Interview With Paige Cornwell
Paige Cornwell is a night reporter for “The Seattle Times” in Washington.
Working at her high school newspaper inspired her to become a night reporter. She also works on crime related stories.
“I started working at “The Harbinger”, my high school newspaper,” Cornwell said.
“The high school I worked at was called Shawnee Mission East High School,”Cornwell said..“ Then, I worked for the college newspaper” The Daily Nebraskan”at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.”“I worked at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and interviewed Obama,”
Cornwell recollects her interview with the President.
“I didn’t know that was going to happen so I didn’t have any time to react, which is probably a better thing for my nerves. That was really fun, because I just had no idea that the President was about to talk to me.”
Native Americans have always been one of Cornwell’s favorite people.
“I think that being in Kansas, and going to school in Nebraska where there are a number of Plains Tribes helped develop my interest,” Cornwell said” I was also part of a project that looked at Native American women, so that really sparked my interest there. I really enjoy comparing and contrasting Plains Tribes with tribes of the northwest, and kind of the different lifestyles of the different regions.”
Cornwell has traveled all over the world. She kept a blog called “Paige in Cambodia” when she was talking about disasters in this South-east Asian country.
After a disaster people are usually upset. They might have lost family or friends, or have been hurt themselves. It’s not easy to interview them.
“ You have to be careful with the victims with the way you formulate your questions and your stories, because people are sensitive and they’re still recovering,”.Cornwell said.” You don’t want to hurt the recovery process after their disasters. So, you should be mindful and allow them to tell you anything they want to tell you. You can’t be looking for a specific answer, you have to be open; obviously, with all sources you have to be that way, but with them especially you have to let the victims talk. And usually, they want to.”
Cornwell loves writing and is very passionate about it. Cornwell has worked at many different papers. She grew up in Kansas, but when she moved to Washington State, she knew “The Seattle Times” is the place for her. It’s her favorite.
“I really enjoy working at “The Seattle Times”, where I work now.” Cornwell said. “This is a really fun place to work.”
To follow Cornwell’s writings go to the following links:
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2023675678_spjwinnersxml.html
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2023675699_mudslideriver2xml.html
