The St. Louis Post Dispatch crime reporters Kim Bell, Christine Byers, Valerie Schremp Hahn and Denise Hollinshed presented for the Women of the Crime Beat speaker series in the journalism lecture hall Tuesday, Feb. 27. The reporters shared their reasons for writing and some of their craziest experiences. “[During] my entire childhood, I dreamed of being a writer,” Denise Hollinshed said. “I wanted to write the stories that make people laugh and make people cry.”

Learn more about the Women of the Crime Beat in Audrey Bern’s video here.

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Kara Rieger

"When my little sister was visiting me once, she was flipping through my reporter's notebooks and she was depressed," Kim Bell, St. Louis Post Dispatch crime reporter, said. "She said, 'How can you stand writing this stuff? Isn't it depressing?' And I guess I never really thought about it that way. I think it's important what we do. Someone said, 'Why have you covered executions?' and I've covered seven. Those are some of the stories I'm most proud of."