Jonelle Sigmon, left, is pictured with News Herald staff writer Chrissy Murphy at an awards banquet held by the North Carolina Press Association in 2019.
Jonelle Sigmon, far right, is pictured during her time at The News Herald in 2016. Also pictured, from left, are staff writer Tammie Gercken, sports editor Justin Epley, and former staff writer Amanda Higgins.
Jonelle Sigmon is pictured with a furry friend that visited The News Herald in 2016.
Jonelle Sigmon, front row, far left, is pictured with other News Herald staff members in December 2016.
Pictured, from left, are staff writers Tammie Gercken, Jonelle Sigmon and Chrissy Murphy at the North Carolina Press Association awards banquet in 2019, receiving multiple awards on behalf of The News Herald.
Jonelle Sigmon now works for Burke County Public Schools as a marketing and communications specialist.
By Tammie Gercken Staff writer
Jonelle Bobak Sigmon said she learned a lot during her time at The News Herald.
Sigmon worked as a multimedia reporter at the newspaper from 2015 to 2019, specializing in education coverage. She also created and edited videos for The News Herald’s website and helped to manage its social media platforms.
“I grew up in Burke County and knew I wanted to write in some type of capacity ever since I was in elementary school,” Sigmon said. “I went to college and majored in communications with a concentration in journalism, and two months before I graduated, I found out my hometown newspaper was hiring, so I immediately applied.”
She enjoyed meeting so many people through her work at The News Herald.
“I actually would consider myself somewhat of an introvert, but this job helped me to come out of my shell and see a whole other world,” Sigmon said. “I also enjoyed growing in my abilities and brainstorming new ideas and bringing them to the newsroom.”
One project she worked on at The News Herald remains close to her heart.
“Each story played a part in making my whole time with the MNH memorable,” Sigmon said. “One that I particularly enjoyed was asking the younger and older generation the question, ‘What is love?’ Myself and current reporter Chrissy Murphy made a video of all their answers, and it was pretty sweet.”
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