People first. Then the bigger picture.

Adam Kemp is a journalist drawn to the point where big systems become personal. His reporting starts on the ground, with the people living through a policy, a crisis, a movement or a community change, and works outward from there.

Before trying to explain a system, policy or movement, Adam wants to understand how it feels to the people most directly affected. That means spending time in communities, listening first and developing a sense of the story from the perspective of someone living it. From there, the reporting widens to the institutions, politics and larger forces shaping what is happening.

That approach has guided more than a decade of work across local, regional and national journalism. Adam has worked for PBS NewsHour, The Oklahoman, OETA and The Curbside Chronicle, with additional work appearing in The New York Times, ESPN, CBS Sports and The Associated Press.

His work has taken him across criminal justice, homelessness and housing, mental health, tribal affairs, immigration, climate, government, sports and community life. Whether reporting a narrative profile or examining a complicated public system, he is most interested in stories that connect large issues to the people experiencing their consequences.

Adam’s experience extends beyond reporting. He has worked in multimedia production, photography, video editing, web editing and audience development, with an emphasis on making strong journalism accessible and useful to the people it is intended to reach.

Across platforms, his goal remains the same: understand people first, report deeply enough to understand the forces around them and tell the story in a way that makes someone else care.

He is particularly drawn to reporting on homelessness and housing, criminal justice, government accountability, poverty and communities whose experiences are often described from the outside rather than understood from within.

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