Find out more about the magazine Rein wrote for. Volume One is a cultural magazine serving the Chippewa Valley

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Read more about the specifics of Medicaid/Medicare, one of the issues Rein cares about.

Rein hoping to care about public affairs reporting

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Hope Rein has had many different jobs. From being a waitress to a personal care assistant to a bowling alley attendant, Rein has a diverse work experience. Now she wants to add public affairs reporting to her resume. 

Rein is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The English literature major and print journalism minor is currently taking Public Affairs Reporting as part of her minor. 

Politically, Rein said that she leans left. The 22-year-old also said she is concerned with issues such as Medicare, Medicaid and health care in general. Rein is also concerned with funding for higher education.

“The [Communication and Journalism] department doesn’t get enough money to offer classes each semester and it’s hard for students to graduate on time,” Rein said.

Renee Ransom, Rein's friend, said that Rein’s political opinions have opened her eyes to different political views.

“Hope has influenced the way I see a lot of world issues, such as energy and the current political situation in the United States,” Ransom said.

Ransom, a geology major at UW-Eau Claire, said that Rein is not all that opinionated on subjects but does raise her voice when there are issues she cares about.

Arlyn Anderson,assistant professor of communication at UWEC, said Rein is well suited for public affairs reporting.

“She did an appropriate job at picking an issue [in my class] and going out and digging it up,” Anderson said.

Anderson has had Rein for three courses. He described Rein as “granola or earthy” and a progressive. He also said that Rein participated most in class when there was discussion on global energy use and oil.

Rein’s previous journalism experience includes an article published in Volume One, a magazine focusing on cultural events in the Eau Claire area. The article highlighted an upcoming festival. Rein said that it was a very worthy event to cover. 

“It’s important because its important to get people involved in the community and since this was the first time it happened, people needed to know about it,” Rein said.

The magazine currently has a circulation of around 15,000 and according to the magazine’s web site, the publication reaches approximately 45,000 readers.

Public affairs are not something that Rein pays all that much attention to, nor does she care to.

“I haven’t really had anything in my life really affected by other people’s decisions,” Rein said. “I’ve never had a family member go to war or my house rezoned. I think it takes that kind of reality check to get you interested.” 

Public affairs reporting is not currently the pursuit of Rein as a career. She said that she would like to be a freelancer for magazines and be able to write opinion pieces. Public affairs reporting will only add to Rein’s diverse resume.