Web & Social Media
The news doesn’t wait for print deadlines. It unfolds in real time, shaped by digital platforms and the conversations happening around them. When I became co-editor-in-chief of Theogony, I knew that our journalism couldn’t be limited to articles posted online — it had to be built for the digital landscape. That meant ensuring our website functioned as a live newsroom, structuring stories for online readability, and treating Instagram and social media as reporting tools, not just promotional platforms.
​
Today, Theogony doesn’t just publish stories. We delivers breaking news, live updates, and thoughtful visuals across platforms in real time, adapting each story to the medium where it will have the most impact.
While residents celebrated election results at a watch party, I (top left) was glued to my laptop, publishing live updates. Photo: Arwen Clemens/The Alexandria Times
Online Coverage
For years, Theogony’s website was a place where stories went only once they were finalized for print. I worked to change that, transforming our site into a real-time news hub where stories evolve as events unfold.
​
When a plane crashed into the Potomac River just outside of Alexandria, our staff immediately started working to verify details. I led the decision to publish live updates, ensuring our coverage was accurate and timely rather than waiting for a fully polished article. This web-first approach meant that by the time local news outlets covered the story, Theogony had already established itself as a primary source of information for the community.
​
Election Night 2024 was also a great example of the impact of live updates. Instead of publishing a summary the next day, I structured our coverage as an interactive, evolving page, with live updates, result tracking, and early projections. In addition, our city council candidate guide, designed specifically for digital, allowed readers to navigate between candidate bios and election breakdowns with ease. Both of these examples of live coverage received hundreds of views.
​
Outside of live coverage, we've begun to implement the following measures in most stories:
​
-
Breaking up text with subheadings and bullet points to improve readability.
-
Ensuring key takeaways are highlighted upfront, so readers don’t have to dig for information.
-
Embedding visual elements, including data charts and photo slideshows, to enhance storytelling.
​
These shifts weren't just about speed — they were about changing how we think about digital storytelling. Theogony’s website is no longer a place where stories go to sit — it’s a newsroom in itself.
For our article about the plane crash, we embedded a video at the very beginnng.
Interacting With Readers
A newsroom isn’t just about reporting — it’s about listening. One of the most impactful changes I helped implement was making Theogony’s website a space where readers can submit tips, letters to the editor, and responses to our reporting.
​
-
News Tips: Through our website, students, teachers, and community members can send us story leads — many of which have turned into crucial coverage.
-
Letters to the Editor: We’ve received responses to our coverage that have sparked continued conversations, allowing us to follow up and deepen our reporting.
-
Editorial Transparency: If a major story breaks, readers can reach out directly — giving us perspectives we might not have otherwise captured. After the plane crash, a reader immediately identified the helicopter as an Army Black Hawk UH-60.
A hugely impactful story this year — about elementary students who were exposed to lead — was first brought to our attention through a tip submitted on our website. Because we created an easy, accessible way for community members to contact us, we uncovered a story that might have otherwise been left untold.
We've received almost 10 letters from the editor this school year, and published our first-ever letter from a non-student or teacher.
This was the tip about the helicopter.
A parent sharing a tip about the aftermath of lead exposure at a local elementary school.
Immersive Photography
Journalism isn’t just about telling people what happened — it’s about showing them. A well-placed image can transform an article from words on a page into an experience, making the reader feel like they’re standing inside the story itself. One of my goals as co-editor-in-chief has been to use immersive photography on Theogony’s website not just as an accessory to reporting, but as an essential storytelling tool. A breaking news article might provide the facts, but a photo lets the reader see what it was like to be there.
One of the best examples of this was our coverage of student overcrowding and bus delays. As lines for buses stretched hundreds of feet down the sidewalk, leaving students waiting for nearly an hour to get home, we didn’t just write about the frustration — we captured it.
​
We posted an immersive wide-angle shot that I took of the massive crowd of students waiting. The photo dominated on the website and social media, pulling readers from the community who didn't witness the lines each day into the scene. Anyone scrolling through the article could immediately see the scale of the problem, making the story impossible to ignore.
Instagram As A Tool
Theogony’s Instagram is one of our most powerful reporting tools. Under my leadership, we’ve transformed our Instagram into a platform where students don’t just read the news — they engage with it.
​
Instead of just posting links to articles, we've developed a strategy that integrates visual-first reporting, including:
-
Breaking news graphics — so students get the latest updates without having to click away.
-
Swipe-through explainers — summarizing complex topics in quick, digestible formats.
-
Interactive elements — polls, reaction posts, and story Q&As that help us gather audience perspectives in real time.
​
When my school district struggled to effectively transport students between campuses, I helped design a post. Instead of just reading an article, students swiped through concise, easy-to-understand graphics. The post became one of our most shared ever, not just informing students but sparking conversations across the school.
​​
Now, our Instagram account routinely recieves over 100,000 views each month. Even though it will lead less people to visit our website, I've started putting longer article text in Instagram posts, because what's most important is that our audience consumes the news at all.
​
Beyond engagement, Instagram has helped us source new stories. Students DM us tips, reactions, and questions, leading to follow-up reporting we wouldn’t have otherwise pursued. We’re not just posting stories to Instagram — we’re reporting through Instagram.
Our grid contains stories ranging from album reviews to comics to analyses.
A Hidden Goldmine
Community members comment on one of my posts.
Facebook can also be a great tool to search for feedback.
Facebook has become an invaluable for Theogony — especially in Alexandria’s local community groups, which have allowed Theogony to gain notoriety from a much larger audience.
On my personal account, I follow parent, teacher, and local news discussion groups, where major school issues often surface before they reach students. These groups have been crucial for:
-
Tracking emerging stories before they hit mainstream coverage.
-
Understanding how different groups — students, parents, teachers — view an issue.
-
Finding sources for major investigative pieces.
-
Gathering feedback
​
When I saw parents voicing frustration about my school district's budget, I realized this was a major issue students hadn’t fully been made aware of. That post led me to investigate further, gathering perspectives from dozens in the school community.
​
By strategically sharing Theogony articles in these groups, I’ve also helped ensure that our reporting isn’t just read by students but reaches parents, school board members, and city officials. Facebook is both a place to promote stories and to find them.