Future Leaders Meet the Press: Local Girls Learn about the State of the News Industry

By Olivia Damavandi

Leslie Yager, founder of the Greenwich Free Press, stepped away from her newsroom last week and into a room of future leaders, girls in grades 4 through 8, who gathered at Greenwich Town Hall for a civic-minded summer workshop organized by Ms President US, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering girls to envision themselves in leadership roles.

Yager’s workshop, one of several in the one-week leadership intensive, unfolded like a civics lesson, newsroom pitch meeting, and call to action rolled into one. Drawing on more than a decade of reporting on local government, policy, and education, she challenged the girls to think critically about the world around them—and their ability to shape it.

“I never thought journalism was such a hard profession,” said Abigail, 11, one of a few dozen girls seated in rows, taking notes and asking questions. “I love learning how dedicated a journalist has to be to the populace to do a good job.”

Founded in 2014, Greenwich Free Press has become a staple of local reporting in Greenwich. Yager launched the site independently, frustrated by the lack of comprehensive and accessible coverage of issues that directly affect her town. With her background in urban studies, U.S. history, and communications, she was uniquely positioned to fill the gap—and eager to encourage others to consider doing the same.

At the workshop, Yager who has focused coverage on land use, attending almost every P&Z meeting since 2014, touched on housing policy, and HB 5002, a sweeping piece of state legislation awaiting the Governor’s signature, that has the goal of increasing housing supply and density.

“There’s a crisis with lack of housing in our state—so many people who can’t afford expensive rents, and there are many homeless people,” she told the girls. “But what happens if HB5002 passes? What changes would we see in Greenwich? Are we prepared for those changes?”

“Good journalism is not just about the news. It’s about connecting the dots between knowledge and power,” she said.

A bill that might otherwise seem dry on paper became a lens through which the girls explored the relationship between legislation, journalism, and social change.

Yager also spoke candidly about the state of journalism in America—particularly the erosion of local news. She emphasized the importance of freedom of the press, media literacy, and learning to identify credible sources.

She encouraged her young audience to think both critically and creatively about the role of media in their communities. The girls were rapt.

“I think the fake news was really cool to learn about,” said Camille, 12. “It’s good to be learning about this before we start using the Internet so we’re safe online.”

A longtime Greenwich resident, Yager’s local roots run deep. Before launching the Free Press, she spent years volunteering in the public school system and serving as PTA president at Julian Curtiss School, where she helped shepherd its transition to a magnet school during a period of racial imbalance.

She was also recently honored with the 2024 YWCA Greenwich Women Who Inspire Award.

“Being a leader doesn’t always mean running for office,” Yager told the group. “Sometimes it means using your voice to ask better questions. Sometimes it means starting something from scratch.”

For Lillian, 9, the message resonated.

“I was most surprised to learn about how you can make your own mini news websites and get a lot of readers on them,” she said. “And how so many local newspapers are shutting down.”

The workshop, like the newsroom, became a space for discovery—for these girls, a new understanding of media, politics, and their potential roles within both.