A long-time member of the newsroom has been named the Democrat’s new Features Editor.
Faith Bemiss-McKinney joined the Democrat as a full-time reporter in July 2013, primarily covering arts, entertainment and food. Over the last decade, she has taken on other reporting roles and has become the paper’s go-to photographer for features and community events. She has received numerous awards from the Associated Press, KC Press Club and Missouri Press Association for her feature writing and photography.
Prior to working as a reporter, Bemiss-McKinney was a freelance food writer for the Democrat for 16 years. She was also a freelance photographer for several national magazines from 1995 to 2013, and has received local and national awards for her fine art photography.
“Faith has been such a wonderful writer and photographer from day one at the Democrat, and I’m excited to see her put that experience, plus her community connections and creativity, to good use in this expanded role,” Editor Nicole Cooke said. “I look forward to the new ideas and interesting, heartfelt stories she will bring to the Democrat as she continues to provide quality coverage of our community for our readers.”
In her new role, Bemiss-McKinney will continue her coverage of arts, entertainment and food in West Central Missouri but in an expanded capacity. She will dedicate more time to seeking out features in smaller communities to spotlight areas outside of Sedalia, although her focus will still be Sedalia and Pettis County. Bemiss-McKinney will oversee the weekend Living section, coming up with ideas to freshen up the section and coordinating the weekly feature on the front page. She will also help develop and implement new, creative ideas and projects for the Democrat to add more local coverage and information for readers.
“I’m happy to step into this new position and to continue coverage of the community, the surrounding areas and its people in new and exciting ways,” Bemiss-McKinney said. “I enjoy telling the stories of people in our area, that’s always been something close to my heart.”
Bemiss-McKinney can be reached at 660-530-0289 or faithb@sedaliademocrat.com.
