Student reporter. Alabama Public Radio

2011 - 2012



I worked as a student reporter for Alabama Public Radio at the University of Alabama for a little over a year. While I was there, I learned how to write wire copy, conduct phone interviews, edit my interviews and write original copy to be read in the hourly news updates. This experience was important to my development as a journalist and gave me a foundation for my television reporting and producing.

 

 

 

Editor/Student Reporter/Producer. WVUA 23

2012 - 2016



 

When I started at WVUA 23, the first thing I learned was to edit video and sound for different newscasts. I had done some base-level video editing in a Video Journalism elective and picked up the Edius and ENPS programs quickly. I still do some editing for other shows when needed and am used as an editor trainer for new interns. After a semester of editing, I trained as a reporter but my career goal was not to be in front of the camera.  However, I believed reporting experience would be an essential background for my training as a journalist. I shot, wrote and edited my stories for another year and a half and started to do more work as a news photog; from shooting VO/SOTs to Nat PKGs. This experience clarified my goal: I wanted to be a news producer. I saw and understood that  the newscast was the producer’s full and complete responsibility. And that meant understanding everyone’s role and how it was absolutely essential that the producer worked well with the entire news team to make sure the show went smoothly. I also liked the writing aspect of being a news producer as well as deciding which stories were newsworthy and which weren't. I've never found anything as fulfilling as news producing; from the responsibilities of breaking news to the details needed to produce a dense and smooth newscast.

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Early Evening News Producer. WHNT News 19

2016-2018

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I started as the Noon & 5pm Producer at WHNT News 19 in Huntsville, Alabama in August of 2016. After a few months on that show, I moved to the new 4pm newscast. This was a big shift for me, while it did still have hard news & news of the day in the A-block, it also focused a lot more on lighter topics. I think I learned a lot during the four months I produced that show. I had to adapt and find ways to write stories that didn't immediately connect with me, in an engaging and interesting way. It really challenged me to look at stories in different ways and cover topics in alternative ways, so that the later shows could have their coverage too. After that I moved to the 6 & 6:30pm newscast. That was definitely my favorite of the early evening newscasts to produce. It was the big tent-pole show for the evening block. I got to focus on more impactful and important stories. We had three elections in just two years, one of them being the very high profile Alabama Senate Special Election between Doug Jones and Roy Moore. There was a lot to cover, across the state and I really think I grew in my story telling, getting a lot of information across in a more concise but still interesting and thorough ways.  

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Morning Show Producer. Kron4

2018-2019

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I produce at least two hours of news every weekday. It changes depending on the day. Usually I produce the 6 & 9 a.m. shows. I am responsible for writing scripts for new stories, breaking down important PKG's from the night before & coming up with new ideas for our morning reporters. I am also responsible for story selection in my show, stacking and timing my show, editing video and sound, as well as coding my show.