3 interviews: local news edition
Hi guys! The next two weeks will look a little different because I’m taking a little break + heading out of town for the beautiful midwest gem that is the True/False Film Fest. (Fellow festers + Mizzou fam, let’s hang out!)
In light of all the lovely new subscribers who’ve joined this month, I’m going to run back a few of my favorite Q&As from the past — but there’ll still be a brand new one for Friday, just FYI.
Today, here are three Q&As from the archives featuring some very brilliant local reporters:
1. Broadcast journalist Hannah Hilyard (who’s now at WISN12 News in Milwaukee), on what it was like to start out covering her hometown of Peoria, Illinois:
Working in Peoria fresh out a college was probably the best career move I could ever make. Yes, I had a journalism degree. I was a good student, participated in student media and had two internships through school. But no matter what, nothing can prepare you for the daily grind of being a reporter. I had to learn how to be a journalist, but starting at WMBD meant I didn't need to learn the area. I knew the layout. I knew the dynamics. And best of all, I knew the PEOPLE! That gave me the opportunity to really focus on my reporting skills. Oh, and I lived at home and didn't have to pay rent, so that's always a plus!
2. The Casper Star-Tribune’s Brandon Foster (who’s now managing editor) on which sport is the most fun to cover:
Wrestlers are the best quotes. Baseball is the easiest to keep stats of. But, I mostly cover football and basketball, so, boring as this answer is, I'm going to have to go with football. I love basketball, but the sheer size of the roster in football makes for a little more unpredictability.
3. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Nassim Benchaabane on covering STL:
I realized I hardly knew St. Louis at all before I became I worked at the paper. Every time I think about leaving journalism I remember that its best benefit is that it gives me the feeling I'm really part of a living, breathing city. St. Louis is a hard city to penetrate, it's not like larger cities where the cultural life is easier to locate and find, but once you crack into it you find the arts/food/music scenes are a great mix of world-class and homegrown punk.
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