Milton Student Helps Create Stories in College Program

Alyssa Walter of Milton was one of eight Wake Forest University undergrad students and 10 alumni who worked with a major media outlet to create stories and videos for local news. The project was part of an advanced journalism course completed in collaboration with the Winston-Salem Journal. The stories ran in prominent positions in the newspaper.

The news coverage related to the 2010 Census. Samples of their projects include:

Low home prices, easy commute fuel Thomasville's rebound from furniture loss by Hope Davis, Corey Pegram, Kelly Rowley, Jeff Turner and Alyssa Walter.

Lexington population decline hits city hard, by Katie Cooper, Tristan Dorty and Sam Perrotta

Northeast neighborhood struggles with declining population by Michael Hoag, Hannah Hunt, Christine Kim, John Turner

Far reaches of Ashe County remain beautiful, but populations dwindles by Shelby Bryant, Rob Byrd, Kelsey Garvey and Jordan Jacobson

Mountain vistas in southern Ashe County draw retirees, commuters by Jessie Ammons, Hunter Lostan, Christina Sandidge

Phoebe Zerwick, a prize-winning investigative journalist, narrative writer and college teacher, taught the course. Zerwick specializes in telling complex stories in human terms. Her work has been recognized by The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, Columbia University and the North Carolina Press Association and featured in the HBO documentary The Trials of Darryl Hunt.