For Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigations editor and former Sidekick co-editor-in-chief Daphne Chen, journalism was not always the end goal. Majoring in English literature and minoring in economics at Columbia University, Chen’s decision to pursue a career in journalism was based purely on her interests and the experience she gained from her time on The Sidekick from 2008-10.
“I think naturally, I’m just very nosy, very curious,” Chen said. “I always loved reading and writing, so this was a way to combine all of that together and The Sidekick really made me realize how much I loved the practice of journalism.”
Starting her journalism career in a small, five-member newsroom in North Carolina, Chen emphasizes the role her first job played in her development.
“When I graduated college, I decided to apply for jobs in super random places – random geographies where I didn’t know anybody,” Chen said. “I was free to make mistakes and I was embedded into a culture that I never experienced before.”
Chen was also a member of the staff that launched CoppellStudentMedia.com, moving from producing only print issues to maintaining a website with daily content. Although the challenges outnumber the positives, Chen thinks media is constantly evolving and journalism must adapt alongside it.
Now, more than ever, she recognizes the importance of online journalism, especially in modern forms such as social media.
“We were not ready when the internet came and upended the business model, and we are still trying to figure that out now,” Chen said. “Nowadays, readers prefer shorter stories – things that are more digestible and social media friendly, and I think we need to adapt to that instead of resisting it.”
From the time she graduated high school in 2010 to now, Chen went from a health reporter to an investigative reporter to now working as an editor at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. However, behind all the success and knowledge Chen has acquired over the years, there are hours upon hours spent in The Sidekick’s newsroom: D115.
“It was just an amazing experience and an ability to start my first attempts at doing journalism,” Chen said. “It was a great sandbox to just be able to explore things and sometimes mess up.”
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