The Kansas City Star adds five to its newsroom

The Kansas City Star has hired five journalists to expand its reporting, video and online coverage.

Steve Vockrodt has joined the breaking news team as a general assignment business reporter. Vockrodt’s local reporting experience and journalism degree from the University of Kansas add to his versatility in print, online and electronic media. He had been at The Pitch since 2013 and frequently appears on KCPT’s “Week in Review” to discuss city issues. He also has worked at the Kansas City Business Journal, the Lawrence Journal-World and The Olathe News.

Katy Bergen will join The Star’s breaking news team as a general assignment reporter. A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Bergen was an intern at the newspaper in 2012. She subsequently worked at the Bradenton Herald and Sarasota Herald-Tribune. At the Herald-Tribune, she launched a sports performance beat to cover southwest Florida’s emergence as an Olympic training hot spot.

Hunter Woodall has been hired by The Star to become its Kansas legislative correspondent. Woodall is a graduate of the University of Missouri, where he earned degrees in journalism and history. He was an intern at The Star last year and most recently worked at The Casper Star-Tribune, where he covered local and state politics with an emphasis on watchdog coverage and enterprise.

Ashley Scoby has joined The Star as a sports reporter primarily covering high school sports and soccer. She is a 2015 University of Kentucky graduate who comes to Kansas City after a stint with CBS Detroit. Scoby’s work includes internships at Sports Illustrated and The Seattle Times, and she has covered four major professional leagues, as well as Major League Soccer, college basketball and football.

Maria Torres has joined The Star as a digital and social media editor. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia, where she majored in journalism. She had an internship as an associate reporter for MLB.com, where she covered the Miami Marlins baseball team. She also has led the Henry (Ga.) Herald sports department and held a copy editing post in Lakeland, Fla.

This story was originally published June 11, 2016 at 3:03 PM with the headline "The Kansas City Star adds five to its newsroom."