Hilde on the Record
Book Feature - Hilde on the Record: Memoir of a Kid Crime Reporter by Hilde Lysiak
HBL Note: At just fifteen years old, Hilde Lysiak has been featured by the New York Times, NBC Today and The Washington Post, she’s interviewed Michelle Obama, and she has a television series on Apple+ inspired by her (Home Before Dark.) She is the founder of Orange Street News, which started out as a family newspaper but exploded into so much more when there was a murder down the street from where Hilde lived. At just nine years old, she visited the scene and reported back to her father who edited the story and posted it on their website. Later she returned to the scene to take video interviews of the neighbors and the police, hours before other news media reported the story. Did I mention she was just NINE? Now she’s written a memoir, HILDE ON THE RECORD: MEMOIR OF A KID CRIME REPORTER. Scroll down to read more.
From the publisher:
Hilde Kate Lysiak spent her early childhood in New York City with a passion for journalism. When her family moved to Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, Hilde didn’t complain. Instead, she started reporting.
Hilde began by reporting on the birth of her sister, the newest resident on Orange Street, then began expanding her coverage to the entire city. She interviewed hundreds of locals in her effort to deliver “All the News Fit for Orange Street”: a seed exchange at the local library, a fundraiser for a hospital’s neonatal unit, a fire at a church, and a mysterious vandal destroying landscaping on city property.
Everything changed when Hilde received a tip that a terrible crime had happened just blocks from her house. By using the tools she had learned on the beat, the enterprising young reporter was able to confirm the facts and get the important information out to the public several hours before the other local media.
Hilde was proud of her work, but not everyone in her small town felt that way. Cyberbullies targeted her, zeroing in on her age and gender. Hilde considered ignoring them but decided she had to stand up to the haters to protect the reputation she had worked so hard to earn. Her response went viral, and nearly every major news organization took notice.