Author Archives: Brian Hayes

With graduation less than two weeks away, reading James Carey’s “The Struggle Against Forgetting” right now feels a lot like it did watching Toy Story 3 right before leaving for college. It’s nostalgic. It makes me think about the past … Continue reading →

I’ve finally compiled all the best reporting, design and editing work that I’ve done over the past few years and added it to the “Clips” tab of this blog. Most of them are examples of the reporting I completed on … Continue reading →

Normal follow-up crime reporting consists of checking case progress on Casenet and checking in with attorneys. But Monday, after I finished a story about a woman facing prostitution and weapons charges, I was given the opportunity to follow-up in an … Continue reading →

A personality test I recently took classified me as a people person. I feel like it’s pretty accurate; I enjoy talking to people, and I am genuinely curious to hear people’s answers to my questions. That’s a major reason I … Continue reading →

Yesterday I was once again rewarded for keeping my schedule open and checking my email often, two simple adjustments that have helped make this semester much more exciting than the last semester I spent reporting. Going into the day, I … Continue reading →

As the semester has progressed, it’s been increasingly evident to me how important it is to maintain positive relationships with sources. My first focus is always to initially build rapport with sources so that they will help me get the … Continue reading →

With the exception of a single brief I got on GA, I strangely haven’t covered anything that involves working with the Columbia Fire Department despite being a second-year reporter on the public safety beat. So I was excited to change … Continue reading →

When I got out of shoulder surgery Thursday afternoon, I had one missed call. It wasn’t from my mom, or my dad, or any family or friends. It was from Mayor Bob McDavid, returning the call I’d given him the … Continue reading →

1-2. If I’ve got at least a half hour of free time, and my heart isn’t pounding too fast as a result of stress, my favorite method for staying resilient is napping or reading. Both of those activities are helpful … Continue reading →

I think every single time I was talking to somebody for reporting purposes this week was because I was making a request. I’m still in the early stages of reporting on the public safety tax, so I’ve spent all week … Continue reading →