As I sit here reflecting on the past week and my time with NextGenRadio, one word comes to mind: lucky. Lucky to be accepted into this program, lucky to meet so many cool people, and lucky to tell a great story — one of my favorite activities in the world.
It says freelance reporter in my bio, but I haven’t done a long piece like this since college. I work as an associate digital editor in a television newsroom. While I love where I work, the stories I write tend to be short and centered around breaking news. In a sense, producing my story felt like flexing rarely-used muscles. This is the first reporter training workshop I’ve done since graduation, but hopefully it won’t be the last.
This week has afforded me a glimpse into life as an audio journalist. I grew up listening to Cincinnati Public Radio, so having one of their reporters as my mentor has been an extremely pinch-me experience. My source was so open with me about their journey and experience, and I know so many people are going to resonate with this piece.
In a time of increasing uncertainty for the media world, it’s been wonderful to learn and work in a space dedicated to the next generation of digital journalists. My story would not be complete without the talented editors who worked on it and guided me along the way. Thank you to NGR and CPR for this opportunity.