Poynter Journalism Prize, National Headliner Award recognize Media School professor

Media School professor of practice Kelley French was the editor of multiple stories that were recently recognized in the 2024 Poynter Journalism Prizes and the National Headliner Award.

As senior editor for storytelling at The Dallas Morning News, French has been a part of a series on the fentanyl crisis in Texas titled “Deadly Fake.” One of the pieces in the series by Maggie Prosser, “Deadly Fake: Something of hers,” won Poynter’s Roy Peter Clark Prize for Excellence in Short Writing.

Roy Peter Clark, the writing educator whom the prize was named after, has been an important mentor in French’s life. From the moment the prize was created in his name, French knew she wanted to have a work win it.

“He (Clark) is America’s greatest writing teacher, so as a teacher, he’s all the things I aspire to be for my students,” French said.

The “Deadly Fake” series was also recognized by the National Headliner Awards, winning first place in the category of digital presentation of a single news topic.

Another story from The Dallas Morning News, “‘This is real. We need to hide’: How the Allen mall shooting unfolded” by Talia Richman, which French worked on, was also a finalist for Poynter’s Deborah Howell Award for Writing Excellence.

French has been very proud about how the reporters she worked with were able to tell such meaningful stories on these difficult topics.

“Whether it’s a terrible public health crisis or a shooting, stories are always about survivors,” French said. “They’re stories about moving forward. Even the mass shooting story — that was a story about survival. Who are we in our hardest moments, and how do we emerge from that?”

The experience French has had in the professional workplace provides many lessons and resources to pass onto her Media School students. She often invites coworkers at The Dallas Morning News as guest speakers to classes, and in the past, some of her students have worked on big projects and series.

One of her students, Mary Claire Molloy, won a National Headliner Award in 2023 for USA Today article “The Youngest Children in School, Under Arrest.” Two other students, Kaitlyn Radde and Emma Uber, also contributed to the story in a summer independent study with French. The story examined the number of arrests in schools involving children ages 5 to 9.

French’s student Caroline Anders worked on another project, American Virus, which won the Online News Association’s 2021 Topical Reporting: Pandemic Coverage, Single Story award. She served as a narrative intern on the story, which covered the COVID-19 outbreak.

“The one thing I’ll say about my classes is I always teach the same principles, the same skills, and the same fundamentals, but the way I do it is always changing because my experiences are always changing. Journalism is always changing,” French said.

French believes that access to guest speakers like Prosser, Richman, and even former students of hers, has given students an insight on approaching certain types of stories. Those who can share their work experience can provide relevant and updated advice in a rapidly changing field.

“When they (students) hear something from me, I think they can take it or leave it, but when they hear it from 10 people, they start to think, ‘Oh that’s probably true,” French said.