Anna Peters

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Welcome to the Conversations with COJO podcast. I'm Claire Booth,
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student journalism, and I'm here with Anna Peters, who is from KELOLAND,
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and she is the director of news and multimedia content.
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Anna, can you just start off by a little introduction about yourself?
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Well, I went to SDSU back in the 1990s. I wanted to make good money,
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so I was going to be a pharmacist.
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And then like two weeks in, I was like, I am not spending my money on these classes.
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So I talked to someone down the hall and she said, have you thought about journalism?
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And I was like, well, maybe. And then I started the classes and I loved them.
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Like back in high school, back when I was young, we used like tapes for editing and stuff.
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But I actually took every video editing class I could.
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And I did projects on video when I had the opportunity. So I was kind of training for it all along.
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But I didn't realize it until I started my major.
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Got my first job in Sioux Falls at another TV station. I did some radio for a little while.
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And then about 25 years ago, I got a call from Kello and I came over and talked and I haven't left.
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So I know a lot about journalism. So I've learned so much over the years, though.
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It's amazing. You know, you learn a lot in school, but like the stuff you learn
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in the real world, it's it's amazing.
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I know. I believe that I'm just about to graduate. So like I'm really nervous,
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but like I'm excited for like what's going to come and everything I'm going to learn.
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And you never know, you know, you take one path and sometimes it veers off one
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way or another way and then something else shows up.
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I never thought I would be here where I'm at today, ever. I never imagined it.
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So I know you kind of touched on this a little bit, started for pharmacy and
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then you kind of turned into journalism. But was there anything else that kind
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of inspired you into what you're doing today?
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I love to write and I get to get paid to write
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every day so it's it's pretty great and then
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once you figure out the whole getting the video with
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the words and combining it it's magical you
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know and there's nothing like putting together a
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great story or for me watching my team put together a really good story or a
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great newscast and get people important information and you know there are certain
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stories where you get done at the end of the day and it's like that's why we
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do this so Did you always know that you wanted to work in South Dakota or did
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it just kind of you end up here by chance?
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Well, I grew up in Minneapolis and I could afford three schools.
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SDSU was one of them. And I visited SDSU, really liked it. And so I went there.
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And then my now husband, who is my boyfriend from college, he got a job in Sioux Falls.
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So I was like, well, I'll look for a job in Sioux Falls. And here we are 20 some years later.
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So what college experiences really helped you prepare for the career that you
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have today? You know, it's amazing. But like every class you take kind of helps
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because you're going to do stories if you're going to be a reporter.
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Politics. I mean, we're doing tons of stuff right now because we have the election coming up this year.
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And so everything you learned in your political classes helps.
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You learn like your government class. It's going to help you,
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which, you know, you're memorizing all these things now. But as you're learning
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about how bills are passed and stuff and telling people that this is a bill,
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it made it through this house, now it needs to go to this chamber.
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And, you know, it really sticks with you once you've reported a few times on
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a different topic. And even like, you know, if you take a psychology or sociology
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class, you never know, that might help you with the story someday.
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What skills mattered the most when you were first starting out?
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First starting, I had to work really hard.
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I mean, you had to be very dedicated, willing to work any hours.
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One thing with journalism, you don't start out at the top making a ton of money,
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so you know, you have to be willing to work hard and maybe not get what you deserve right away.
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Or as much, you know, but yeah, it's, you just had to be flexible.
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My first job, I was there for a year and a half and I did everything.
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I was a photographer. I was a reporter.
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I was a news anchor. I was a weather anchor. For a lot of my days, it was me.
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I'd go out with a reporter. I would shoot their story.
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While they were writing their story, I'd run and shoot my own story,
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write my own story, edit my own story and be ready to edit their story when
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it was done and then get it all on the air.
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So you just got to be willing to work hard. And, you know, I got called in the
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middle of the night several times, whether there was a helicopter crash,
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there was a plane crash, and you just never know where you're going to end up.
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But you got to do it, put in your time.
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And people notice that. It makes a difference. So with most jobs.
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But yeah, if you can prove yourself, it makes a huge difference in journalism.
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I did not learn how to do weather.
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And so when that was thrown at me, I was like, okay, so I got to build all these
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maps and these graphics and figure out the temperatures.
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And it was, that was not my strongest point.
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You know, I did what I, you know, I did a decent job when I did it,
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but yeah, I am not a meteorologist, never will be.
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And you know, for someone looking for a job, you got to be willing to like take
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that part-time job, get your foot in the door, because once they see that you're
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a hard worker and you're interested in learning other things,
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they might have something open up.
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And I mean, that's the best way to get it. Because any place you work,
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at least any place I've ever worked, they love to take internal people,
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watch them grow, watch them succeed, you know, keep them growing and succeeding.
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So I mean, if you can get your foot in the door, no matter what the job is, two shifts a week.
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It's it's worth it. Yes. Something is better than nothing.
