Whats' IN?
Connecticut Public is proud to participate in the Report for America initiative, a national service program that places talented, emerging journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-reported issues and communities through its reporting corps. An initiative of The GroundTruth Project, Report for America addresses an urgent need in journalism at a time when news deserts are widening across the country.
If you are interested in supporting internships
or the RFA initiative,
contact Holly Winters, hwinters@ctpublic.org, 860.275.7344.
Working with interns and young reporters for many years at Connecticut Public, I’ve seen first-hand the importance of these training and educational experiences. We have a talented and increasingly diverse group of young people who come through our programs. More than 44% have gone on to careers in journalism and content production.
Internships at Connecticut Public provide hands-on, real world experience in a busy radio newsroom working alongside experienced reporters, editors and show producers. Interns attend daily news meetings, accompany reporters in the field, and learn what it takes to interview, write, edit, mix and present content on-air and online under tight deadlines. We tailor internships to the changing nature of news in today’s world, and often learn as much from interns as they learn from us.
At first glance, there are similarities between our news internships and the Report for America (RFA) program. But RFA reporters are with us for a longer period of time. They join our news team and report on under-served areas and under-reported beats. They have the time to build relationships and hopefully prove themselves worthy of
trust – which is what serious journalism is all about. Sources need to trust that journalists will not misuse the information they share.
And listeners need to trust that every time they turn to Connecticut Public Radio, they are hearing unbiased, independent, fair, accurate, and complete reporting.
We couldn’t support future journalists and initiatives like RFA without your generous support. Thank you for making a difference in our newsroom today, and in future newsrooms all across the country.
Diane Orson, Deputy News Director – Southern Connecticut Bureau
INspired Reporting
BRENDA LEÓN
Brenda León’s reporting focus is on the Latino community. One passion outside of journalism is dancing. She was in a Mexican Folklore dance company that traveled regionally and performed in cultural events and celebrations. She explains, “Where there is joy, there is dance and poetry.”
Q: When did you first become interested in journalism?
A: Growing up bilingual, I was often translating and interpreting information that was not very easy to understand at an early age. Still, I did it with a brave face and a deep desire to help my mother navigate an entirely new city. When I realized I could continue to do this for the community that I was a part of and a larger audience, I wanted in.
Q: How has your background prepared you for public media reporting?
A: One of the first pieces I ever produced was about one of my favorite poets, Audre Lorde. It was a short piece about her birthday and the celebration that the LGBTQ community was hosting to honor her legacy. It aired on Manhattan Neighborhood Network – Public Access Television, and I was incredibly proud. As a youth producer, public media gave me the tools to learn about production, interviewing and storytelling, it paved
my path.
Q: What does Connecticut Public mean to you?
A: I like to think of public media as a bridge. Our role as reporters is to be a bridge for the many complexities and dilemmas that we face as a society. Connecticut Public provides that opportunity, to shape conversations, un-learn, and challenge our own biases. In Spanish, one of my favorite teachings is “un mundo donde quepan muchos mundos” that is to say, “a world where many worlds fit.”
ALI OSHINSKIE reports on the Naugatuck River Valley Community. She originally set out to become an actress, studying at the University of Hartford, but says, “my skills suit the airwaves better. We make news from the truth here.”
Q: What does Connecticut Public mean to you?
A: It is vitally important to journalism and our country that media reflect and represent its community. I try to take the experiences of all the Connecticut residents I’ve met into my work and ask myself “what news does my friend from Naugatuck want to hear?” I’m incredibly proud to work here and I want to make the listeners of Connecticut Public proud. I want to challenge them too, and I want our airwaves to sound more like the public of Connecticut every day.
Q: What is your favorite thing about being a reporter?
A: A few weeks ago, I was getting a sandwich in Ansonia and I saw one of the people I’d talked to for a story I’d just finished, a local business owner. We were both pleasantly surprised and spent some time catching up while we waited for our orders. This happenstance interaction meant that for both of us, we knew our relationship hadn’t ended when I’d published that story. It was a way of stumbling into the most important work journalists do: relationship-building. So, I’d say that sandwich was my favorite thing about being a reporter.
Q: How has your background prepared you for public media reporting?
A: I’d be hard-pressed to find anything in my past that hasn’t prepared me for working in public radio but it only looks that way after the fact. I definitely didn’t work as a barista or salesperson to add to my journalism CV but I saw, closer than I ever could from an office, how Connecticut residents live, work, shop, and drink their coffee. That work informs my reporting every day.
ALI OSHINSKE
"Report for America was created to help save local news. It was launched long before COVID-19, yet the signs of local journalism’s collapse were quite evident even in 2014. The pandemic has accelerated the decline and created an imminent crisis. We believe that our model – a national service program that gets reporters on the ground – is one of the most important strategies for addressing that crisis."
— Steve Waldman
RFA, Co-Founder and President
IN Appreciation
Connecticut Public trustee Jeffrey Hoffman and wife Nancy are Report for America supporters
"We are proud to be associated with Connecticut Public and will continue to support their vital work for years to come."
Jeffrey and Nancy Hoffman
We’ve been supporters of Connecticut Public since 1987, and we have a deep bond with this organization. Connecticut Public serves a purpose that is unique in our state: offering outreach, information and connection to the community with arts, entertainment, education and timely and accurate news. No other organization fills the niche that Connecticut Public does, right in our own back yard.
We are proud to support the Report for America program that allows young journalists to bring fresh voices and insights into what is happening in our communities. The local reporting that this initiative offers is critical to finding new ways to bring about change.
Connecticut Public continues to evolve and grow in important ways including moving into digital platforms that reach ever wider and more diverse audiences. At this pivotal time in our history, Connecticut Public’s journalistic integrity couldn’t be more important. The great programming that you see and hear is a result of talented and caring people dedicated to making our community a more connected place.
Conversations INpublic
A monthly series for Leadership Circle and Legacy Society members.
JOIN US OCTOBER 1 for a Zoom roundtable about current education initiatives with President and CEO Mark Contreras. RSVP to Lisa Wrubleski at lwrubleski@ctpublic.org.
For more information contact Nicole Kimball 860-275-7516