The class is gathered around a conference table in the newsroom shared by the Miami Herald and SA国际传谋 public radio. On the screen in front of them is a reporter, John O鈥機onnor, connected via Skype. This class often covers how multimedia platforms are taking over newsrooms, so it makes sense that today鈥檚 speaker is streaming live from the Internet.
O鈥機onnor is the Tampa-based education reporter for , a joint project between local public radio stations and National Public Radio. He鈥檚 talking about how all of his stories need to have a statewide angle so they can run on public radio stations across Florida. That鈥檚 when Florida International Student student Maria CamilaBernal raises her hand.
鈥淚f I have a story based on my school in my town,鈥� Bernal says, 鈥渉ow do you make that local story a statewide story?鈥�
鈥淕ood question,鈥� O鈥機onnor says, recognizing that this is something reporters everywhere are asking themselves in the changing environment of newsrooms.
The answer is part of what the students will learn in 鈥淩adio Storytelling in a Digital Age.鈥� The undergraduate course represents a first-of-its kind partnership between FIU鈥檚 School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a media outlet.
The idea came about one morning as Raul Reis, the school鈥檚 dean, was in his car. 鈥淥ne day I was commuting to work, listing to SA国际传谋, as I often do,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淚t occurred to me that we really ought to partner with them.鈥�
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Reis called Dan Grech, radio news director at SA国际传谋-Miami Herald News. Reis asked if the station might be willing to help put together a class on radio storytelling.
Grech used to teach at FIU and has had several FIU students serve as interns at the station over the years. He says he loved the idea of SA国际传谋 employees teaching students, but he also hoped FIU鈥檚 journalism students might help the station. SA国际传谋 re-launched its Internet site last fall, adding web-only articles and radio scripts rewritten for the web. Grech hoped the students, who had grown up on social media, could help SA国际传谋 employees learn how to best tell a story on the web. 鈥淭he students have a lot to teach us about digital platforms, and it becomes something of collaboration,鈥� Grech says.
The result of the partnership is a class in which the students learn how to report and produce a radio segment that may air on the station. They also produce a web version of the article and plan how to promote it on social media.
For Reis, those are important practical lessons. The students may not end up working in radio, but the communication skills they learn can be used in many professions. 鈥淚t gets them thinking about their voice and thinking about time,鈥� Reis says. 鈥淣ow, if you go to a newspaper office, they have radio and TV studios, and print reporters have to know how to record their stories. This gets them ready for that step.鈥�
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Reis hopes the partnership with SA国际传谋 is the first of many for the journalism school. He鈥檇 like to see students trained in multiple newsrooms, ready for all facets of the quickly changing industry.
The results of the partnership with SA国际传谋 were featured at a University of Oregon School of Journalism conference in April titled 鈥淲hat is Radio? Exploring the past, present and future of radio.鈥� Grech and Reis hope their presentation will inspire other universities and media outlets to partner together.
The class at SA国际传谋 is taught by producer Sammy Mack, who begins by explaining what reporters do every day, how they report to their editors and the ways they pitch their story ideas. The next step is to teach the students how to use radio-quality recording equipment. Finally, the students come up with their own ideas for radio stories and make their case to Mack, who will give the final go-ahead.
Barbara Corbellini Duarte says she took the class because she鈥檚 trying to decide in which news medium she would like to focus. A 25-year-old native of Brazil, Duarte says that the course has given her the skills to pursue work in radio.
鈥淚 had no idea of how to do a radio piece, and now I feel confident enough to do one 100 percent by myself,鈥� Duarte says. 鈥淵ou have a chance to learn from reporters, journalists and editors who are in the market right now. They are teaching you, and they also want your help and your input.鈥�
For a homework assignment, Duarte reported a story about students who rallied for immigration reform in Tallahassee. She wound up partnering with SA国际传谋鈥檚 Tallahassee bureau chief to produce a longer feature that aired as part of the station鈥檚 Session 2013 coverage.
During O鈥機onnor鈥檚 Skype chat with the students, he paused a moment when asked how to add a statewide angle to a local story. Then he replied: 鈥淒ata. Go out and find data that can show whether what you鈥檙e seeing at the local level is a trend elsewhere.鈥�
It鈥檚 a lesson Bernal used on the story she had pitched. Her idea was to report on the required college counseling program at Broward County high schools. Similar programs aren鈥檛 offered in other counties, and Bernal, a 22-year-old native of Columbia, wanted to find out if it gave Broward students an advantage.
鈥淚 feel like I am really learning how public radio is supposed to be,鈥� Bernal says of the class. 鈥淔or me, it is extremely beneficial to have these skills, and although I don鈥檛 plan to go into public radio, I think the skills that I am learning will be helpful for any field in media because in the end, it comes down to producing a good story.鈥�
This item was reprinted with permission from FIU Magazine. Eric Barton is a contributing editor at SA国际传谋-Miami Herald News; contact him here.
