This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, May 2, 2013 - For the Beacon's fifth birthday, we've asked people to share five favorite things from over the years.
- Worlds Apart series: Reporting on health disparities has been sparse in our community. This series was a big step in listening and sharing important stories.
- This is Bill video: This work is a triumph of taking a very complicated subject (the role of the built environment on our health) and making it understandable. Most important, it succinctly explains why a declining neighborhood, and the consequent declining health of its residents, is a problem for all of us. I'm proud the Beacon and Act3 could cooperate on this award-winning work.
- The Beacon festival: The whole festival -- every year we've held it. I'd be hard pressed to pick a single event. I think it might have been the concert in the Serra sculpture. No, no, it was the visit to Sugarloaf Mound where we learned about some of the earliest St. Louisans and shared in their rituals. Really, it had to be the Gilbert and Sullivan performance in Forest Park when the rain came down so hard that we had to call it quits because the performers nearly drowned when they opened their mouths to sing. Wait. That's not it. It was the Moveable Feast at our home where Gail Cassilly read excerpts from her memoir, Saltwater. Yes. That's my favorite memory.
- Beyond the Gender Box series: Nancy's series was a clear-eyed look into gender identity. I was awed by the candor of the people who shared their stories with her. It's a testament to their trust in Nancy to report accurately. I learned a lot.
- Beyond November coverage of the November election: The collaborative coverage of the public media captured the attention of a broad community. I don't think any other news organization in town matched our coverage. And I wasn't alone in that thinking. I heard compliments on the collaboration wherever I went.