Wednesday, June 2, 2004

Kathy Jefcoats speaks at Fayette County Writers Guild

Kathy Jefcoats, a reporter for the Henry County Daily Herald, was the guest speaker at the May 22, 2004, meeting of the Fayette County Writers Guild.

Jefcoats, a newspaper reporter since 1988, explained the duties of working a local criminal justice “beat” as well as her responsibilities for writing a weekly column.

She also discussed the interview process and developing the lead sentence for her articles.

She says she “loves being in court and covering crime.” Growing up in a law enforcement family, she feels it was only natural that her passion became criminal justice issues.

Though she has a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in criminology from the State University of West Georgia, she told the class that she had to teach herself some aspects of the job such as layout design, court procedure and photography development. Kathy and her husband Phillip moved to Fayette County in January.