriam Dictionary and Apple Calendar
What's your favorite social network?
Snapchat for communicating with friends. Twitter for everything else.
Who do you wish followed you?
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly
Why did you become a journalist?
I like to fight crime and injustice, but with my laptop and audio recorder.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I only took the introduction to print class. I was active in my high school broadcast journalism program. I was captain of video productions
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I'd probably have to say the story I did about police misconduct on my college campus.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
If you feel the story calling to you, write it and worry about the consequences later.
When's the best time to pitch you?
During the weekday.
What's your favorite drink?
Coffee.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
I'm usually laying on my bedroom floor reading or in the kitchen cooking.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
New Yorker, New York Times and The Wall Street Journal
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That I'm intentionally adversarial and looking for negative things to write about.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.