Elliott Hall, 12, and her brother, Henry, 9, began publishing the College Ave-News late this summer after Elliott approached her parents with the idea and received enthusiastic support.
“There is not a neighborhood newspaper, so I just thought, why not make a neighborhood newspaper?” Elliott says.
She had only seen one print newspaper before — at her grandparents’ house — but she remembered the comic strips and thinks it’s important that news also have a bit of fun. “Comedy is very important to me,” she says.
Elliott is the kind of 12-year-old who casually uses words like “hyperbole” and “precocious,” so it isn’t surprising that she had the impetus to start her own paper. She loves writing and is thinking about applying to the creative writing program at Harrison School of the Arts.
A kid-led newsroom
The first edition of the College Ave-News is printed on one page, front and back. The lead story is on the proliferation of neighborhood cats and the efforts to spay and neuter the strays.
Elliott particularly likes animal-related articles; however for the second edition, her curiosity about what it takes to become a librarian led her to conduct her first ever interview. Mrs. Harley at the Lakeland Public Library became the subject for the article “Shelf Awareness: A Chat with a Library Associate.”
“I like a punny title,” Elliot says, but confesses that ChatGPT did help a little with the headline. When asked about the role of AI in journalism, she says she believes it’s a tool that can help with grammar but it can’t replace the person-to-person conversations — and it shouldn’t be relied on for research.
It was on the “Shelf Awareness” article that her brother, Henry, became a photojournalist, snapping the featured image of Mrs. Harley. Previously, Henry won an award for his photography after participating in a summer camp at the AGB Museum of Art. His winning photo was titled “Tree of Life.” Upon reflecting, he thinks it “probably had too much contrast.”
Building a kid community
Elliott is amassing an “army of children,” she says as she excitedly raises both arms, to help distribute and contribute to the College Ave-News.
Their mother, Tara Fogleman Hall, points out that the children in Lake Morton are spread out across several different schools. Without a central playground in the neighborhood, kids don’t have a lot of ways to meet other kids — even those who live very close by.
Crafting and then delivering the paper has helped create new connections, and Elliot has received emails from other kids interested in contributing.
Growing the neighborhood paper
Currently, College Ave-News, which is printed at home, has a circulation of roughly 60 households in the Lake Morton neighborhood. Neighbors can sign up to receive the paper for free through a Google form posted in the Lake Morton Neighbors Facebook group. Delivery is limited to the Lake Morton area. Elliott expects to publish every other month.
Tara, who helps with the paper’s ad sales, said the newspaper was very much Elliott’s idea. “I’m very in awe of her and the way she just does her thing,” Tara says. Tara and her husband both have backgrounds in science and nursing, not journalism, but they’re happy to support their daughter’s project.
Ads in the paper are $10, but space is limited because “too many makes for a bad reader experience,” says Elliott. The money from ad sales will be donated to a charity to be decided.
What's next for the newsroom
Asked what to expect from future editions, Elliott says she would like a “cat of the month” feature. She’s also planning to interview the owners of local businesses like Moo Town Scoops and Pizza Odyssey.
Elliott firmly believes that news should always offer a mix of serious stories with more light-hearted ones.
We at LkldNow, completely agree.
