When I entered the newsroom on March 13 as news director, reporting on the treatment of transgender people was underway. The coverage plan set by then-Interim Executive Editor Brian Heffernan aimed to put legislative proposals in Missouri within the wider context of efforts to restrict care for transgender people happening in other Republican-led states.
The newsroom strived to do so without giving credence to measures or political rhetoric that lacked merit and sought to incite people. I wanted to support the reporting the newsroom was already doing while still navigating daily coverage.
Our reporting on transgender issues grew out of allegations a former Washington University Pediatric Transgender Center employee filed in an on Feb. 7 alleging the center treated minors without properly evaluating their mental health needs before receiving gender-affirming care. A series of investigations into the center and its practices by Missouri鈥檚 top Republicans followed those allegations.
From the beginning of the legislative session, had become to restrict the kind of transgender people in the state could receive. Both chambers introduced measures to limit youth from receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender reassignment surgeries. Another pair of bills proposed on teams according to their gender identity.
漏 2024 外网天堂鈥檚 editors and reporters followed each new development as it unfolded. Our staff covered on what care could receive. Later, we covered St. Louis County judge鈥檚 decision to temporarily block those rules and of those same regulations.
We covered the that rushed to provide health care to transgender people under a changing litany of rules. We also reported reactions from lawmakers as bills to ban transgender care advanced in the legislature.
The newsroom also sought to highlight the people most affected by these measures and rules. Reporters and producers on St. Louis on the Air highlighted the , whose lives would drastically change because of these bans and were concerned about .
Our newsroom has heard from members of our audience who found our coverage comprehensive and engaging and from others who found our reporting on the plight of transgender people excessive 鈥� questioning whether our attention to transgender issues came at the expense of other coverage. It has not.
Over recent months, the station鈥檚 reporters covered the state鈥檚 proposal, measures that would affect , efforts to , , , and . The politics team also broke news of and reported follow-up coverage that brought context. Our digital team also worked with the Midwest Newsroom on an mostly in north St. Louis.
We鈥檝e reported stories on and early education, , , including efforts to resolve . Our staff also has reported on , and gun violence concerns, including a in St. Louis and a amid news of young people carrying guns on St. Louis streets.
Reporters also produced joyful and informative stories about a on a college campus in Rolla, visitors to the , and a local comedian who makes people laugh on social media by
As I settle into my new role as news director, I believe our newsroom must continue to hold powerful people and institutions accountable for their actions and the policies they enact. We鈥檒l also elevate the voices of people affected by the actions of those powerful people and institutions 鈥� all while keeping up with the daily happenings in our region.
The newsroom did this while covering a myriad of stories about transgender people and responses from public officials and we鈥檒l continue to implement a similar approach on other newsworthy local, regional, and statewide issues.
