Living in Northwest Indiana for the vast majority of her life, Michelle Quinn has been able to find success as a local journalist for 28 years.
Having grown up in Munster, Quinn currently lives in Griffith. She graduated from Indiana University (IU) Northwest with a degree in English and the hopes of becoming a professor.
“There aren’t any other writers in my family,” Quinn said. “I was always told that I was able to write, but I never really thought of it as a real profession for myself.”
While she never envisioned a career in writing, Quinn has always enjoyed doing it. She was the editor-in-chief with IU Northwest’s “Phoenix” paper during her senior year of college.
Quinn then started at the "Post-Tribune" in 1995. Aside from leaving for a brief moment in 1997, working at the newspaper has been her primary gig since, and she has loved it every step of the way.
“My thought process was, as long as I could pay my rent and feed my cats, we're going to try this out,” Quinn said. “So far, it's worked out for me.”
Recently, Quinn was honored with an award on her coverage of race and diversity issues by Indiana’s Society of Professional Journalists. One piece that stood out for Quinn focused on the language used in a commencement speech. She wanted to exemplify some of the emotionally damaging word choices in that speech.
“There was such hurt and such anger over the response,” Quinn said. “It wasn’t like a duty but you really want these people to be heard because they were so visibly upset from this language. That's kind of what kept me going.”
Ultimately, Quinn was grateful to receive an award for this piece, feeling that it tells a story about the work she has done as a journalist throughout her career.
“It’s definitely a cool recognition, and I'm really excited to have won the award,” Quinn said. “It just feels good to get honored for awards like this after being in the industry for more than 20 years.”
Quinn recommends to anyone who wants to follow in the footsteps of a journalistic career like herself to not only utilize modern technology when it comes to being a writer but also the traditional style of taking notes to gather the best possible quotes.
“Journalism now is needed more than ever,” Quinn said. “The newcomers need to know that they are doing good work. Adaptability is also an important quality to have. I started in 1995 and the whole reporting package has changed drastically since. Back then we were working on a terminal. Today, almost every journalist uses a laptop.”
In the future, Quinn is hoping to move to Georgia. She believes that by eventually spending some time away, it will highlight the significance that northwest Indiana has played in her life. However, she still hopes to be a freelance journalist by then as well.