Host/producer, Mutually Inclusive
WGVU Public Media, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Age: 28
In three words: “Passionate, community-centered, visionary”
What colleagues say: During production of Mutually Inclusive, Kylie was able to grow our audience and our connections. She makes sure we take the time to be in the spaces of underrepresented communities and meet people where they are — not just telling stories from afar. She also has the forethought to try and educate staff about these issues, so that when we are communicating outside the station, we can help raise the impact and awareness.
She makes sure people feel connected beyond the making of a show, as though they are a part of something bigger than themselves.
What Kylie says
Decision to work in public media: After working in the commercial news industry as a multimedia journalist, I was approached with the opportunity to tell community-driven and often underrepresented stories for Mutually Inclusive. It was a dream job that I knew I couldn’t pass up. I stay working in public media because I believe it upholds journalistic standards that benefit the people, rather than just news stations themselves.
Key accomplishments: The debut of Mutually Inclusive, which partners with our west Michigan community to elevate often underrepresented voices. This year, we had a powerful lineup of interviewees, diving into topics from Black men’s mental health to resources for refugees. Our finale episode, which featured local Japanese-American WWII hero Virgil Nishimura-Westdale and his fellow Nisei (second generation) soldiers, won a regional Emmy award this June.
Inspired by: In addition to consuming every documentary possible, I’ve always tried to learn from others around me. In my first reporting job, seasoned journalists took the time to help me learn and grow. Today I try to take my inspiration from the community that I serve.
Advice for young public media professionals: You’ve got this! When we’re new to the industry, we’re often afraid of messing up. That fear can really get in the way of creating some amazing stories. Mistakes are bound to happen, and the faster you’re able to pick yourself up and problem-solve, the easier it will get.
Advice for public media leaders: Public media has done a good job of implementing more equitable solutions as it relates to representation and inclusion in responsible storytelling. I’d love to reach even further by building more engagement events around some of the local programming we broadcast.
Funniest thing that’s happened on the job: I accidentally set off our office smoke detector while heating up a frozen breakfast muffin. We had to evacuate two entire buildings and were met outside by a slew of firefighters. I apologized to the firefighters, but they had a great sense of humor about it. My news director made me pose with an officer for a photo so we would never forget the moment. The icing on the cake was that the firefighter’s name was Officer Sparks.
Profile photo: Larsh Collective Photography