Radiogirl

Jim DeRogatis is a co-host of Sound Opinions and has been a music critic and music journalist for several years, and is also an author. He talks about what he teaches at Columbia, what he thinks of “dead tree journalism” and how journalism has changed over the years, how he was able to write the Buzzfeed article about R Kelly, how to write and fact-check articles, why journalism is expensive, why reading is important, what he reads and what he thinks about reading, how to write well and persevere in it, why criticism is important, pizza, why being creative is important even without pay, why he cares about mentoring, hard work and perseverance, interviewing Lester Bangs, playing in a punk rock band, if he gets cool invites around town, getting banned from Lollapalooza, reporting and mentoring, how he stays motivated, why he thinks Chicago is the best city in America, and more. Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG167.mp3

Rob Hart is an anchor and reporter at WBBM Newsradio in Chicago. He talks about why he likes doing both reporting and anchoring, hosting the Noon Business Hour, what makes a good show guest, what is good reporting, why news radio still matters, how to write and find a good story, why talk radio is so difficult (he did it at WGN and WLS), how to deal with the volatility of the radio biz, advice for getting work, working at WLUP The Loop with Maxwell, working at WTMJ in Milwaukee, what Milwaukee is like, why he likes doing radio more than TV, how he’s dealt with challenges, advice for working in the media, what he thinks journalism is, and more. Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG166.mp3

Andrea Darlas was an anchor and reporter at WGN Radio for several years, and is now the Senior Director of Constituent Engagement for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She talks about how she got her current job and her long radio and TV career, which started at WPGU at the University of Illinois, then WGBO-TV in Chicago, WDWS in Champaign, as a news director at WJOL in Joliet, then WGN radio, plus CLTV and WGN-TV. She also talks about if someone who does publicity should work in the media first, "fake" news, how the media has changed since she started working in it, what she learned from news anchor and reporter Dick Sutliff and news pro Tom Petersen, who were both at WGN Radio for many years, what she's learned over the years, how technological changes have affected news reporting, how she separates doing straight news vs talk radio, why you should never leave a meeting, why she chose radio over TV, why working in a small market is important, advice for getting work, how she got into TV, and more. Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG165.mp3

Jordan Bernfield is now doing news and sports at WGN Radio, in addition to doing play-by-play for ESPN, BTN, and NBC. He gives advice for getting into radio and media, talks about working at WSCR The Score, how to deal with competition, how to do sports prep and play-by-play effectively, how doing sports has helped him write and cover news, what it’s like to work in both news and sports, what it’s like to do TV vs radio, why being versatile is important, and more. I first interviewed him exactly six years ago at WGN. Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG164.mp3 Here's a video I did when he was at WGN Radio earlier in his career:

Lisa Fielding is an anchor and reporter at WBBM Newsradio, and she talks about why she likes doing both, explains what an enterprise story and chyron are; what she considers as news, reporting bad news, remaining neutral, international news, why she got into journalism, working in television, how she interned at WEEK-TV in Peoria, making mistakes, working at WROK 1440 AM in Rockford, anchoring and reporting at CBS-TV in Rockford; anchoring at Fox 47 in Madison, Wisconsin and the CW in Milwaukee; what it’s like to experience failure and how to face challenges; starting over at WBBM, what it’s like to work in Wisconsin, why she loves following news, what she thinks of digital, how to write a story, the difference between TV and radio, how to succinctly tell a story, advice for getting work in TV or radio, the importance of journalism, and more. Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG162.mp3 Here's a video of her that I did a while ago at the news radio station (I took a couple of digital video classes and this was one of the projects that I did). Lisa Fielding: radio news from Margaret Larkin on Vimeo.

Edwin Eisendrath is best-known for being the former CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times, and was also Alderman of the 43rd Ward (Lincoln Park area) and the regional director of HUD. He talks about why he thinks Chicago is a great city; knowing Governor JB Pritzker, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton, (who[m] he says is brilliant and has an incredible memory), Mayor Harold Washington; leading the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); how Chicago neighborhoods have changed, the Chicago housing situation and redlining; why he respects government careerists; what he thinks of how the media covers politicians; why he ran for alderman; why he respects journalists; why he's pro-union; mistakes he's made; the Chicago political scene; how he helped the Sun-Times; Chicago’s problems and positives, and more. Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG163.mp3

Charlie Wheeler, a former Chicago Sun-Times reporter who is currently a professor at the University of Illinois Springfield and director of the Public Affairs Reporting Program, talks about what makes a good reporter, his career at the Sun-Times, covering the Illinois constitutional convention and the state government in Springfield, what it was like to be a reporter in the 60s and 70s, how newspaper bureaus have changed, how he got into working for newspapers, his father and grandfather's newspaper work, how journalism has changed, what he thinks of digital, how to assess stories and prepare, how to become a journalist, and more. I interviewed him at the Illinois News Broadcasters Association (INBA) convention in Springfield. Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG161.mp3

Mike North got into radio via an interesting route, and has worked in TV and digital as well. He talks about money, the Vietnam draft, what he thinks of smartphones, his radio and TV career; his online endeavors including Bears Barroom and Mike at the Movies; why former WSCR/The Score Program Director Ron Gleason is wonderful, how Mike got The Score job in the early days and why he left; what Mayor Daley I was like; meeting famous people at his hot dog stand; why honesty is important, what's lacking in today's media climate, what being successful and wealthy is like; drinking, meeting Harry Caray and Rush Limbaugh; how the biz has changed; why people play it safe; the Bears, Bulls GM Jerry Krause; the White Sox's tax incentives; why he doesn't trust media people; the Chicago Sports Webio fiasco aka his "Vietnam;" dealing with setbacks; how he got a movie made about his life, and more. Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG160.mp3

Ryan Burrow is a reporter for ABC Radio and WGN Radio. He talks about how he prepares for interviews all over the country, how he juggles his news responsibilities, how he maintains objectivity and standards, stories he's covered, working in Fredericksburg, Virginia, at WRAC in Memphis, Tennessee, at Clear Channel News Network and Tribune syndicate in Chicago, at WLS Radio, what FM News was like, doing multimedia journalism, doing sports radio at Valparaiso, interning at C-Span, how he got into news, his passion for sports, advice for getting into the media biz, what he's learned, and more. Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG159.mp3

Esmeralda Leon is on the air at WGN Radio doing traffic and being part of Nick Digilio’s show. She talks about how she got into radio, why she prefers doing traffic to news, what she thinks of her hometown Joliet, what it was like to work for Jonathan Brandmeier’s show at The Loop, what she’s learned, how she got into traffic, being a podcasting pioneer with Brandon Wetherbee and the live show, "You, Me, Them, Everybody," briefly working with Roe Conn and Bill & Wendy on WGN, then Nick Digilio and Patty Vasquez; how overnights are different, what it’s like to be on Nick’s show, how she preps for shows, her aspirations, and more. Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG158.mp3