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Yes. And I tell you what, a lot of our full time photographers,
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our full time producers, our full time reporters, many of them started as interns.
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And we had a lot that started as part time production assistants.
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So they were just editing videos for newscasts and we saw their passion, saw their drive.
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And when something opened up, we found the perfect spot for them.
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So and talk to your boss, too.
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Once you get that job, let them know what you want. Let them know if you're
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really enjoying part of your job and see if you can do more of it.
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What makes reporting in South Dakota unique compared to other states or other markets?
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South Dakota is just unique, isn't it? You know, it's a very conservative state,
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but I think we've got a lot of good people.
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And, you know, you've got to build your connections.
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And with it being a little bit smaller of a state, I think we have an easier
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time making those connections with elected officials just because it's not as big of a state.
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You can find, you know, those connections with community leaders.
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And we love it when we hire someone locally and they've got those connections
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in their hometown. and, you know, it's all about meeting people, building connections.
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And, you know, South Dakota is a great place to do it. Oh, yeah,
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100 percent. I definitely feel because like it's just a small market,
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but like and everybody knows every everyone.
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It's just like a great place, great starting point and a great place to grow
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as especially as a journalist. It is.
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And there are so many good stories and so many great people to talk to in this state.
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What kinds of stories have you noticed matter the most to viewers here in South Dakota?
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It's a really good question. You know, if you look at it, it depends how you look at it.
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Because like this week, we had a 14-year-old girl who was killed in South Dakota
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or in Sioux Falls. She was found in the Brookings area last week.
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And the amount of attention that has gotten on social media,
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people want to know everything they can about who she was.
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They want to know what's happening in the investigation because there's not
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a lot of information and we're a week and a half into it.
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So sometimes it's those stories. I mean...
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With our website, we track like what stories do the best and stuff.
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Honestly, anything about fishing.
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South Dakotans love fishing story. And that was huge. But it's it's the stories
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like for me, it's the stories that make a difference.
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So if we do a story on a housing development where people are afraid to live
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or you talk to that person who went through some kind of trauma,
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but they're willing to share their story and hopefully help other people.
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You know, there are some stories that you do and you're like,
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wow, that makes a difference.
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That's going to make things better for someone. And for me personally,
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those are the ones that really matter.
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But in South Dakota, you never know. Sometimes it's the fishing story.
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Sometimes it's hunting.
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It's all the stories matter to different people. As a journalist,
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how do you build trust with local communities?
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That's one of those things. I
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think you have to do it by making the phone calls, reaching out to people.
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Sometimes you make those phone calls and you don't get the story,
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but you make that connection and you build on that until at some point someone's
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like, well, maybe I'll call them because this happened.
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We have some communities in western South Dakota on reservations where a few
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years ago we sent a crew out to do some stories.
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No one wanted us there. But like as we talked to more people,
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people actually gathered at a park to talk to us.
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So I mean, it's it takes patience. And we're journalists.
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We're real people. We're just like everyone else. We've got families.
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We've had tough times. We've had good times.
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And, you know, obviously, I've never walked in a lot of people's shoes,
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but I'm willing to listen. Are there any challenges that come with covering these rural areas?
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Well, it takes a lot of time to get places.
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And, you know, Zoom is great. It was wonderful during the pandemic.
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But if we can actually get there, you can tell such a better story because you've got the video.
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You actually get to meet the person, kind of see them in their elements,
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and you can put together a better story.
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That's one thing. We do have a couple of video journalists who they shoot their own video.
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They write their own stories. They do everything.
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And so if they pack up their stuff ahead in the car, they can grab that whole story themselves.
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You don't have to send two people out of town. We love to get out of town.
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And, you know, there are so many stories that we miss because people call us
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and be like, why didn't you cover this?
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No one told us. So, I mean, you know, if there's something happening in a small
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town, it's wonderful if people let us know. We try our best.
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Yeah, it's we do have reporters who spend a lot of time on the road,
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though, getting to places and and some spots in South Dakota.
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You need to, like I said, we plan trips.
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So we're gone for three days. We're gathering that news and we bring it back
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and put it all together because you can't drive from one end of South Dakota
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to the other and back and get a whole story together and everything else in one day.
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So you do you do on air stuff live currently?
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No, no, no, no. I did that at my first job. I did it with radio.
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And then I did it when I started at Kella.
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I was the week in Anchor. And then I was a reporter during the week.
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And like after a few years, I realized that I love the behind the scenes.
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I love putting it all together, putting the puzzle together,
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working with everyone behind the scenes.
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Well, kind of like going with since you did Anchor, I just want to know,
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did you have like any pre-show routine before going live?
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It depended on the day. Some days I was in such a hurry.
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I was basically like grabbing my IFB, grabbing my scripts because we had paper
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scripts back then, running up the stairs, sitting down and we started.
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There were other days where I had time to like do my hair and but you just don't know.
