Gretchen Hoak: Stephanie Weaver, meteorologist, reporter, digital content creator, podcast host, you are all the things. Thank you so much for taking time to be on my show today.
Stephanie Weaver: Thanks for having me. Yeah, I know. It feels like all the things I do so many and wear so many hats. But thank you for having me on. It's crazy to finally be interviewed because I'm always the one interviewing. ⁓
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah Welcome to the Informed Reporting podcast, where we connect research and the real world to have real conversations about life as a journalist and how to make it better. I'm your host, Dr. Gretchen Hoak a former local TV journalist, turned university professor and researcher. Today I'm joined by Stephanie Weaver. She's a broadcast meteorologist and journalist with more than a decade in news. She's currently a digital content creator for Fox television stations based in Los Angeles and a freelance reporter for Fox 11. Right flip the flip the script a little bit. So to start off Why don't you tell my listeners a little bit about your position now you work for live now Fox based in Los Angeles where you're doing digital content creation and ⁓ Reporting tell a little bit about that position
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, I love it. Yeah, so now I work on the national side of things. So for so long I worked in local news, but for the last almost six years I've worked on the national team. Now the Fox national team covers Fox, New York, Fox, Los Angeles, Fox, Chicago, all of the Fox owned and operated stations. And they also have live now from Fox, which is our national streaming channel, like a fast channel. So you can watch it on all of those.
Gretchen Hoak: She also hosts her own podcast, I Am Not a Weather Girl. In this conversation, we talk about that. Plus, Stephanie talks candidly about her winding career journey, her struggles with anxiety, and her experiences covering the Los Angeles wildfires of 2025.
Stephanie Weaver: free streaming platform. So let's say you're on Samsung TV or Apple TV, you'll be able to watch live now from Fox. So I handle the digital side of all of that. So what that means is I'm writing national stories. So that could be national stories on entertainment, weather, ⁓ news, all the things for all of these owned and operated stations. I used to also host Live Now from Fox. We do have our digital journalists that host that show. I used to do that as well. After I came back from maternity leave, I don't do that as much, but I also freelance report for Fox Los Angeles, the local station sometimes as well.
Gretchen Hoak: And how did you end up in that position in looking at your bio? I know you had stops in Tucson. What's your career path been that has landed you at this position in LA?
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, so a lot of people think that I originally wanted to be a journalist because my mom worked in news growing up. So when I was a kid, my entire childhood, my mom worked for the ABC station WXYZ in Detroit, which at the time was a number seven market. It's a big news market. so my mom worked there for 14 years. So I grew up going to a newsroom as a child. I would color on news scripts in the control room. would, watch the Lion King and the edit bays. Like I just grew up going there all the time. ⁓ And people always think, well, that's ⁓ what wanted to be from a very young age. ⁓ And kind of like, yes ⁓ and in a way, because sure, like I saw it and I thought maybe I could do this. But what I really, really wanted to do was be an actor. So from a young age, I was always creative. So I love to write and I love to perform. ⁓ So.
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Stephanie Weaver: Becoming a journalist makes sense, but at the time I wanted to be an actor. I went to school and wanted to get a theater major, but at the time they were only accepting, and this was at the University of Arizona, they accepted two people into their acting program and I was not one of them. And I was crushed. So I thought, well, what's next? Like, what do I go, what do I do from here? I did get a theater minor, but I was like, I don't know what my major is going to be. I could have done.
Gretchen Hoak: Please follow us on Instagram @ informedreportingpodcast. Our music is Casual Fridays by 1000 Handz, through a Creative Commons license from Free Music Archive. This podcast is produced independently of my teaching and research roles in the School of Media and Journalism at Kent State University. The information shared here reflects my views and those of my guests and is not reflective of the views or official policies of my institution.
Stephanie Weaver: the bachelor's in theater, but you weren't allowed to act in the plays. So I was like, okay, I need to know what my next step is. So I just sat down and I remember so vividly with my mom just going through all the programs at the college, trying to figure out what I would do next. I did throw out the idea of public relations, but there was no PR program at the University of Arizona and.
Gretchen Hoak: If you have any questions or ideas for guests or topics, please email us at informedreportingpodcast@gmail.com.
