Hilde Lysiak, at age 10, has already accomplished so many things! She’s an accomplished journalist, a newspaper founder, and now a published author!
I heard about Hilde last year, but A Mighty Girl profiled her this past week, lauding her for becoming a published author!
Way to go, Hilde!
Hilde started her own newspaper, Orange Street News, in December 2014, in her town of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. Her dad, Matthew Lysiak, is a well-known and recognized journalist. He has reported for the New York Daily News, among others. Apparently, journalism runs in the family – Big sister, Izzy, runs a kids’ advice column in the local paper, The Daily Item.
Her dad made her a deal – He agreed to do the typing, formatting, and printing. But, the reporting, writing, and photography – That was all on her. She ran with it, and hasn’t stopped!
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On April 2, 2016, she broke the story of a suspected murder in Selinsgrove, and posting the story on the Orange Street News Facebook page caused a wave of criticism. Several people were critical. Only nine at the time, people remarked that she should be playing with dolls, not reporting on murders.
She responded brilliantly in a video message: “But if you want me to stop covering news, then you get off your computer and do something about the news.”
That is awesome!!
Her response was picked up by The Washington Post and The Guardian. Since then, she’s continued reporting, and given several interviews with other media outlets, including for The Today Show, and the Columbia Journalism Review.
She doesn’t want to work for a newspaper someday – She wants own her own newspaper.
Here’s a few of the stories that have been written about Hilde and her pursuits. Enjoy!
The New York Daily News first covered Hilde and her story on September 12, 2015: Kid presses on: Girl, 8, with own newspaper dreams of being bigger than The News
On June 30, 2016, a press release from Scholastic Media announced Hilde’s book deal: Scholastic Acquires Four Books by Nine-Year-Old Reporter Hilde Lysiak
The New York Daily News covered Hilde again on August 29, 2016: Ace kid reporter Hilde Lysiak, 9, to get her story told on the small screen
Check out this profile from The New York Times, recently published on October 31, 2017: Hilde Lysiak, Reporter, Author, 10-Year-Old
Her newest endeavor is a series of children’s books, published by Scholastic. The first two have already been released, and two more are scheduled to be released in December and January.
What do you think? Do you feel inspired by Hilde, like I do?
Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂
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