Jillian Kay Melchior ’09 woke up early April 11 of her junior year at Hillsdale College in 2008. She ran down the stairs in her pajamas to grab the newspaper. This issue was different.
“It was the most exciting thing,” Melchior said. “My name was in The Wall Street Journal.”
The opportunity arose when Naomi Schaefer Riley, WSJ’s deputy taste page editor at the time, taught a class at Hillsdale for the Dow Journalism Program, and Melchior pitched her a story on Christians who believe in arranged marriage. Following graduation, Melchior did a summer fellowship with the paper in Hong Kong.
She returned to the Journal in July full time as an editorial page writer.
“In a way, it’s kind of a dream come true. I think it’s the best newspaper in the U.S.,” Melchior said. “I’m working with the best in the business, and it’s cool to have them across the desk from you.”
On Friday, the Alumni Association is honoring Melchior with the Outstanding Young Alumna award at its 66th annual banquet to celebrate her already-impressive career, according to Grigor Hasted, director of alumni relations. The award recognizes a graduate 10 years or less out of school who excels in his or her field and is likely to build upon that early success.
“I’ve seen her in interviews on television, and I’ve been very impressed,” Hasted said. “I couldn’t get over her poise and her perspective and knowledge on current events.”
Melchior comes to the Journal after working as an investigative reporter at the now defunct Heat Street. She now writes unsigned editorials and continues to report on organized labor, culture wars, and free-speech conflicts on college campuses.
On Sept. 21, Melchior published a revealing article on Evergreen State College, after emails she obtained through Washington state’s Public Records Act showed the school was hiding racial hostilities on campus, a different story from what the school said in a statement following protests and a lawsuit.
“She managed to use the act to dig a little deeper and find information that counted and keep their feet to the fire,” said James Taranto, editorial features editor for The Journal, who described Melchior as his protégé and a friend. “I think she has a great deal of enterprise and energy. She has particular talent with Freedom of Information Act requests. She’s taught me a few things. She has a real knack at finding an interesting story.”
Melchior already has had years of practice. She wrote for her junior high and high school newspapers. The principal even let her skip class to hang out at the local news channel, which had her create broadcasts at the high school. At Hillsdale, she served as an editor for opinions and beyond, a page that focused on investigative reporting. She also interned for The Detroit News.
From 2011 to 2012, Melchior participated in a Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship with The Phillips Foundation, and she traveled throughout Asia for a long-term, multi-country reporting itinerary. Afterward, she wrote for National Review magazine as an investigative reporter through fellowships with the Franklin Center, Women’s Independent Forum, and the Steamboat Institute until February 2016. She also had the chance to report in China, Iraq, Ukraine, and Taiwan, which brought forth some of the pieces of which she is most proud.
Having taken many classes on foreign politics, Melchior, who studied political science, said her classes have helped her to better understand the countries she has visited. Her liberal-arts education has given her a broad understanding on the important things, she said.
Melchior said she hopes to do more foreign correspondence in the future. For now, though, she said she is focused on domestic news and is enjoying the challenge that comes with her new position and covering topics outside of her regular beats.
Her mentors said they expect great things from her in the future.
“She’s like Velcro; stories stick to her, and she is good at identifying what will make a good piece,” said Nolan Finley, The Detroit News’ editorial page editor who convinced Melchior to go into opinion writing. “I think she could become an influential person in public policy and the national conversation.”
