Daniel Tucker was promoted to EP of Reset with Jenn White, a two-hour weekday show on WBEZ in Chicago. Tucker previously served as the show’s senior producer. Before WBEZ, Tucker was a producer for WNYC and also served as an editor for McGraw-Hill, the publishing company.
NPR added two hires.
Emily Alfin Johnson is joining the network as an associate producer for NPR One. Johnson previously worked as a digital editor for the Guns & America team based at WAMU in Washington, D.C. She was also a senior producer for Vermont Public Radio and an associate producer for On Point at WBUR.
Lee Hale also joined NPR as an editor and producer for All Things Considered. Hale previously served as an education and religion reporter for KUER in Salt Lake City, where he was host and creator of Preach, a podcast that will end this month. Hale was also a Kroc fellow for NPR.
KUER in Utah promoted one employee and hired a new reporter.
The Salt Lake City station promoted Tricia Bobeda to director of audience development and added Emily Means as a political reporter.
Bobeda previously served as managing producer of podcasts and special projects for the station, including the launch of Preach, a podcast about religion. Before joining KUER, Bobeda held several roles with WBEZ in Chicago, including reporter, producer and editor. She was also co-creator and co-host of the podcast Nerdette and was a reporter and producer for the Lansing State Journal.
Means previously reported for KPCW in Park City, Utah, where she worked as a municipal reporter while also serving as a weekend host for KUER. She has also been a producer for KCPW, the Salt Lake Tribune and community radio station KRCL. At KUER, Means replaces Nicole Nixon, who joined Capital Public Radio in Sacramento, Calif., as a political reporter in February.
Content
Christopher Peak joined American Public Media as a reporter this month. He will report on the coronavirus at first but will eventually cover how schools teach kids to read. Peak was previously a reporter for the New Haven Independent and NationSwell, an online publication.
Andrew Ramsammy is leaving Arizona PBS to become director of digital content for the Global Sport Institute at Arizona State University, the station’s licensee, according to GM Mary Mazur. Ramsammy was hired last year to direct audience development for the station.
Heather Cherone was hired as a digital news reporter for WTTW in Chicago, covering local politics. Cherone was previously managing editor and a city hall reporter for the Daily Line, an online publication about Chicago politics. She has also reported for DNAinfo, the Oakland Tribune and the Los Angeles Daily News.
Kirsten Dobroth was hired as an arts and culture reporter for Aspen Public Radio in Colorado. She replaces Christin Kay, who will remain with the radio station as interim news director and editor. Dobroth previously worked as a freelance journalist for several publications, including 280 Magazine, Elevation Outdoors, Forbes Travel Guide, Backpacker Magazine and Aspen Sojourner. She has also been the digital editor of Vail-Beaver Creek Magazine, a lifestyle publication. Her position at Aspen Public Radio will be funded by the Edlis Neeson Foundation.
Report for America, a program that places reporters in local newsrooms, selected 225 journalists for its 2020 cohort. Dozens of participants will be stationed at public media organizations. They are:
- Erin McKinstry, KCAW
- Andrea Perez Balderrama, KAWC
- Roman Battaglia, Delaware Public Media
- Rachel Cohen, Boise State Public Radio
- Kassidy Arena, Iowa Public Radio
- John Boyle, WFPL
- Paul Braun, WWNO
- Sarah Kim, WYPR
- Eve Zuckoff, WCAI
- Kyeland Jackson, Twin Cities PBS
- Jacob Douglas and Catherine Hoffman, Kansas City PBS
- Eric Schmid, St. Louis Public Radio
- Lucia Starbuck, KUNR
- Chris Welter, WYSO
- Seth Bodine, KOSU
- Antonia Ayres-Brown, The Public’s Radio
- Richard Two Bulls, South Dakota Public Broadcasting
- Samantha Max, Nashville Public Radio
- Anna Van Dine, Vermont Public Radio
- Emily Allen, West Virginia Public Broadcasting
- Savannah Maher, Wyoming Public Media
- Maria Esquinca, Radio Bilingüe
- Kaitlyn Nicholas and Kevin Trevellyan, Yellowstone Public Radio
- Brenda Leon and Ali Oshinskie, Connecticut Public
- Anthony Orozco and Alanna Elder, WITF
- Juanpablo Ramirez and Yvonne Boose, WNIJ
- Riane Roldan and Allyson Ortegon, KUT
- Maria Mendez and Dominic Walsh, Texas Public Radio
- Laura Brache Field, Alex Watts and Dante Miller, WFAE
- Kate Groetzinger, Lexi Peery and David Fuchs, KUER
- Mallory Falk, Keren Carrión, Alejandra Martinez and Sara Ernst, KERA
Fellowships
Assia Boundaoui, Andres Caballero, Jacqueline Olive and PJ Raval were named investigative journalism fellows for the Frontline and Firelight Media 2020 cohort. The fellowship, which is in its second year, focuses on supporting independent filmmakers of color. The selected filmmakers will each receive a three-month research and development grant and can receive up to $60,000 in funding for a film.
Boundaoui is an Algerian-American filmmaker and journalist. Her debut short film about hijabi hair salons for the HBO series Lenny premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Her directorial debut, The Feeling of Being Watched, premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and was broadcast nationally on POV.
Caballero, a filmmaker, journalist and public radio producer, co-directed Gaucho Del Norte. He is also a 2016 MacArthur documentary grant recipient for The Interpreters, a film about Iraqi and Afghan interpreters.
Olive’s award-winning debut feature documentary Always in Season premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize for Moral Urgency. It was later broadcast on Independent Lens in February.
Raval is a first-generation Filipino American filmmaker. His film Call Her Ganda was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award and broadcast on POV in 2019. Raval also shot the Academy Award‐nominated documentary Trouble the Water.
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