KCUR was proud to serve as the sponsor and host of NPR's Next Gen Radio project during the first week of April.
With some staff in our Kansas City offices, and others working remotely from around the world, the week-long digital journalism training project is designed to give competitively selected participants the skills and opportunity to report and produce their own multimedia story.
The five chosen for the project — all of whom were residents of the Kansas City region, and expressed interest in audio and journalism — were paired with a professional journalist who served as their mentor for that week.
One of the mentors was KCUR’s culture editor, Luke X. Martin, who described the experience as a “crash course in audio reporting" — although the skills are applicable for many career paths.
“Taking a story from its initial concept, crafting the pitch, recording scenes and sounds, learning how to ask questions, working under very tight deadlines, these are super important elements for a great story," Martin said. "The fact that they learned all of these in one week, when it takes most of us many years, was really impressive.”
Martin reflected that his role as a mentor was to spend the week as his mentee’s “Johnny-on-the-spot, lending personal as well as professional support both in the studio as well as out in the field. It was invigorating to watch her work her way through the process.”
Each of the five Next Gen Radio participants finished the week by publishing a digital and audio feature:
- Visual artist and freelance writer Xiao Faria daCunha featured a local business owner who created a "home" in the Crossroads, and examined what her future may look like.
- Brand activation manager Rita Hanch featured a Kansas City teacher who is creating a home for students, dedicated to a brother who died by suicide.
- Public health advocate Rosie Pasqualini interviewed Platte City resident Dustin Sheridan, who finds new comfort by building a space of his own.
- Digital producer Zoë Shriner profiled Anna McCune, a Russian adoptee who now works to help Kansas City families have resources and support to find stable housing.
- Freelance reporter Lauren Winston reported on a Kansas City midwife who aims to make birth “empowering for the whole family.”
The Next Gen features were subsequently published on KCUR's website, featured in the Early Bird newsletter, and aired on the daily news podcast Kansas City Today — bringing them before KCUR's larger audience, which averages hundreds of thousands of listeners and readers per month.
KCUR newscaster and Kansas City Today host Nomin Ujiyediin also served as a mentor, alongside fellow journalists from Austin, El Paso and Iowa City.
KCUR community engagement director Ron Jones and editor Laura Ziegler provided back-office support and assisted with logistics. Ziegler has served as a mentor for previous Next Gen Radio projects.
Next Gen Radio provided 11 professional staff to support the program in Kansas City, including editors, engineers, illustrators and a copy editor.
The program was created by and is directed by Doug Mitchell. Since 2013, Mitchell says, Next Gen has grown to include nearly 500 alumni, of which 80% identify as women and more than 70% are people of color.
Dozens of alumni are now working in public media.
“I’m really proud that we attracted Next Gen to Kansas City,” says Martin. “In addition to benefiting the participants with our internal expertise and resources, KCUR was able to demonstrate our willingness to collaborate. It was a truly rewarding week and I believe the participants now have the confidence they needed to take that next step in their careers.
“Who knows: Maybe that next step could be at KCUR?”
