Before joining Mirror Indy, Brett Phelps documented stories in Boston and the New England area during his co-op at The Boston Globe. He also covered community news stories during his photojournalism internships at The Indianapolis Star, The Chautauquan Daily, and the Nelson County Schools. During college, Phelps served as the print and web visuals editor of Western Kentucky University’s Talisman cultural and lifestyle magazine. Phelps thrives on telling human-interest stories and has been recognized for his work by the Hearst Journalism Awards, White House News Photographers Association, Adobe Digital Edge Awards, Ohio Valley Emmys, Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar, College Photographer of the Year Award Program, National Press Photographers Foundation, and Associated Collegiate Press. He graduated in 2025 from Western Kentucky University with a B.A. in visual journalism and photography and a B.S. in marketing. In his personal time, he enjoys traveling, attending concerts, hiking, and playing the piano.
Beat: Community visual journalist
The community visual journalist produces photos and video to accompany written stories across a range of beats – neighborhoods, arts and culture, education, city government, health and housing – and tell stories independently as well. The candidate must be trained in journalism ethics, still photojournalism and video production basics. The fellow works with the art director to consider what medium and publishing platform works best for each story in order to carry out Mirror Indy's mission.