On Feb. 16, Politics and Health Reporter Kristen Schorsch—from WBEZ 91.5 FM—held a presentation about “Breaking into the Broadcasting Industry” at 2 p.m. in the Fourth Floor Boardroom.
Schorsch offered networking tips for working in the journalism field, and students participated in a Q&A session.
She discussed the importance of building connections with people through interviews—but with a “conversational flow.”
“Some of my best sources are people I’ve known for ten years now,” noted Schorsch.
Senior Communication Major Aurielle Alexander found the lecture ‘very informative,’ although she was “never really interested” in pursuing Radio and TV journalism—‘behind the scenes.’ Post-graduation, Alexander sees herself securing a job in the Social Media Marketing field.
“I think that [the lecture] gave me a bit more confidence in networking with more people, and like, connecting with people in the industry,” she said.
In a Feb. 18 Zoom interview, Schorsch stated that [future investigative] journalists should “take the time to start learning a beat,” and become ‘an expert’ in that certain [news] topic. “For whatever story that you’re interested in, talk to a lot of people,” Schorsch said. She adds, “…[and] do your homework.”
Schorsch covered The Closing of Mercy Hospital in Bronzeville, published on Oct. 25, 2021. Schorsch mentioned that while reporting on Mercy Hospital for over a year, she interviewed 70 different people in the hospital, calling it a ‘heavily political’ story.
She also reached out to other “Safety Net Hospitals”—one of them being St. Bernard’s in Englewood—and featured them in this story. For now, she mainly focuses on small communities with “most-at-risk hospitals” during Covid. Schorsch also published articles on the gap in health care, equity data, and vaccine tracking among people of color—in black and Latinx neighborhoods.
Schorsch introduced Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE), an organization that offers fellowships for “more experienced students” in the journalism field—and who “do the work,” added Schorsch. She says IRE hosts many ‘hands-on’ conferences and panels in specialized areas of Data Reporting and Journalism.
Schorch stressed the importance of obtaining government documents, and encouraged students to become familiar with submitting Freedom of Information Act Forms (FOIAs). The Illinois Local Government will take “up to five days” to release PDF records, she says. However, records emailed from the Federal Government would take longer to process.
Schorsch is currently helping organize this year’s FOIA Fest, held from Feb. 24-26. She’ll be part of a panel that lectures on “Covering health care during a pandemic.” Schorsch emphasized that requesting FOIA will help “produce good stories.”
Schorsch tells people to get in the habit of following up with FOIA officials. “Do your diligence and follow up every two weeks.” She continued: “They’ll give you what they have as you get it.”
Schorsch also encourages students to get involved in the School Newspaper, Radio, or TV Broadcast. Still, she explains how “[Audio] is really fun because it’s so different than the written work.”
Schorsch says that journalism students should be “upfront and honest” and “represent both sides [of the story]” in the broadcasting industry. But she recognizes it’s all about organizing and planning. “Journalism is who you are in addition to what you do,” she said.
WBEZ is an affiliated station of National Public Radio (NPR).
For over 20 years, Schorsch has worked as a journalist. She is a 2003 graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and began her career as a reporter for The Daily Illini—an independent student-led newspaper. Schorsch’s current position at WBEZ is her fifth job, which she sought out after meeting with one of their local editors.
Those requesting more information about WBEZ Career Opportunities may get in touch with Schorsch at kschorsch@wbez.org. People are welcome to follow her on Twitter @kschorsch to keep up to date with any information provided about her news audio stories.