Journalist, 9, Responds to Her Critics and Becomes a Media Star
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Version 0 of 1. A 9-year-old journalist from Selinsgrove, Pa., became a media sensation this week, with articles in The Washington Post and The Guardian and an appearance on “Good Morning America,” with more to come. It all started when Hilde Kate Lysiak, the publisher of and a reporter for The Orange Street News, a monthly newspaper (circulation 200), broke the news about a killing in her neighborhood on Saturday. The headline: “Exclusive: Murder on Ninth Street!” Usually, her website is filled with street-level community news, some stories highlighted with a flashing blue-and-red police light. “Breaking: Skunk Shot Dead in Grove! Possibly Rabid!” reads one headline. But it was the homicide and her blunt response to her critics that catapulted her to media stardom and enthralled journalists the world over. On the day of the killing, Hilde went to the crime scene, interviewed neighbors and posted an article, a photo and a video. “A man is suspected of murdering his wife with a hammer,” she wrote, adding, “Residents reported seeing a person taken out on a stretcher but were told by police not to talk to media.” When her article went live, comments and criticism flowed into the Facebook page of The Orange Street News. Some people questioned the appropriateness of a 9-year-old girl covering a homicide. Some even suggested that she instead ought to be playing with dolls. What did Hilde do? She recorded a video. Wearing a “I ♥ free speech” button and a red bow in her hair, she looked into the camera and read some of the disparaging remarks about herself — reminiscent of celebrities’ reading mean tweets about themselves on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” “I am disgusted that this cute little girl thinks she is a real journalist,” she quoted one commenter. “What happened to tea parties?” Then, Hilde offered her rebuttal. “I know some of you just want me to sit down and be quiet because I’m 9,” she said. “If you want me to stop covering news, then you get off your computers and do something about the news.” And then, leaning into the camera: “There. Is that cute enough for you?” Hilde posted the video on Sunday. Within days it had become a sensation, with numerous news outlets writing or broadcasting stories about her. Her father, Matthew Lysiak, 38, said the family had been so inundated with calls that he shut off the phone. But later they began to make the rounds at news agencies. On Thursday, Hilde and her mother, Bridget Reddan, 38, appeared on “Good Morning America.” Later that day, Hilde and her family got an impromptu tour of the newsroom at The New York Times. Mr. Lysiak, a former crime reporter for The Daily News, said that his daughter was exposed to journalism through his work and that she was “obsessed” with reporting on vandalism in her neighborhood. In turn, she developed grass-roots sources in the area and gained people’s trust — which is how she got the scoop about the death on Ninth Street. He said he and his wife were most proud of the way Hilde faced the criticism. “It’s one thing to get a great scoop, but you’ll find adversity all through your life like that,” said Mr. Lysiak, who “lightly” edits her articles and helps edit the headlines. The family lived in Brooklyn before moving in 2014 to Selinsgrove, a Pennsylvania borough of about 5,800 people that is about 50 miles north of Harrisburg. Mr. Lysiak said that Hilde shadowed him on assignments in New York City. Hilde and her sister Isabel, 12, are home-schooled; their other sisters are 18 months and 4. Mr. Lysiak and Ms. Reddan said they gave their daughters the freedom to pursue their passions under the theory that when they are engaged, they learn. “I get it,” Mr. Lysiak said. “I can understand why you are questioning why a 9-year-old is working a crime scene.” But he said parents today are so concerned about child abductions and other dangers that they become overprotective. Despite some naysayers, Mr. Lysiak said, residents of the area have been overwhelmingly supportive of Hilde, who roams the neighborhood on her bike even in winter. Her admirers extend outside her family. The Selinsgrove Borough Council president, Marvin J. Rudnitsky, said he believed residents appreciated her “efforts.” “Of course, we all smile when she cannot get anywhere near the microphone at the podium at our Borough Council meetings where I preside,” he said in an email. Still, he said, he addresses her as “Ms. Lysiak” and takes her questions seriously. Even news media professionals expressed admiration for her work. “I think Hilde Lysiak is an impressive and ambitious young woman,” Teri Henning, president of the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said in an email. “Being curious — and willing to put in the legwork — are critical to good journalism, and she has certainly shown that she has both qualities.” Journalists and movie fans have probably wondered about her name’s similarity to that of the character played by Rosalind Russell in the 1940 romantic comedy “His Girl Friday,” opposite Cary Grant. Ms. Russell’s character, Hildy Johnson, is a fast-talking, wisecracking reporter. The family had not heard of the movie until about a year ago, when a friend mentioned it. “Hilde loved the character,” her father said. He bought Hilde an old movie poster that she keeps in her room. The girl shrugged off her fame as a reporter turned newsmaker. “I feel I’m getting the attention for my age, not my work,” she said. Over breakfast at an Applebee’s near her home recently, her father tried to assess her feelings about the scrum of media attention. But she was too distracted wondering when the police would call her back about an arrest in a string of vandalism cases she had covered. She had staked out the police station for 45 minutes in the cold. Embracing the reporter’s adage that you are only as good as your last story, Hilde returned the next day from her whirlwind visit to New York City and made a beeline to the station in pursuit, again, of details about the vandalism arrest. She waited an hour and left empty-handed — this time. |