Jessica Stewart is a staff photographer at the St. Joseph News-Press. She documents St. Joseph and the surrounding areas for every section of the paper. She captures video for the company’s cable news show, St. Joe Now, and produces video and audio slideshows our Website, stjoenews.net. She also serves the internship coordinator.

Jessica is a native of St. Joseph. She attended St. Patrick School and Bishop LeBlond High School. 
Jessica’s first taste of journalism was a basic high school journalism class, especially the chapter on photography. She became the primary photographer for the school’s newspaper and yearbook.

Jessica earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. At Mizzou, she worked for the MU Student News (which no longer exists) and Savitar yearbook. After being accepted to the J-school, she spent a semester as a sportswriter and another as a staff photographer for the university’s daily newspaper, the Columbia Missourian.

After graduation, Jessica received an internship at the St. Joseph News-Press and another at the Hays (Kan.) Daily News. She was invited back for a second stint as a News-Press intern and was eventually hired on the photography staff. She has been with the News-Press for eight years. 

Jessica has received numerous awards from the National Press Photographers Association and the Missouri Press Association. She was also awarded a scholarship to study at the prestigious Poynter Institute.

When Jessica is not carrying her heavy camera gear or making pictures she likes to spend time with her friends, her dog Maya and her large Mexican family.