Lindsay Smith joins The Wichita Eagle in new service journalism beat

Is there anything you have questions about or are wondering how to navigate?

If it’s who, what, when, where or even why, the new person to ask in Wichita is Lindsay Smith. She’s The Wichita Eagle’s new service journalism reporter.

The former Eagle intern graduated from Wichita State University this month with a degree in communications and an emphasis in journalism.

She’ll now write useful pieces that cover any potential topic but always try to answer a question.

Smith has been on the job only a few days and has already written stories about how to keep warm and save energy this winter and where to find shelter, “just things that are really important,” she said.

Her title covers a wide range of topics that Smith said can be both useful and fun.

Though the Wichita native didn’t always plan to be a journalist, she said, “I knew I really liked to write, and I knew I read the news a lot.”

It was when she joined WSU’s Sunflower newspaper that she began “learning about the importance of journalism . . . and how you can make a change.”

She was editor-in-chief for two years.

Smith graduated early. While she hated to leave the Sunflower, she said she’s looking forward to working as a journalist without having homework on top of her career.

During her time as an intern, Smith said she was happy to be able to report in the community in which she grew up.

She said she thinks her new beat will be a great way to connect with readers.

“I feel like it’s a really broad beat, so I can do a lot with it.”

Smith said she’d like to hear about anything readers might find useful.

She can be reached at lsmith@wichitaeagle.com.

“Readers can reach out to me whenever with any tips, questions — anything,” Smith said.

“I’m excited to see . . . where it goes.”