Brianne Ledda

I once ran away from home to visit the library.

Almost every day, my dad dropped by on his way home from work to pick up a fresh supply of books for me. The one time he didn’t, unfortunately, also happened to be a day I’d run out of reading material.

I feel very strongly about the role I play in informing Newsday readers about what’s happening in their communities.

Inexcusable, in the eyes of my 10-year-old self. So off I went, Disney princess tote in hand, ambitiously hoping I was headed in the right direction. I barely made it halfway up the block before my parents caught up to me (and yes, took me to the library).

Both my parents are teachers, which means education was a serious endeavor at the Ledda house. By the time I started kindergarten, I was reading anything I could get my hands on — including a digital encyclopedia on the family computer, where I learned about the plaster casts of Pompeii and the life cycle of fireflies.

My lifelong love for reading and learning translated into a career as a journalist. Since becoming a journalist, there’s nothing I’ve learned more about than the Island where I grew up.

I graduated from Stony Brook University in 2021 with a degree in journalism and minors in environmental studies and U.S. history. I started work days later as a town hall reporter at The Suffolk Times on the North Fork. There, I learned about zoning and covered public hearings. I wrote about the affordable housing crisis, and community opposition to hotels, and environmental advocates pushing to protect against light pollution.

I joined Newsday a little over a year later to continue reporting on local government, this time in Islip. And while the towns I’ve covered are very different in some ways, they’ve left me deeply impressed by how passionately Long Islanders care about where they live.

I see it in crowded town hall meetings, at rallies and fundraisers, and when people work on their own time to hold their government accountable.

In turn, I feel very strongly about the role I play in informing Newsday readers about what’s happening in their communities.

Like every other reporter I know, my work here at Newsday isn’t just a job for me. I became interested in journalism because I love to learn, and because I wanted to be a writer. But it’s become so much more than that.

Taxpayers have a right to know how their money is being spent. Residents deserve to know what kind of developments are being planned near their homes. And everyone should know about the people working, bit by bit, to make Long Island a better place.

Education: Stony Brook University

Honors and Awards: Part of a group recognized with an Edward R. Murrow award for a series on the story of slavery on Long Island. Also honored with other awards and recognitions from the New York Press Association, Press Club of Long Island, Fair Media Council and Hearst Journalism Awards.