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And you don't know when you go to work in the morning if it's going to be one
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of those days or one of those days.
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So but I feel like that has to be kind of part of the fun thrill of it,
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though, just like the craziness of it.
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But the important thing is to read through those scripts.
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If you have to adjust something, adjust it ahead of time. And did you ever have
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something go wrong during a live broadcast? Oh, gosh, yes.
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I'm sure there were times when I was on air but the one thing that
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really sticks with me is the derecho a few years back
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I don't know if you're around for that but we had two of them
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in one summer and one of them we were watching it on our live cameras and we're
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looking out over Southern Sioux Falls and we see like the electric power lines
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are sparking and the power goes out and then it's getting closer sparking and
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the power goes out and we're like oh it's getting closer,
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hit us, and the power went out.
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So then at that point, we're like, get the generator and running and trying to get everything.
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But yeah, so that was a problem on air. It would have been good if we had our
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generator on before that, but I think we're working on some new equipment that
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will help it automatically turn on right now.
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But yeah, that was, after that, we came up with some policies to make sure.
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Because yeah, it's hard to show people what's happening when you don't have electricity.
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Oh my gosh, that would be so scary when everything went out. I would have been.
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It was wild, but our station has been here for, I don't know, since the 1960s.
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It's a solid building, so we're safe. nothing's going to happen to this building.
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I shouldn't say that, but knock on wood.
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But yeah, no, we're in a safe spot. What is the hardest type of story to deliver?
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You know, I think it's going to be the ones where it involves a crime and a
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child's the victim. It's,
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And it's hard from the very beginning of putting that story together,
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reaching out, trying to find someone to talk to.
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I mean, and we're a visual medium, so you've got to figure out how to get those
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pictures so you can show who this child was.
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I mean, it's any any crime is terrible, but a crime involving a child's worse.
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Toughness like that has to come with when trying to deliver.
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Yeah, and you know, it's one of those things you just don't know.
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Because some people telling their story, talking about their loved one, it helps them heal.
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I had a woman, gosh, 20-some years
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ago, and I reached out to her after her daughter died in a car crash.
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And she talked to me, and she gave me a hug at the end of the interview and
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thanked me. You just don't know.
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So being a woman in broadcasting news, have you faced any unique challenges as a woman?
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It's a good industry to be in as a woman. I have not personally felt like I
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was held back because I'm a woman.
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I'm sure at some stations, in some places, it might be like that.
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But I think the industry has changed over the years and it's gotten better.
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If I had gotten into it 10 or 20 years later, I've heard it was a much different situation.
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But I mean, for the last, before I got promoted, our news director for like
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17 years was a woman before me.
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So, I mean, I think, and our general manager is a woman.
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So that's always good to hear. that makes me as a young journalist feel a little
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bit, a bit more at ease with everything.
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But you kind of said a little bit about this, but how has the industry changed
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for female journalists?
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Oh, gosh. If you talk to, like, I have a good friend who was an anchor for probably
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10 years before I started.
00:14:10.415 --> 00:14:16.275
She never felt quite comfortable on set. The male anchors treated her differently and made comments.
00:14:16.575 --> 00:14:22.915
And, you know, you know, maternity leave wasn't as accepted not too long ago as it is today.
00:14:23.335 --> 00:14:27.215
It's, you know, and sometimes I know that it gets in the way of women's careers.
00:14:27.355 --> 00:14:28.635
I haven't had that problem.
00:14:29.075 --> 00:14:30.915
Places I've worked have been good, but...
00:14:31.341 --> 00:14:38.561
But, you know, in the early 1990s, early or the 1980s, our anchors smoked on the set.
00:14:38.801 --> 00:14:43.561
It was it was a different world then. So, I mean, especially I think South Dakota
00:14:43.561 --> 00:14:47.821
sometimes is a little behind the times on things. So I think there was some chauvinism.
00:14:48.301 --> 00:14:51.541
Things have changed because now we can have women anchor any newscasts.
00:14:51.641 --> 00:14:53.941
We have two women anchor one newscast. Not a problem.
00:14:54.161 --> 00:14:58.221
What advice would you give to any young woman entering the world of journalism?
00:14:58.501 --> 00:15:00.601
Oh, don't be afraid to ask questions.
00:15:01.241 --> 00:15:05.701
Work hard. Be willing to put in your time, you know, and do stories that are important to you.
00:15:05.881 --> 00:15:09.961
You know, I think that's one of the hardest parts as a young journalist is those story ideas.
00:15:10.161 --> 00:15:13.221
But think about your own life and what's important to you because it's probably
00:15:13.221 --> 00:15:14.621
important to other people, too.
00:15:14.821 --> 00:15:18.741
When I first started, it just felt very inspiring just doing it with itself
00:15:18.741 --> 00:15:22.661
because you're shining a light on all these amazing stories and all these amazing people.
