GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Riley Mack joined 13 ON YOUR SIDE in the summer of 2021 as their first news intern after COVID-19. She moved to Michigan right after graduating from Saint Louis University in Missouri (Roll Bills!).
Riley came with experience as a news-writing intern at Saint Louis' alternative biweekly magazine, the Riverfront Times, and a food-writing intern at their monthly food review, Sauce Magazine.
At school, Riley was the Head News Writer for their award-winning newspaper, the University News, and the President of Leading Women of Tomorrow. At her graduation, she was announced as the winner of the John J. Pauly Award for Outstanding Student Achievement in the field of communication.
She was excited to return to West Michigan as an intern, as she spent so much time along the lakeshore throughout her childhood. Her favorite spot is in Saugatuck, drinking coffee and eating a cranberry orange scone at Uncommon Grounds while reading a book from the Book Nook.
Riley was even more excited to be offered a full-time position as a Digital Content Producer when her internship was over. After a year on the job, she felt the pull to get out in the field telling stories, which is why she decided to do a split schedule, helping out on the digital team some days, reporting on others.
Since she started reporting in 2022, Riley has worked on two different segments of her own creation. She does weekly stories for her Something Special brand, telling the little-known, lot-of-heart stories of West Michigan.
Riley also created 13 Eats, where she tries locally-owned restaurants that are must-try, hidden gems in the area (getting paid to eat is just one reason she loves 13 ON YOUR SIDE so much!).
Riley's life was changed in 2023 after taking a summer-long course on storytelling by Boyd Huppert, numerous Emmy award-winning journalist out of KARE11 in Minneapolis. She says it's lit a lifelong fire for storytelling in her, and she couldn't wait to share her newly-honed skills with West Michigan.
Back in May 2024, she was nominated for two Emmys herself in the categories of 'Education/Schools' for her story about an Ada teacher and in 'Writer - News' for a compilation of her stories. She took home trophies for both.
When she's not in the newsroom, Riley loves to read mysteries and thrillers, go on runs, crochet another scarf she'll never wear or hang out with her husband and dog, her beloved 6-year-old pitbull mix named Ivy Jean.
She feels grateful for the honor of telling stories everyday, and excited to be able to do her dream job in her favorite place.
Have a story idea for Riley? Connect with her on Facebook, on Instagram or reach out via email at RMack@13OnYourSide.com.
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