I am a feminist, Southern storyteller and reporter that doggedly looks at the world with a critical eye.

I am a Teaching Assistant Professor of Journalism and freelance multimedia journalist based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Although news reporting is my first love, I have a passion for writing editorials, opinion pieces and first-person essays, a craft I’ve honed after years of reporting almost every beat, across media. Early in my career I was the only woman/person under 40 on an editorial board and it taught me how to thoughtfully be heard.

Description of your activities as a teacher, or what you were doing in this specific pic?

Journalism, Essays, & Reviews

My work, which has spanned print, online, TV, radio and podcasting – received awards from the National Society of News Columnists and National Federation of Press Women in 2024. I am a freelance contractor for various outlets including The New York Times, The Associated Press and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where I write book reviews.

I believe in the nuances of stories; the gray area between the shouting sides that so often get attention. I explore those nuances through opinion columns and I was elected president of the National Society of News Columnists in 2024. To explore those gray areas in my own profession, I completed a one-year 10,000 mile journey to chronicle journalism in America, which earned awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Federation of Press Women, among others. 

Book Reviews

One upon a time in the Wild West Village

Kirke’s dark humor is on display as she retells stories from her childhood throughout the book. As the youngest daughter of a rock star father, Simon Kirke of Bad Company, and a clothing designer mother, Lorraine, she was transplanted from London to a WestVillage brownstone when she was 5 years old. Yet behind the cool facade, the house was crumbling.