Next Generation Radio

NPR Next Generation Radio will wrap up 2024 this month in St Louis with our third project there. We welcome this set of rising journalists and media makers to our program. Top row, left to right: Syed Ali, St. Louis Community College Hannah Altman, a recent graduate of the University of Miami Bottom row, left to right: Roshae Hemmings, a recent graduate of the?University?of Missouri-Columbia Darrious Varner, a recent graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago Jacob Wiegand, a recent graduate of Southern?Illinois University - Carbondale Our program begins the afternoon of Sunday, September 22, and concludes the afternoon of Friday, September 27. We'll be working in person (for the most part) and St. Louis Public Radio

We're back!?Well, we actually never left. ?? NPR Next Generation Radio returns to?Iowa Public Radio this month and welcomes these five rising journalists and media makers into our 600+ member community. Top row, left to right: Candace Carr - Drake University. She will be working with IPR Arts and Culture reporter Josie Fischels. Lily Czechowicz - University of Iowa. She will be working with IPR Eastern Iowa reporter Zachary Oren Smith. Sarah Diehn - Drake University. She will be working with IPR reporter?Katarina Sostaric. Olin Myhre - University of Iowa. He will be working with IPR Talk Show Producer Danielle Gehr. Mack Swenson - Drake University. They will be working with LAist/89.3 K-12 Education Reporter Mariana Dale. We'll start up the afternoon of Sunday, July 14, and conclude the afternoon of Friday, July 19.

I'm very pleased this is happening in my home state, so of course, I need to be there. Plus, I'm a member of the Board of Trustees for the American Press Institute, so it's important to support the staff. Shout out to Samantha Ragland and Kevin Loker This past week, working on our most recent Next Generation Radio project across three southern states, we talked a lot about "full-circle" moments. This is one for me: to meet and talk journalism in the town where I had my first job after graduating from Oklahoma State University https://lnkd.in/e6fn2RFv

NPR Next Generation Radio Gen is again collaborating with public media's "Gulf States Newsroom." NOTE: We are only looking for applicants from Alabama, Mississippi, and New Orleans. Fun Fact:? Bobby Carter (left photo and on the right) finished college, packed up, and moved to DC to become the first intern for "All Songs Considered" in the summer of 2000. A former NPR colleague found him while visiting Jackson, Mississippi, back then and asked if he would be interested in coming to DC. Bobby said he had nothing better going on, so he did. Bobby, originally from St. Louis, graduated from Jackson State University and has never left NPR. Recently, he was named Host and Series Producer for NPR's "Tiny Desk." https://lnkd.in/e7xEGH7h While Bobby is not a next-gen alum, his story is a great example of how "possibility" is always there.

Spent a little time digging into my past work and came across this 2011 Joe Grimm Poynter article that highlighted the backstory of what would later become The Journalism Diversity Project. https://lnkd.in/e39bxS_x tl;dr: it started with Retha Hill's column that led to a Mark Glaser-hosted Twitter chat that led to a spreadsheet. It started because I kept seeing people cite the "we can't find qualified minorities" excuse -- not just for hiring, but for speaking and training engagements too. I was 23 and had just started my new role as AAJA-Minnesota's co-president, riding shotgun along side Tom Horgen. It didn't make sense to me that these newsroom leaders, these industry influencers could credibly say that they could not find people. The so-called "qualified minority" applied to the majority of my friends, mentors and teachers at the time. And if I, with almost zero experience and zero industry influence, could name a couple dozen folks off the top of my head easily, then someone needed to connect these dots. Doug Mitchell, ?????? Robert Hernandez, Benét J. Wilson, Juana Summers, Michelle Johnson and I started a Google spreadsheet, which later became a proper website, for just over a decade. We gathered and nominated folks from our circles and beyond. In 2021 when we sundowned the project, we recognized just how much the social media and digital publishing landscape had changed: now, event planners and hiring managers can access Twitter lists with more than 1,500 journalists on it; now JOCs can easily find and promote one another by connecting in private Slack channels. What struck me most this morning as I looked back as this, which I wrote and we put on the top of the spreadsheet in 2011: "As journalists, we tell stories, more specifically other people’s stories. When we invite journalists to speak on panels or present at workshops, we’re asking them to tell their story, share their work, and offer up a slice of their life. But most of us are hearing the same story over and over again. Just as diversity in media coverage is valuable and necessary, so is diversity in media conversations. It’s key that journalists of every background be included as solutions to “save” our industry and our craft are formed. I believe journalism leaders need to wake up and take a look at their journalism network: Who are you talking to about new industry solutions? Who are you learning from? Who are you hiring and promoting? Who inspires you to be a better journalist?" This advice still holds, and I challenge folks to get outside their swim lanes of safety, and seek new connections, highlight more voices, and shine a light on the diverse journalism talent that exists today.