Stephanie Weaver: So I would have to create my own program, which I almost did, But the whole degree would have been called interdisciplinary arts. And I was like, people aren't going to know what that is, so scratch that. ⁓ And then I thought, hmm, like, ⁓ I think I floated the of journalism, but I ended up a degree in media art. So I went to film school ⁓ and I thought, OK, if I'm not going to ⁓ get an acting major, maybe I'll get a film major and do producing and directing. so my degree is in media arts. So when I graduated college, my idea was going out and becoming a filmmaker. So I moved out to Los Angeles immediately and I worked in the film industry for two years. So I was a PA, a production assistant on film and TV shows. I did a little bit of acting. had an acting agent. I also worked as a producer's assistant at a post-production company. I interned at Sony Pictures. I worked for a short stint at the Weinstein company. Did a bunch of the film and TV things, but my heart was still on the on-air side of it. I know this is long-winded, I'll get there. So I said, okay, I need to do something more creative. I was a producer's assistant. I was basically getting coffee for celebrities. I needed something more. And so I found a job where my parents were living in Tucson, Arizona, cause they retired out there as a part-time TV host for the local ABC station in Tucson. And I thought, well, that's creative. That's interesting. That's on air. Why don't I just apply and see what happens? And of course, long story short, I got the job. I moved back to Tucson where my parents live and started my job at the ABC affiliate in Tucson, Arizona as a part-time. TV host slash digital producer. So that was my first job in foray into TV news and then it snowballed from there.
Gretchen Hoak: Well, it's so funny to see your career that for the last several years has been strictly journalism and meteorology, which we'll get to, but it wasn't your immediate path. You took a sort of winding road to finally get there.
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, and I have my own podcast where I talk with journalists and it really is that think that like women just have this straight line, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, but actually it's a lot more convoluted than that. ⁓ a lot of people have to pivot and maneuver ⁓ ⁓ course. And I did so many times throughout my career. And I think for aspiring journalists, they need to know that's okay. ⁓ think... We all have this vision when we get out of college that if we don't stick to it, that it's not gonna work out, but it will work out, but it might look a little different than what you originally anticipated.
Gretchen Hoak: For sure, feel like journalism definitely is one of those careers that has that tendency where the path may be a little bit winding and not everyone has that same way that they got into it and got to the position that they want. Where did the meteorology fall into it? How did that become a part of what you do?
Stephanie Weaver: So when I was at my first station, which I was at for a very long time, I think people think when you go to your first station that it's generally maybe one year, maybe two years, and then you're onto your next station. Tucson's not a very small market. I would call it a medium-sized market. It was around like 60, 65 when I was there. So it's a decently medium-sized market. And I was at that station for four and a half years. So when I started as a part-time TV host, I was... just learning everything. was learning reporting. I was learning digital. I mean, I didn't come from a journalism background. So I was starting and kind of just meeting everybody. I did some sales work at the time. There was the radio stations also attached to that new station. So I started doing more entertainment and my job and my career started on the entertainment side of things. So as this on air personality starting out, what that really meant was that During commercial breaks, I would go on air and I would say, you're watching the CW Tucson coming up on the vampire diaries tonight, dot, dot, dot. I did a lot of those little cut-ins and these one minute hits talking about entertainment news during the commercial breaks. Then from there, I started a segment on the, cause we were a duopoly, a CW and an ABC duopoly. So I started an entertainment segment called sizzling Hollywood. that would air on ABC and CW on their Morning Blend show, which is their morning lifestyle show. So I did an entertainment segment on there once a week. The radio stations then got wind of that and wanted me to do entertainment on the radio. So I was also on the radio once a week talking entertainment news. Then from there, after maybe about two years of doing that, they approached me to start. doing more news side of things. So digital first reporting. So what that meant was that my stories were more lifestyle based, not hard news. Usually I would call that the D block stories, the stories that don't go at the beginning of the newscast. And I would do these more lifestyle consumer type packages. So I did things on the poisonous toads in Arizona and I would go and interview, you know, the person and their pets and stories like that in the community. So I started doing those and they would go online and then I would tease them on air, part of the story on air, and then the rest of the story would go on digital. I will get to the weather part of it, I swear to you. I talk a lot. So I was doing that and then they needed someone to fill in on weather. So.
Gretchen Hoak: Ha
Stephanie Weaver: I raised my hand and said, me, I want to do this. I want to do more on air stuff. And so then I was able to fill in on weather. And about three months after that, the weekend weather anchor slash general assignment reporter job opened up across the street practically at the NBC affiliate in Tucson, Arizona. So I did have an agent at the time because honestly, I was like, what do I do next? Because I had all this lifestyle entertainment reporting under my belt, but I was like, stations don't want that. Stations want hard news reporters. So it was very difficult for me to know, do I go the entertainment side of things and go to LA and just become an entertainment reporter? Well, when I networked with people, they said, no, no, no, there's not enough jobs in that. No, no, no. which is even more so, no, no, no, no, no, no. But at the time they were like, no, you should probably try to just do straight reporting. So I got an agent and he said the same thing. And so when I started filling in a weather and I fell in love with weather, I went back to school for weather. And in those three months of going back to school for weather, filling in, I got the job at the NBC affiliate in Tucson, Arizona as their weekend weather anchor and general assignment reporter.
