Keith Davis is already a veteran reporter and a certified member of the Illinois Press Association. He’s twelve. Keith started his career at age nine when he first published The Annawan News. His publication has since evolved into the Annawan Times, a weekly publication that has it’s own website and even advertisers.
The Annawan Times is the only local paper in Annawan, a town of 900.
“We don’t have a paper in town, and the ones around us don’t really cover a lot of local news,” the seventh-grader told NBC Chicago.“I had to start it so we can have that kind of news.”
Keith handles all of the writing and editing, with occasional help from his friends. The seventh grader gets up early every morning to update his website and makes sure that the published edition gets to the printer every Tuesday so that copies will be ready to mail to his three subscribers on Thursday. The Annawan has advertisers for both the print and web editions, but Keith doesn’t make any money for his hard work.
For Keith, however, reporting on the news, and now being accepted into a grown up press association, is reward enough.
“I didn’t know if they would make me a member, but when they did, they gave me a bunch of stuff,” Keith told NBC Chicago. “Press cards, notepads, pens, posters… I didn’t think I’d get all that.”
The IPA was impressed with Keith’s work ethic, and wanted to encourage his endeavors, so they made him an honorary member.
“Our executive director said that he was doing a really good thing and wanted to make him an honorary member,” said David Porter, communication and marketing director for the IPA. “He’s a great kid. A really great kid.”
