Journalism teacher Jeanne Hanigan’s dream for her journalism staff came true.

After attending a Sports and Literature conference at the annual Key West Literary Seminar in January 2020, she yearned to delve into compelling narratives behind Bellarmine’s robust sports programs. In August, Hanigan fortuitously received an email from a Report for America fellow who had her master’s degree from Columbia University and an undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University.

The rest is history.

Report for America corps member and News Tribune reporter Abbie Shull met with Hanigan and the Lion Journalism staff in mid-September.

Shull began work with students on the “Lions on the Hill” documentary project in October. The first four documentary creators for the first project were Jack Christensen, Inga Larson, AJ McCann, and Charlie Zelazny.

Modeled after the podcasts and docuseries like ESPN’s “30 for 30,”  the staff will tell the stories within the story at Bellarmine. The staff decided that the segments should be at least 15-20 minutes each with at least four students working on them. The Lion will release at least three: one in December and at least two during second semester depending on in-person or distance learning.

Daniel Gray of Gray Media Productions will help edit film, similar to https://bellvidmag.com/videos .

“The Tale of Two Sisters” is the inaugural “Lions on the Hill” documentary. The journalism students wrote and produced this segment virtually with consultation by Shull and Hanigan. Gray edited their work to the staff’s specifications. This first docuseries tells the tale of two basketball players, sisters, and Bellarmine faculty/staff, Julie and Kim Butler.

Please click on the link below to view “The Tale of Two Sisters.”