by Dennis Dalman
The Newsleaders is pleased to welcome aboard the youngest of its new reporters – 12-year-old Madison Evans.
Madison, along with her mother, graduated in October 2023 from a five-week online course called Citizen Journalism University, which was an introduction to the skills of reporting.
Madison, a seventh-grader at Sartell Middle School, is the daughter of Jen and James Evans. She has a 10-year-old brother, Xander; and a family dog named Gizmo.
She is no newcomer to writing. In 2022, she received training as a junior reporter for the national magazine “The Week” (junior edition) and had her stories published in three issues. In July 2023, she covered the Pebble Beach (California) Ladies’ Golf Tournament and met and interviewed many celebrities there, including famed golfers Annika Sorenstam and Brooke Henderson, as well as National Geographic photographer Bryan Skerry. In August 2023, Madison was a TV Junior Reporter for a Day at KARE-11 TV, Twin Cities.
Always an avid reader, Madison decided when she was 8 that she wanted to write her own book. She hasn’t – yet. But in the meantime, she writes in other formats, including book reports and more recently news reporting.
Her mother remembers reading Madison’s first book report.
“Oh, honey, you aren’t allowed to copy the back of the book. That’s called plagiarism,” her mother said.
She was stunned a bit later when she realized Madison herself had written every word of that report; it was indeed her own work.
What Madison likes best about news and feature writing is the chance to make sure young people’s voices are heard. She also enjoys interviewing people and then writing the first draft of a story. In upcoming stories, she plans to write about people who are doing “amazing things.” She is especially drawn to animals and to people who are overcoming challenges.
Her favorite school subject, not surprisingly, is English. She greatly admires and looks up to her former English Language Arts teacher, Katie Young.
Madison would someday like to be a TV news anchor or a reporter for “The New York Times,” or if those plans don’t work, she hopes to be a book author.
Inspired by her mother’s career and creativity, Madison seems to be following in her footsteps on a path to success.
Madison starts a story by making an outline. She then organizes her topics into a story with a beginning, middle and end, structuring story elements carefully.
Revising her first draft is a somewhat difficult task and so her mother helps her with that. Together, mother and daughter edit, revise and repeat the process to sharpen the story and bring it into focus for readers.
Madison’s goal is to craft a story that induces emotions in the readers: happy, sad, curious and more. For example, her debut story for the Newsleaders was a very moving story about a Sartell boy’s battle with a form of brain cancer. The story was alive with emotions: anxiety, stress, heart-rending love, courage, resilience and some wonderful touches of humor from the boy.
Jen Evans graduated from Rutgers University (New Jersey) with a degree in communications and writing, which were the flesh and blood of her subsequent jobs: marketing and public relations and for nearly seven years the digital-product communications manager for CentraCare Central Minnesota Health Services.
“I am a fierce advocate for the importance of strong writing and superb storytelling in the business world,” Jen said.
She was also a college professor in the business department at a New Jersey community college. When the Evans family moved to Minnesota in 2017, she was an adjunct teacher at St. Cloud State University in the evenings while working days at CentraCare. Most recently, she taught the business communication strategies class at SCSU. When COVID-19 struck in 2020, her day job became so busy she had to discontinue college teaching.
Daughter and mother enjoy working as creative collaborators.
“We live and breathe by the five steps of successful writing,” Jen noted. “Preparation, research, organization, writing and revision.”
Other than journalism, Madison said she enjoys reading, archery, cross-country, listening to Taylor Swift and spending time with friends.
Recently, she was thrilled to learn Sartell Middle School started a news team. Madison was quick to join. Together, they will produce a weekly news segment for the school’s students.
Madison Evans
