Web and Social Media

I have created Instagram posts for almost every story I have published. Social media often serves as the community’s first point of contact with developing information, making it essential that our coverage is timely, clear, and engaging. Throughout my time on The Paly Voice, I have encouraged staff to incorporate more video content into these posts, as videos quickly capture attention and convey urgency through movement and real-time visuals. Our analytics show that posts with video consistently receive more views and likes, reinforcing the idea that journalists must act quickly and use the most effective tools available to inform the public when it matters most.

In terms of web content, I believe that all the work I have done for The Paly Voice fits under this category, as the majority of the stories I have written appear on our website and social media. The majority of this portfolio highlights web journalism.

The Paly Voice has a social media presence on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. We publish most frequently on Instagram, which is connected to our Facebook account. We create different formats for our Instagram posts depending on the situation. For important sports events, we sometimes post simple score updates. For breaking news, we use a more minimalistic template that quickly conveys the key information. Our most common format is a standard Instagram post with a headline, lede and quote across three different slides. For bigger stories, we place photographs behind each slide, but for most stories we use a single photograph behind the headline. I think that this approach keeps our almost 2,000 followers engaged in our content, however it would be even better if we can find more ways to diversify our posts. Including more videos, graphs, or other creative elements is something our staff has been thinking about,

In late January 2026, Palo Alto students participated in a Friday walkout protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement in response to events in Minnesota. The Paly Voice worked to provide timely coverage while prioritizing ethical considerations and source safety. As part of the coverage process, I led a class discussion on responsible reporting, careful source attribution, and the challenges of covering sensitive political topics. The staff also incorporated videography. The resulting coverage included an Instagram post that became the most-liked in the publication’s history, with more than 1,200 likes, and a story that is one of the most viewed on our site of all time.

Instagram posts tend to perform better depending on how popular the topic is or how breaking the news is. Below are some of my most recent posts that have surpassed 200 likes on Instagram.

Note: For videos to play, click on embedded posts.