00:15:22.961 --> 00:15:26.841
And when you do shine that light, it's so great. I mean, the goal with any story
00:15:26.841 --> 00:15:32.941
is to do so well that people on both sides loved it or both sides didn't like
00:15:32.941 --> 00:15:34.641
it. Because you want to make sure it's balanced.
00:15:34.821 --> 00:15:38.441
I mean, that's a huge thing, too. Make sure to always get two interviews and
00:15:38.441 --> 00:15:40.121
talk to people on both sides of the story.
00:15:40.401 --> 00:15:43.201
Yeah. Are there any female journalists that inspired you?
00:15:43.661 --> 00:15:46.581
I think mostly the women I've worked with over the years.
00:15:46.941 --> 00:15:52.081
Like I said, I have a friend who is a longtime anchor, our longtime news director.
00:15:53.253 --> 00:15:56.393
She taught me so much because, you know, it's hard to be patient,
00:15:56.553 --> 00:15:59.353
but she could be patient better than anyone.
00:15:59.813 --> 00:16:03.093
So, but, you know, you learn from the people around you. I feel like that's
00:16:03.093 --> 00:16:06.933
the best way to learn is just from the people around you.
00:16:07.153 --> 00:16:09.493
And if you put yourself in a good situation with good people,
00:16:09.713 --> 00:16:11.053
it's a pretty great place to work.
00:16:11.393 --> 00:16:15.673
Social media and modern journalism now are kind of blending a bit.
00:16:15.893 --> 00:16:20.713
Can you talk about how important it is for social media for news and journalism?
00:16:20.713 --> 00:16:26.133
Well, it's important in some ways if it's used right. But it's also we had a
00:16:26.133 --> 00:16:29.993
situation where someone who calls themselves a news agency but doesn't have
00:16:29.993 --> 00:16:34.873
ethics and things was naming a suspect in a case and calling them a suspect in the case.
00:16:35.113 --> 00:16:38.693
And to this day, there are still no charges. So and police say there's no suspect.
00:16:38.693 --> 00:16:40.973
So it's important to know your ethics.
00:16:41.253 --> 00:16:44.033
But as far as journalism goes, things are changing.
00:16:44.433 --> 00:16:47.733
They've always changed. Like I said, I started it was tape to tape editing.
00:16:47.733 --> 00:16:54.533
Now everything's you know digital and we've added our Keloland Plus here at
00:16:54.533 --> 00:16:59.793
Kelo which is a CTV desk which is where I'm at right now but we're looking at
00:16:59.793 --> 00:17:04.353
different kinds of programming that we've ever had before and you know you got
00:17:04.353 --> 00:17:06.853
to think outside the box think about what's next.
00:17:07.193 --> 00:17:09.913
Kelo was one of the first news organizations in South
00:17:09.913 --> 00:17:13.193
Dakota to go online put together a website and it's
00:17:13.193 --> 00:17:16.373
still paying off today because we have I believe
00:17:16.373 --> 00:17:19.713
we have more people looking at our website daily than just
00:17:19.713 --> 00:17:22.413
about any other site in South Dakota and we easily have a
00:17:22.413 --> 00:17:26.233
million viewers a week so which in a state of less than a million people that's
00:17:26.233 --> 00:17:30.453
pretty good that's really good that's amazing we're still figuring out TikTok
00:17:30.453 --> 00:17:34.933
but you should follow us or do you follow on TikTok my kids would be embarrassed
00:17:34.933 --> 00:17:38.933
at this point but we're on Facebook and we just had a meeting today with corporate
00:17:38.933 --> 00:17:42.353
about just different tricks to make Facebook work for you.
00:17:42.493 --> 00:17:44.773
I mean, you got to stay on top of it.
00:17:45.093 --> 00:17:49.753
And especially with social media constantly changing, you always got to try to be ahead of it.
00:17:50.013 --> 00:17:54.413
Is there a way for you guys to interact with your viewers online?
00:17:55.260 --> 00:17:59.140
You know, I get, honestly, I get old-fashioned phone calls from viewers sometimes.
00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:05.360
We get a lot of emails from viewers. We'll have people comment on Facebook and things like that.
00:18:05.360 --> 00:18:08.400
And we'll go through and if someone's posting something that's,
00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:12.900
you know, hurtful to someone else, something that has swear words or is inappropriate,
00:18:12.900 --> 00:18:17.540
we delete that. But we don't do a lot of commenting on social media as much
00:18:17.540 --> 00:18:19.940
as, you know, if they reach out to us, we respond.
00:18:20.560 --> 00:18:22.820
Or, you know, a lot of times, actually, we get a lot of stories,
00:18:22.980 --> 00:18:25.840
too, through social media, too, where people send us stuff.
00:18:26.180 --> 00:18:31.880
Do you think TV news is changing because of TikTok and digital media? Oh, yeah, 100 percent.
00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:36.820
Our ratings, we look at them completely different today than we did 10 years
00:18:36.820 --> 00:18:41.800
ago because we have, let's say, we have 30 or 40,000 people watching our newscast on television.
