Hilde Kate Lysiak is the editor and publisher of the Orange Street News, reportedly the only local newspaper for the people of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. Since launching the publication in 2014, Hilde has written stories about vandalism, crime, local businesses and last year she even covered a murder. And while these are all stories that are ordinarily published in local newspapers, there’s something extraordinary about Hilde. She’s 10 years old.
Young editor with a big dream
However, Hilde now has her eyes set on something bigger than the goings-on in her community- she wants to interview the President of the United States.
President Donald Trump is due to visit Harrisburg, Pennsylvania this weekend and Hilde, supported by people from all over the world, is trying to request a sit-down with him.
In a video addressed to the man himself, Hilde says that “this reporter isn’t interested in a kid interview. I may be young, but if you take a minute to watch one of the hundreds of stories I’ve posted on the Orange Street News you’ll see that I’m a serious and fair reporter.”
Hilde is right. She may be young, but her maturity and confidence shine through as she tells Trump: “You have no reason to be nervous about an interview with me, Mr. President. I won’t try to do that 'gotcha thing.' My questions will focus on how your policies will help the issues facing Selinsgrove.”
No response yet from the White House
Despite contacting several different White House staff members, Hilde is yet to receive a response from anybody.
“I don’t think a reporter should ever give their questions ahead of time. Then it becomes a press release,” she says when asked what she would ask the President. “I can tell you that I do want to talk to him about what he would do about crime, businesses leaving my town, and what he could do to help the drug problem in Selinsgrove.”
Hilde got her first taste of the news industry from her father, Matthew Lysiak, who used to take her to the newsroom of the New York Daily News when he was a journalist there.
He helped her launch the Orange Street News, but Hilde is also assisted by her 13-year-old sister Isabel (known as Izzy), a columnist for the paper. Besides this, Hilde has complete creative control.
“I just love reporting. It is a lot of fun,” she says. “I feel like every day I wake up and can go out and solve mysteries. I also think I've made some real changes in my town.”
But some people disagree with Hilde’s dedication to her work.
"You should see some of my emails,” she says. “It doesn't make me feel anything, honestly. I don't think much about these people.I think a lot of the people in charge of my town liked the way things used to be in Selinsgrove before the Orange Street News. There was no one to cover the scandals and the vandalism. No one talked about the drug problem. So, I think there will be people doing whatever they can to get me to stop. I'm not going to stop. So, if anything these people only make me want to get to the truth harder.”
Much of the outrage came after Hilde stumbled upon a murder that had taken place in her local community.
“I was reporting on a chocolate stroll in Selinsgrove when I got a tip from one of my sources.
I went straight to the scene and began door knocking,” she says. “I was the only reporter at the scene for two hours. I'm proud of my reporting on that story.”
Hilde broke the story, with a headline titled: ‘EXCLUSIVE: MURDER ON NINTH STREET!’ but later received a barrage of criticism from people who believed she should be playing with dolls and having tea parties, rather than reporting. Selinsgrove’s mayor even dubbed the Orange Street News “sensationalist trash.”
But Hilde didn’t let this get her down, posting a response video in which she says: “If you want me to stop covering news then you get off your computer and do something about the news. There. Is that cute enough for you?”
Last year, Hilde met 19-year-old Pakistani activist and Nobel Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai, who she called a "real" inspiration.
"She made me think about how lucky I am to live in a country where a girl like me can live my dream.”
And that is what Hilde plans to do
She wants to continue working on the Orange Street News and hopes that other children will follow her and act on their dreams too. “I meet other kids all the time who are a lot smarter than I am. But for whatever reason they just don't think they can do amazing things,” she says. “All it takes is for them to really see themselves for who they are.”
“I think adults are a lot to blame for putting kids in these boxes of what they can and can't do. Adults always tell kids they can do anything they want, but their actions often say something else. I still have a lot to learn. All kids do. I know that. But seriously, sometimes the best thing that adults can do is to just get out of the way.”
You can view Hilde’s work at orangestreetnews.com