Gretchen Hoak: haha
Stephanie Weaver: That's how weather happened. And I think it's a great lesson for our aspiring journalists that if you want to anchor, try to fill in anchoring. If you want to do weather, try to fill in on weather because if that station allows you to even shadow some of the reporters and get that experience that you want, then you can move over to your next job, hopefully doing that.
Gretchen Hoak: Well, I do think it's a great lesson that I know we try to teach our students, especially those that are aspiring to get into television and television journalism, that you kind of got to be willing to do all the things because your, like we've said, your path to that kind of final cherry on top job that you're looking for may be winding and it may involve you doing other things than you initially planned. But at the same time, that might also set you off in a new direction that you didn't know that you would like, which seems to be the case with you.
Stephanie Weaver: Mmm. Yeah, like learn everything because I was just telling somebody this morning I started freelance reporting for Fox Los Angeles, where I need to MMJ anymore. I had a photog. I had somebody out in the field with me editing and shooting my stuff. It was like a breath of fresh air. was like, my gosh, I don't have to do all of this myself. ⁓ But I that it set me up for success because just knowing all of those things.
Gretchen Hoak: haha
Stephanie Weaver: ahead of the time, think is really beneficial and just makes you a stronger journalist, honestly.
Gretchen Hoak: Well, it's interesting that you bring up Los Angeles because I noticed in your bio that you were covering the fires last year in Los Angeles for ⁓ and knowing your sort of accidental adventure into weather and then it became something that was really a passion of yours. What was it like covering that story
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, I think what makes the Southern California wildfires of 2025 unique is because it was personal. I think a lot of times we cover stories that aren't necessarily in our own backyard, but this story was not in my own backyard, but it was very close to my own backyard. I had a condo in Brentwood and Brentwood was evacuated. Luckily, A year before this, I moved a little further south. So I was probably 30 minutes, 25 minutes away from the wildfires. But I knew people that lost their homes. My friend lost her childhood home. My coworker lost his high school. My former boss lost his home. I mean, I knew a lot of people that directly were impacted. my doctor's office was in the Pacific Palisades that burned down, the coffee shop I went to at least monthly burned down. I knew these places, I knew these people that were directly impacted and There's one thing to see it on the news and watch it but to be right there standing in it is completely different. So when you ask me how did it feel covering it, it was in some ways harder because you just, you knew exactly what, not exactly what these people were going through, but To see the places that you went to, sometimes weekly, sometimes monthly, and to see it gone. And to have friends call you up crying hysterically because their parents lost their family home and now where do we live? I mean, it was heartbreaking. was, It was devastating, but I think it also, covering it, I saw the resilience of a lot of people. I saw the strength of so people. I saw the Los Angeles coming together. ⁓ I covered a lot of the aftermath. So went to a dog shelter for instance, and they were taking in all these displaced pets during the wildfires and the veterinarians were living in the ⁓ vet because their home had burned down. So they were literally living there and taking care of all these pets and bringing in these pets. what was so important was giving the voice to them, putting this on the air, telling their story so that people knew about it and could help out. And I think that's why journalism is so important because it does give platform to people that without this they might not otherwise have that voice.
Gretchen Hoak: What was it like trying to balance your own emotions of, like you said, losing places that you frequented and having a personal connection, What was it like trying to ⁓ balance that flow of emotion with I don't know if composure is the right way, but just sort of staying. ⁓ aware of your job as a reporter in that moment while still knowing you've got these emotions that have to be affecting you as you're seeing these things happening.
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, it's difficult, right? in some ways you feel guilty because for me personally, I felt guilty because I wasn't the one that had their house burned down, right? I easily could have been one of those affected, but I wasn't. And you're seeing the heartbreak and you're seeing the devastation and you're seeing all of these lines of homes that are no longer standing. And that's hard. I think as journalists, we have to try to compartmentalize that so that we can do our job accurately and then when the job's over you end up like letting it all out because you're like ⁓ my gosh like I'm relieved by the end of the day I think the advice I've gotten over the years is like to try to show that emotion but as journalists we have this idea of having to ⁓ somehow keep our through it all too so I've found that it is quite the balance of trying to do the story while keeping yourself in it while also not keeping yourself in it. Does that make sense?
