Producing

As a part of my course work I produced for a radio news show that aired weekly on Facebook. This show taught me a great deal about producing and what it takes to create a seamless show.

I worked on a team with two other student journalists to produce a radio show on thousands of unmarked graves in Syria. Humanizing the story was a daunting task because the unrest in Syria was an ongoing conflict when we produced the show, and people were afraid to talk the media. However, I knew that it was important to have the stories of those affected told. As a result, I chose to use clips from interviews of Syrians that were imprisoned for anti-governmental sentiments. The emotions expressed in the clips gave the story life.  However, I wanted to do more than that. I didn’t want the story to get lost-- I wanted to elevate the powerful voices I captured in the story. By utilizing Facebook Live to broadcast our show, I was able to use a new type of media in my journalism. Facebook Live allowed people from all over the world to see and connect to the story and suffering of Syrians.

    This experience both challenged me and connected me to my passion of storytelling. As a Black woman I have grappled with how my community is often mis-portrayed or overlooked in the media.  I’ve struggled with how to incorporate my identity in the stories I tell. However, the the Syrian story highlighted the value of my perspective in the newsroom. I was able to give space to voices that are often suppressed. The ability to promote this space demonstrated the importance of underrepresented voices being present in the stories I tell and how important it is to have those same voices apart of the framing process.

I love having autonomy for the visuals I create. 

A part from pitching stories and finding guest, I was also tasked with making social media videos for the show. Although, it took sometime to make I got a lot of praise for the video below.