00:18:42.020 --> 00:18:45.400
But we know we've got at least 5,000 watching on our website,
00:18:45.740 --> 00:18:51.540
on our CTV channel or on other devices that they have. So it adds to our viewership.
00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:55.160
Viewers are changing. Viewership is changing. We're trying to meet them where
00:18:55.160 --> 00:18:58.540
they're at. What platform do you think is most important right now?
00:18:58.820 --> 00:19:03.060
Right now? It doesn't matter what the platform is. Honestly, it's the local news.
00:19:03.220 --> 00:19:05.960
Whether you're on television, our ratings during the day, you know,
00:19:06.040 --> 00:19:09.700
they go up in the morning during a morning news drop, go back up for midday.
00:19:09.960 --> 00:19:13.720
And it's the same thing on our website for people watching our newscasts on our website.
00:19:13.940 --> 00:19:18.300
For our KELOLAND Plus channel, it's people tune in for the newscasts.
00:19:18.300 --> 00:19:21.580
So I think we're trying to put it in different places, but the number one thing
00:19:21.580 --> 00:19:25.680
is to have the local news to do it well, to make sure it's accurate,
00:19:26.120 --> 00:19:29.640
to make sure you're looking at both sides, to have the real people.
00:19:29.980 --> 00:19:34.900
But yeah, local news, our number one priority, and it's just getting that to different places.
00:19:35.140 --> 00:19:38.540
Because you know what? It's changed a lot, and it's going to change a lot in the next five years.
00:19:38.840 --> 00:19:43.080
It's one of those things that's always changing, and the knowing of what's unknown
00:19:43.080 --> 00:19:48.040
to become, but also it's good to hear that people are still tuning into that local news.
00:19:48.040 --> 00:19:54.580
Because I feel like I love the local news a lot more than national news outlets more.
00:19:55.071 --> 00:19:59.051
Yeah. And, you know, with the way AI is, too, a lot of things are changing.
00:19:59.191 --> 00:20:00.471
A lot of industries are changing.
00:20:00.651 --> 00:20:03.711
But, yeah, that's so important for us to deliver the local news.
00:20:03.891 --> 00:20:06.891
And, like, part of who the United States is, you know, having that media,
00:20:07.111 --> 00:20:11.151
having journalists telling people what's actually happening and having journalists
00:20:11.151 --> 00:20:15.871
that people can trust. And honestly, right now, people aren't necessarily trusting
00:20:15.871 --> 00:20:17.351
some of the national media.
00:20:17.391 --> 00:20:23.031
But for the most part, I feel like there's a lot of trust in South Dakota here for the local media.
00:20:23.351 --> 00:20:29.531
And yeah. And if they don't trust us, they let us know. And we use that to learn,
00:20:29.771 --> 00:20:30.891
grow and improve what we do.
00:20:31.511 --> 00:20:36.431
What should college students know to how to prepare for broadcasting?
00:20:36.931 --> 00:20:40.951
Well, you want to look professional. You know, you need to be a good writer.
00:20:40.951 --> 00:20:43.811
Writing is huge or an amazing
00:20:43.811 --> 00:20:46.631
photographer either way because we have photographers as well
00:20:46.631 --> 00:20:49.851
got to be comfortable with the camera got to be comfortable writing
00:20:49.851 --> 00:20:55.571
a new story you know and whether you're doing it for prints or websites or you
00:20:55.571 --> 00:20:59.671
just got to be a good writer and then kind of learn your style as you go like
00:20:59.671 --> 00:21:02.971
I said questions are huge because especially you're coming out of school you
00:21:02.971 --> 00:21:06.671
don't know everything learn from the people around you and you know you write a script,
00:21:07.231 --> 00:21:09.371
Here we have two sets of eyes for everything.
00:21:09.571 --> 00:21:13.991
But I mean, when you bring your script to get approved, look at the changes and learn from them.
00:21:14.191 --> 00:21:18.711
I mean, you got to pay attention to all that because the work that happens behind
00:21:18.711 --> 00:21:22.131
the scenes is just as important as the stuff that happens on camera.
00:21:22.331 --> 00:21:25.171
Obviously, it takes different skills, but if you don't have...
00:21:25.400 --> 00:21:28.600
The quality, it's not going to look as good on TV. Yeah.
00:21:28.740 --> 00:21:31.120
And you know what? If someone says you should change something,
00:21:31.240 --> 00:21:33.860
but there's a reason why you did it and it's a really good reason,
00:21:34.060 --> 00:21:35.080
don't be afraid to say it.
00:21:35.140 --> 00:21:38.560
Because there are times when I would love to have someone, I love it when a
00:21:38.560 --> 00:21:42.360
reporter is passionate about their story, cares about it and explains why I
00:21:42.360 --> 00:21:44.960
wanted to write it this way because it works better with the video.
