Staff Q&As: Meet photographer Kate Penn
To help you get to know our newsroom staff a bit better, a series of question-and-answer posts with each journalist will run on Mondays. This morning, meet photographer Kate Penn. She’s often out and about in York County, shooting videos and photos for the Daily Record, FlipSide and Smart magazine.
Name: Kate Penn
Lives in: York
Hometown: Scotia, NY
Position at the YDR: Photographer
Years with the YDR: About four years
Graduated from: Rochester Institute of Technology
With a degree in: Bachelor of science, photojournalism
Twitter: @k8penn
Email: kpenn@ydr.com
1. What made you want to become a journalist? I have loved photography since I was a kid, but I was also really into politics and history. Photojournalism just fit. Since high school, I was positive this was what I wanted to do.
2. How do you see journalism changing? Honestly I don’t think anyone can claim to know how journalism is changing or what this field will look like in 10 years. My plan for the future is to continue to tell stories of the community the best I can, whether it is through photos, video, tweets or in my flying car.
3. What do you like most about your job? I love that every day is different. I meet new people every single day, and some of those people are incredible. Without my job I might never have met them. The least? Some of those new people I meet are not always nice or polite. It can frustrating when someone has decided they don’t like me or what I’m doing before I even have a chance to introduce or explain myself.
4. It’s 9:30 a.m. on a day off. What are you doing? Running. I started running long distance seriously in 2011 and I absolutely fell in love. I ran my first marathon last fall and can’t wait for the next.
5. What’s been your favorite project or story recently? Why? I did a portrait series on veterans that I really enjoyed. It was great to meet these people and hear their stories.
6. The drink that’s on your desk right now is: A big green Nalgene full of water.
7. Your favorite journalism-related blog you read or Twitter feed you follow: I follow Digital First Cat @DFnewscat for all my digital first cat news. It’s pretty awesome. More seriously, though, I read jimromenesko.com to keep up on industry news.
8. What’s your favorite movie? Book? My go-to movies are Jurassic Park and Forrest Gump. Seriously, when are you not in the mood for one of those movies? My favorite book right now is “The Hunger Games.” It’s a super-easy read but I really love it, it’s become like a comfort food for me. Anytime I go to the laundromat and I don’t already have a book started, I just reread “The Hunger Games.” I am not willing to admit just how many times I’ve read it.
9. What’s your favorite place in York County? My balcony is pretty awesome. But I really love being in downtown York when the weather is nice and everyone is out walking around and eating at outside tables.
10. What’s one piece of newsroom jargon that had to be explained to you? CP. It means centerpiece. Local CP would be the main art in the local section. I’d never heard anyone call it that before Visual Editor Eileen Joyce started here.
Last week, we ran a Q&A with assistant features editor Matt Eyer. To read all of the staff Q&A interviews we’ve done so far, click on the “Staff Q&As” under “About us” at the top of the homepage.