I walked into this week a bit intimidated. I am a journalist, but up until a few days ago, I solely worked in a written and photo format. Audio felt scary, but at the same time, so exciting. I grew up listening to OPB in the car with my dad on the way to school. Today, I still listen on my way to work, and I get most of my news by listening to podcasts.
As a journalist, written stories will always be my first love and a source of creativity for me. But after this week, I am so excited to incorporate audio into my own journalism moving forward. In just a few days, thanks to an incredible NPR’s Next Gen Radio team, I feel like I have new audio skills that I am excited to build on.
I also cannot express enough how important it is for me to be in such a truly collaborative setting. Traditional news environments can be such a place of competition — but that mindset is something I believe we’re moving away from, and something we need to move away from, as journalists.
This week, I walked into the project with an idea. By the end of five days, a whole team of collaborators helped me bring that project to life. That is beautiful to see.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to take part in this project, and to now be a part of a whole network of people touched by NPR’s Next Gen Radio. I hope to come back as a mentor someday soon.