00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:50.100
On average, how many stories does KELOLAND put together just in a day?
00:21:50.260 --> 00:21:55.180
In a day, actual packages that air on television, we aim for at least eight or nine.
00:21:55.360 --> 00:21:58.580
Plus, we have our eye on KELOLAND land, which is a longer form package.
00:21:58.840 --> 00:22:04.440
But we also have digital reporters who are putting together original reports for our website.
00:22:04.700 --> 00:22:08.160
When you start adding it all together, the amount of stories on our webpage
00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:11.400
per day, I can't give you the numbers, but it's impressive.
00:22:11.760 --> 00:22:15.820
We work for a company that has more than 100 stations and consistently,
00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:21.160
I mean, we're talking stations in San Francisco, LA, much bigger cities than
00:22:21.160 --> 00:22:22.200
Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
00:22:22.580 --> 00:22:26.540
And I think we're in the top 10 for the amount of stories we produce yearly
00:22:26.540 --> 00:22:30.080
compared to stations that are a lot bigger than us. So, I mean,
00:22:30.260 --> 00:22:31.900
there are a lot of stories here.
00:22:32.080 --> 00:22:36.320
Well, and you know, there are so many different stories for young reporters.
00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:38.920
Like you go to work in the morning, you don't know if you're going to do something
00:22:38.920 --> 00:22:44.320
on school lunches or serious crime, or you're going to be sent to the mayor's
00:22:44.320 --> 00:22:46.880
office to do an interview on something. You just don't know.
00:22:47.040 --> 00:22:50.220
Every day is different. You can plan it out, but that doesn't mean that's going
00:22:50.220 --> 00:22:53.720
to happen and that day you may have to push it off another day because something else happened, so.
00:22:53.900 --> 00:22:57.160
I figure, I always tell new people, you know, you gotta learn the rules first,
00:22:57.240 --> 00:23:00.280
you gotta follow the rules, but once you know them and you understand how they
00:23:00.280 --> 00:23:01.380
work, you can break them.
00:23:01.540 --> 00:23:05.460
Like, you know, you need to start a story this way, but if you've got a better idea,
00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:10.059
We can break the rule. You don't have to have a newscast set up with this one
00:23:10.059 --> 00:23:11.599
big package at the top of the show.
00:23:11.699 --> 00:23:15.679
You could do a bunch of little stories and, you know, you can change things around every day.
00:23:16.139 --> 00:23:20.599
What mistakes do new journalists tend to make? Well, there are the new journalists
00:23:20.599 --> 00:23:23.479
who think they know everything and don't want to take feedback,
00:23:23.539 --> 00:23:25.239
which that never ends well.
00:23:25.479 --> 00:23:29.139
You know, you might stick around for a while, but usually they end up finding
00:23:29.139 --> 00:23:32.259
another job where they know everything. So don't be that person.
00:23:32.839 --> 00:23:37.679
Unfortunately, you know, it would be great if everyone worked Monday through Friday 9 to 5, but...
00:23:38.418 --> 00:23:42.578
That doesn't always happen, so you have to be willing to work some crazy hours.
00:23:43.198 --> 00:23:47.218
Yeah, the biggest thing is people who don't want to learn or don't try to keep learning.
00:23:47.498 --> 00:23:50.358
And yeah, get as much feedback as you can because, you know,
00:23:50.578 --> 00:23:53.198
you write your story, you want to get feedback on that.
00:23:53.378 --> 00:23:57.778
You edit your story, you want to get feedback on that and learn from the people around you.
00:23:57.998 --> 00:24:04.318
What makes a student stand out when applying for internships or jobs? Oh, well, you know what?
00:24:04.498 --> 00:24:10.158
We've got, sometimes I'm amazed by how many activities kids are involved in when they're in school.
00:24:10.338 --> 00:24:14.618
I've had a couple of hires where they went to even colleges where they maybe
00:24:14.618 --> 00:24:16.458
didn't have a broadcasting department.
00:24:16.458 --> 00:24:21.418
So then they found jobs at the local radio station broadcasting games and volunteered
00:24:21.418 --> 00:24:24.498
to do, you know, the speaker at local events.
00:24:24.498 --> 00:24:29.438
You know, just finding those creative ways to gather that talent and gather
00:24:29.438 --> 00:24:31.878
the experience, you know, that always impresses me.
00:24:32.078 --> 00:24:35.618
But yeah, it's and it's based on the interview, how well that goes,
00:24:35.738 --> 00:24:40.358
how smoothly that goes, you know, and you got to have a personality just like any job.
00:24:40.498 --> 00:24:43.458
You got to understand where you're interviewing with.
00:24:43.598 --> 00:24:46.898
Make sure that you do a little research on the station beforehand is if you
00:24:46.898 --> 00:24:49.978
come in and you don't know how to say kello, that's probably a red flag.
