Taking his place behind the camera, sophomore Lincoln Miller prepares for his day on set. As a producer, his storytelling and camerawork are essential to the making of the school’s newscast. He flicks a switch, turns up the spotlights and adjusts his view. The teleprompter is ready, and everything is in place. With a final “quiet on set,” he calls out “Three, two, one, action.”
Sophomore Lincoln Miller is just like any other student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. However, what he has that many others do not is a collection of published works–news articles for professional news organizations, including the Scholastic Kids’ Press and the Parkland online newspaper.
Miller began reporting in middle school, while the world was in the midst of a global pandemic. The experience, however bleak, sparked his love for journalism and began his career. Miller was able to sign up for a program that enabled him to join student reporters around the country who reported for various news outlets.
“I became a reporter around the 2020 election; around Jan. 6,” Miller said. “That was like the first political article that I covered, and then it just opened up this whole different world of talking to actually important people.”
The Broward Center Teen Ambassador’s program Miller attended followed an application process, in which students submitted short answer questions and essays. Miller was then called and interviewed by the program, and soon after was accepted.
While he was most active in journalism prior to high school, Miller still reports today. He writes primarily political stories on the various news platforms that he is a part of, as well as leisure pieces. He especially enjoyed covering an article on the tallest waterslide in America.
“I did a few things for the local Parkland online newspaper,” Miller said. “A year or so ago, I covered the opening of Dreamworks Land at Universal, and I interviewed some people at Douglas about their perspective on theater ratings.”
In his freshman year, Miller continued his journalism by writing for the school through MSD’s Eagle Eye News. Today, he is WMSD-TV’s newscast producer, a position for which he edits and produces the weekly newscasts put out by the television production’s second year program. He reports in the forms of both visual media and written text.
Miller’s experience with the Parkland online newspaper and Teen Ambassadors have enabled him to meet various news reporters and other professional journalists, preparing him for the journalism industry.
“I thought it was really helpful, working with other people, having an actual editor and a boss and a timeline which framed how I write these days,” Miller said.
Miller has wanted to become a reporter for CNN since he became a journalist. He hopes to eventually make this dream into a reality through his work for professional news organizations.
“I started watching CNN and stuff, which nobody else was doing at my age, and it just got me more curious to everything,” Miller said. “I definitely think that this influenced me a lot because I wouldn’t have been able to understand how reporting works if I didn’t take that first job. But then it [also] just always interested me seeing the people on TV, because my parents always had the news channel on, so I wanted to do this for a while.”
Miller has had a great deal of support throughout his career, from both friends and family. This has enabled him to succeed in meeting his goals and expectations.
“My family sends articles out to their friends, which gets me a lot more exposure,” Miller said. “[My parents] have helped me to get connections to interviews and stuff, stuff that typically kids wouldn’t be able to do.”
Miller’s work in journalism has enabled him to gain media experience and will prepare him for his work in the industry once he leaves college. By working hard for his goals, Miller has found success and is excited for the future.
This story was originally published in the March 2025 Eagle Eye print edition.
