Get to know Katie Tucker, The Macon Telegraph’s new visual journalist.
Editor’s note: The Macon Telegraph has recently hired several new staff members, and we want you to get to know them better. This is the first in a series of stories penned by our journalists to tell you about themselves. Want to know more about the new staff? Check out our editor’s column online.
In the months after graduating from college, I started the dreaded task of cleaning out my childhood bedroom and found a small notebook in the bottom drawer of my desk. The cover had sprawled across it in marker “Katie’s News Notebook,” and contained my first attempts at journalism all the way back in elementary school.
Finding that journal made me reflect on all the paths that have led me to this new job as the visual journalist at The Telegraph and all of the time, hard work, and probably dead camera batteries it took to land here.
I have been a Georgia girl all my life. I grew up in Marietta, where like most photo kids, I flipped through the pages of National Geographic and fell headfirst into the stories and adventures of people across the globe.
I then moved over to Athens, where I studied journalism at the University of Georgia (go Dawgs) and graduated in 2023. My work in journalism truly began here, working as the chief photographer and assistant photo editor at UGA’s student-run newspaper, The Red & Black.
I photographed everything from UGA sports, city protests, breaking news, performances, political rallies, campus events — you name it, I was there. I got to witness so many unique moments in Athens history, from the B-52’s final concert in the band’s hometown to the insanity of back-to-back college football national championships.
The Georgia football mayhem prepared me well for the life-changing opportunity I had the summer after I graduated to photograph the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia for The Associated Press. That experience allowed me to have my work published internationally and in major publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post. A year later, I am so incredibly grateful and in awe of that month. It affirmed that I wanted to commit myself to doing visual journalism professionally.
As much as I loved the thrill of sports and event coverage, my journalism coursework also led me to dive into community news, both in Athens and neighboring Oglethorpe County through my work at The Oglethorpe Echo. I covered county commission meetings, spoke with local veterans, farmers and teachers, and had my first small taste of what it means to work in a paper that is truly part of a local community.
After graduation, I spent nearly a year working at the Athens NPR affiliate, WUGA-FM. I developed my non-visual journalism muscles to tell digital and audio stories about the Athens community. People often say radio is the most visual medium, and working at the station gave me a new perspective on photo, video and how to most effectively tell stories.
If you had asked me before I graduated if I envisioned myself staying in Georgia, I would have probably told you no. But starting my professional career in Georgia, and in Macon specifically, has been such an unexpected joy — I guess the state of Georgia is just not done with me yet!
I list out my experiences not to bore you, but to show the ways I’ve added to my journalism toolbelt in the last four years, all culminating in this role to report and visually showcase the most accurate and complete picture of Macon and Middle Georgia that I can. I’ve always viewed journalism as a public service, especially literally seeing yourself in the pages (both physical and digital!) of a newspaper through its visuals. I’m happy to serve the Middle Georgia community along with my Telegraph colleagues. I have learned A TON during my first two months in Macon and am excited to continue growing and learning.
Finally, if you see me out and about (small brunette girl with a couple massive cameras, hard to miss), come say hey. I’m always excited to talk about the work we’re doing here and how we can better cover the community!