00:24:50.098 --> 00:24:53.498
Although when I was in college, I wasn't from South Dakota. I didn't know how
00:24:53.498 --> 00:24:54.838
to say kello. So I learned.
00:24:55.158 --> 00:24:57.558
Go into those interviews with as much knowledge as you have.
00:24:57.678 --> 00:24:59.258
My number one thing, I almost forgot.
00:24:59.598 --> 00:25:03.898
Write a cover letter. Explain why you are applying, what kind of things you want to learn.
00:25:04.038 --> 00:25:08.378
I think I rarely get a cover letter, but when I do, it makes such a difference.
00:25:08.578 --> 00:25:11.578
Why are you looking at Sioux Falls, South Dakota? Do you have family here?
00:25:11.858 --> 00:25:15.678
Is this a place where you see yourself for long term? What experience did you
00:25:15.678 --> 00:25:17.458
get in college that's going to benefit you?
00:25:17.618 --> 00:25:20.578
But yes, cover letter. I want to get to know you a little bit before I look
00:25:20.578 --> 00:25:24.198
at your resume. Do you think students should start their own podcast or YouTube
00:25:24.198 --> 00:25:25.398
channels for journalism?
00:25:25.718 --> 00:25:29.338
Well, you know, you've got to be careful. If you're doing professional-like stuff, that's great.
00:25:29.658 --> 00:25:33.878
But yeah, you don't want to do something that someone looking to hire you is
00:25:33.878 --> 00:25:35.198
going to look at and be like, oh.
00:25:36.392 --> 00:25:40.632
We don't want our station associated with these topics or. But yeah,
00:25:40.752 --> 00:25:42.052
it's like anything social media.
00:25:42.332 --> 00:25:47.052
You know, you don't post the drinking pictures. You don't post bad comments.
00:25:47.532 --> 00:25:53.212
And political, avoid political. Do not do a political show and show your bias whatsoever.
00:25:53.572 --> 00:25:58.092
But yeah, if you're using it to show your skills, I don't see a problem with it.
00:25:58.212 --> 00:26:01.412
Especially, you know, if you have a specific interest, whether it's sports or
00:26:01.412 --> 00:26:05.792
arts and entertainment or community issues, I guess.
00:26:06.272 --> 00:26:10.512
What's the most unexpected thing that's happened to you in the world of journalism
00:26:10.512 --> 00:26:13.412
or on air or just like in what you're doing now?
00:26:13.712 --> 00:26:15.992
You know how many years I've done this? That's a lot of thinking.
00:26:17.352 --> 00:26:20.752
What's like one that comes to your brain right off the top? Well,
00:26:20.832 --> 00:26:24.752
honestly, when I moved to Sioux Falls, I figured I'd be here two years and it's been...
00:26:25.554 --> 00:26:30.134
We're getting closer to 30. So yeah, nothing went as planned,
00:26:30.334 --> 00:26:32.674
but that's life. And you know, you learn it as you go.
00:26:33.114 --> 00:26:37.214
So yeah, I wish I had some great story though about some story I went out on.
00:26:37.514 --> 00:26:39.854
But yeah, there are so many surprises.
00:26:40.394 --> 00:26:45.894
I mean, there was one day, gosh, years ago, I was sent to Nebraska to do a story on a tornado.
00:26:46.374 --> 00:26:50.734
And then I came back to the station, put it together, and we had more tornadoes.
00:26:50.854 --> 00:26:55.214
And I got ended up working all night and And going out to a town that was hit,
00:26:55.414 --> 00:26:59.234
someone invited us in their house, gave us a tour, showed us how the roof was
00:26:59.234 --> 00:27:02.274
gone, and we could see the rain just coming in. You just never,
00:27:02.394 --> 00:27:03.474
there are so many surprises.
00:27:03.834 --> 00:27:08.574
What's your favorite story you've ever covered? Or do you have one? Oh, my goodness.
00:27:09.514 --> 00:27:11.974
Like I said, you know, there are the stories that make a difference.
00:27:12.134 --> 00:27:14.754
And whether it's me reporting or someone on the team reporting,
00:27:14.914 --> 00:27:18.794
but there are stories where it's an issue that needs to have a light on it.
00:27:19.054 --> 00:27:23.454
And when you shine that light, it feels good. It makes you proud of what you're
00:27:23.454 --> 00:27:25.794
doing, want to come back to work for the next two years.
00:27:26.014 --> 00:27:29.794
So, but yeah, it's, I wish I had an example off the top of my head.
00:27:29.834 --> 00:27:34.094
But when it's a big issue that people don't know about, when it's something
00:27:34.094 --> 00:27:36.734
that's happening in a community that people don't know about,
00:27:36.754 --> 00:27:40.754
and you talk to the real person who's being affected, it's, makes a difference.
00:27:41.194 --> 00:27:45.934
What do you do when you're not working? Is there anything, fun hobbies that you have? I'm so boring.
