SPJ UW took a group of 11 to visit the KUOW newsroom May 15, giving students an opportunity to learn about the field of radio/broadcast news and advice for pursuing careers in radio journalism. 

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The group included staffers at The Daily, students doing freelance journalism work, and avid listeners to KUOW.  Attendees met Deborah Wang, a contributing reporter, editor, and host at KUOW, who served as their tour guide as well as introduced them to staff members in various roles.

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Among these staff members were host Bill Radke, race and identity reporter Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez, podcast producers Vaughan Jones and Clare McGrane, and reporter Kate Walters. 

 

During a roundtable discussion introducing students to how KUOW works and giving them a chance to ask questions, KUOW staff members shared about producer roles and the process of editing sound and stories, and some hard realities about recent layoffs and cuts in radio journalism.

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Jones described working as a producer as finding out everything you can about a certain subject and becoming an expert on it, as well as doing a lot of staring at Adobe Audition, a software used to mix audio. The staff members emphasized that producer roles, even though they might not be as well-known as reporting roles, are good opportunities to pursue for people interested in radio journalism. 

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The staff members agreed that editing is an important part of the journalistic process and involves a back-and-forth between the reporter and the editor. 

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"Taking feedback is a big part of this industry," McGrane said. 

 

They also discussed the adjustment from print reporting to audio reporting. None of the tour participants reported having substantial audio reporting experience. Students learned that writing stories for audio requires an awareness that listeners, unlike readers, aren't going to rewind to listen to things they missed the first time. That means reporters have to use less numbers, because those are harder to understand by ear, and use simpler language even though that might seem to be "dumbing down" the story. 

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Editors can help you make sure that you keep all the necessary information even when told in simpler words, Walters said. 

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KUOW recently shut down their youth radio program, RadioActive, and laid off eight staff members due to financial constraints. While getting hired as an entry-level radio journalist can be difficult, students learned that smaller news outlets might have more openings for emerging journalists — such as in rural areas of Alaska, where radio news is an important source of public information for residents living there.

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"I thought their newsroom was so tight knit and welcoming and I am so grateful for all the advice they shared," SPJ UW treasurer Aspen Anderson said. "Seeing different newsrooms as a young journalist is such a good way to imagine yourself in one someday."

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"Touring newsrooms across the Seattle area with the UW chapter of Society of Professional Journalists has provided great insight into the culture of a newsroom," SPJ UW secretary Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero said. "Having conversations with editors and reporters during these tours has also provided me with valuable advice on how to step into the industry."