It was encouraging to attend the workshop, “From Print to Broadcast: Be Ev,erywhere and Be Successful” and know there is hope for a dyed-in-the-wool newspaper reporter like me , that I can make the transition to working in radio or TV.

Presenter Kim Mullen, who started her career as a freelance writer, was able to parlay her investigative reporting expertise into TV. KIm Bui was a print journalist, but started to experiment with a blog, focusing on fashion, and managed to talk her way into becoming a digital journalist with a public radio station. Niala Boodhoo was a business reporter for a newspaper, and used that expertise to get a job with a public radio project.

So while the description of different aspects of a story may differ from print to broadcast (a lede becomes the intro in radio and the voice over in TV)  are different in radio and TV from print, the basic premise is still the same: tell a compelling story.

Mullen urged all those interested in going into TV to acquire the basic skills  - “Learn to shoot, learn to edit” - even if it means doing it on your own, and making mistakes along the way.

Bui also noted that the public radio community is very small, so people are very willing to help newcomers learn the ropes. Boodhoo said that many public radio stations offer internships - some paid, some not - but it’s a good way to acquire the skills needed to be successful in radio.

Since this is the digital age, there are also plenty of online sites that provide basic training in working in radio, including starter sound editing programs, such as Audacity.

National Public Radio has also produced online guides to writing for radio, which does differ from print, in that the scripts are written to reflect how people actually speak.

Bui noted that for many job postings in radio, most of the hires meet about 65 percent of the requirements. Mullen observed that while skills such as shooting and editing can be learned on the job, good reporting and writing abilities are not.

Tillie Fong, AAJA-Denver