00:27:47.114 --> 00:27:51.874
I'm a mom. I've got a student at SDSU, and then I have another who's undecided.
00:27:52.034 --> 00:27:56.854
She's a senior this year, so I try to keep in contact with my son and spend
00:27:56.854 --> 00:27:59.534
as much time with my daughter as I can, but she's pretty busy,
00:27:59.774 --> 00:28:03.294
got a husband and a dog, so I love long walks with the dog.
00:28:03.494 --> 00:28:07.574
I love reading, you know, and I love a little reality TV here and there,
00:28:07.794 --> 00:28:11.774
or a good show on Netflix or, you know, Hulu.
00:28:12.454 --> 00:28:15.314
Yes. If you were in news, what would you be doing?
00:28:16.048 --> 00:28:20.448
I have no idea. Like I said, I did not think I would, you know,
00:28:20.528 --> 00:28:22.288
a year into it, I was ready to give up.
00:28:22.428 --> 00:28:25.608
I was applying wherever I could. I wanted to do marketing. I was going to do
00:28:25.608 --> 00:28:28.948
something with normal hours. And but I stuck it out.
00:28:29.168 --> 00:28:33.108
And here I am years later, and I still enjoy what I do.
00:28:33.368 --> 00:28:37.608
So, yeah, I wish I could write a book, but I have no idea what that book would be about.
00:28:37.988 --> 00:28:41.408
But yeah, you know, the nice thing about journalism, you get to do a little
00:28:41.408 --> 00:28:44.808
bit of everything. So yeah, kind of get to see all those other careers, you know.
00:28:45.348 --> 00:28:49.028
Attorney would be cool. Police officer, my husband would not like me doing that.
00:28:49.188 --> 00:28:51.708
But you know, yeah, I have no idea where I ended up.
00:28:52.028 --> 00:28:54.908
What advice would you give to your college age self? Well, I,
00:28:55.288 --> 00:28:57.728
you know, as I mentioned, you know, after a year, I was ready to give up.
00:28:57.948 --> 00:29:01.448
I think that don't give up. And give it a couple years.
00:29:02.008 --> 00:29:05.288
Try it out. You know, you got your degree because you don't know where it's going to take you.
00:29:05.408 --> 00:29:08.528
And a couple years in, I ended up with another job I liked. And then a couple
00:29:08.528 --> 00:29:11.728
years later, I ended up here at Kello and here I am.
00:29:12.268 --> 00:29:18.608
Give it a shot, work hard, and don't give up. What keeps you passionate about journalism?
00:29:19.188 --> 00:29:24.408
Oh, it's so important. Like I said, we need that voice out there that people can trust.
00:29:24.828 --> 00:29:29.628
That voice that's not going to be biased because there are so many voices coming
00:29:29.628 --> 00:29:33.208
from the left and the right and everywhere else.
00:29:33.588 --> 00:29:37.928
You just need to have someone you can trust and we do our best to give people
00:29:37.928 --> 00:29:40.388
around here someplace they can trust and
00:29:40.750 --> 00:29:44.670
to try to find out what's happening locally. You know, we're not your place
00:29:44.670 --> 00:29:46.810
to go to for the big national story of the day.
00:29:47.150 --> 00:29:50.290
We're here to let you know about what's happening in your community.
00:29:50.610 --> 00:29:54.770
And so you understand what's actually happening in your community.
00:29:55.170 --> 00:29:57.790
Like I said, we've got a debate we're working on right now.
00:29:58.410 --> 00:30:02.130
Letting people meet the candidates. That's an important role we play.
00:30:02.630 --> 00:30:05.750
Asking them tough questions. That's an important role we play.
00:30:06.430 --> 00:30:10.750
Shining light on problems in the community. making sure people know about things
00:30:10.750 --> 00:30:13.930
you don't want to know about crimes, helping people know how to protect themselves
00:30:13.930 --> 00:30:16.610
from scams. It's an important job.
00:30:17.070 --> 00:30:21.310
Well, that's all the questions I have for you, Anna. Is there anything that you want to add at all?
00:30:21.450 --> 00:30:24.530
You know, that's one thing I learned as a journalism student.
00:30:24.530 --> 00:30:29.630
That's the most important question to ask is the last one. Anything you want to add. So good job.
00:30:30.610 --> 00:30:34.350
And I think I touched on just about everything. You know, journalism,
00:30:34.730 --> 00:30:36.410
you know, some of it seems glamorous.
00:30:36.590 --> 00:30:39.570
It's not always glamorous. but it's always interesting.
00:30:39.790 --> 00:30:44.670
You're going to continually learn things like I'm learning new things today that I'm working on.
00:30:44.790 --> 00:30:48.990
So, I mean, and as far as technology is going to change, we're going to change with it.
00:30:49.170 --> 00:30:53.070
We're constantly updating things here, you know, and journalism is important.
00:30:53.070 --> 00:30:55.530
So if you feel the calling, stick with it.