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah, yeah, it's a lot to juggle. when you were off air ⁓ did you find yourself confiding in friends or trying to let emotion out knowing that when you're on the air and covering the story, you do sort of have to keep it kind of controlled and not let things come out too much?
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, I guess so. I I did have people that would reach out and be like, I saw you on air. I saw you on TV. Because generally I do a lot of digital national reporting. So I'm writing a lot of national stories. So it's not that often that I go on air. But with big stories like this, everyone was watching. mean, this was the news of the month or few months. I mean, we were working. constantly. mean, there were people at my station sleeping at the station. I mean, we were working tirelessly and I think it was important for me to take it day by day. And I think with any story that you do that is taxing, that is hard hitting, I think what I tried to do was at the beginning of the day, I tried to be like, okay, I just need to get through today. I don't want to think about tomorrow, the next day, the next day, because that can feel really overwhelming. What I tried to do was let me get through today, do a great job today, and then I will focus on tomorrow's story. And that's also what's so great about our industry is that no day is the same. When you're covering the wildfires, sure, the wildfire is the story and you know tomorrow you're covering the wildfire and the next day you're covering the wildfire, but each day, is a different component of that. if you do get overwhelmed in your job, I think the best advice is just take the day, say, okay, I'm just gonna try my best today, do what I can today. And usually it goes better than what you thought and then you can handle the next day after that.
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah, I think it is a bit of a ⁓ blessing in that if you weren't able to maybe do your job as well as you would hope to in that situation on that day, you know you get to try again tomorrow. And so I like that idea of focusing on here's the best I could give today. This is what I tried to do, knowing that you're gonna get the chance to try again and do a better job or improve in some way that following day.
Stephanie Weaver: There was one journalist that once told me, when you look back at your stuff, you never do as bad as you think you did. And you also never do as great as you think you did. And that just like was so accurate.
Gretchen Hoak: Hahaha Yeah, unfortunately, it's true works both ways right? Had you ever covered anything as big or as difficult as those fires before when you got the call to go out there?
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, it totally does. Hmm. I've covered homicides, I've covered breaking news. They were usually one day and not an entire month that I was covering a story. This was something where I was actually covering it for a large portion of time. There were obviously other moments in my career of covering severe weather. I remember having to drive up a mountain in the middle of snow because somebody needs to report on it, right? It's not everybody else.
Gretchen Hoak: Yep, somebody's got to go out there. ⁓
Stephanie Weaver: It's not everybody else staying at home bundled inside. It's Stephanie that's going up the mountain in the news van by herself, right? I think the lesson with that one was I was driving up the mountain. I could not see out my windshield. And this mountain, you can't just veer off, okay? There are no side rails here. ⁓ I remember thinking, I need to pull over.
Gretchen Hoak: Ha ha.
Stephanie Weaver: And I know I have a live shot to get to, but my safety is priority. And I remember pulling over because I just could not see out my windshield. And I remember calling the assignment desk and saying, Hey, this isn't safe. I don't feel comfortable. I need to wait until I feel a little bit more comfortable to drive up this mountain and get to this spot where we need to do our live shot. Because I was driving the news van by myself and totally understandable. They were very understandable. but also get there when you can get there, right? and I put that on myself too, because obviously I want to tell the story. I want to get there as well. But I think the lesson there is you need to know when no is no. You need to be able to stand up for yourself in this business because it's easy for us to say, ⁓ this new story is important. My boss is going to get mad if I don't get there on time, X, Y, and Z, but
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah.
Stephanie Weaver: Safety is number one and if you don't feel comfortable, there's nothing more important. You need to just speak up and say that. And honestly, nine times out of 10, your management is going to say, okay, we understand, pull over, get up there when you can get up there. If they don't do that, you know that maybe this isn't the right station for you and you need to find another station that appreciates that because there are stations that do. So long story short, I did pull over. I waited until I felt safe. I got up there. And when I did get up there to the photographer who was already up there, he said, you have 30 seconds to get on air. I didn't even have time to put an IFB in. I didn't have time to review notes and I was on air and probably made zero sense in what I was saying, but I was on air. And I guess I made the live shot.
Gretchen Hoak: Ha Hahaha Yeah, you made it anyway, which was which was a bonus. But you do have a you make a great point there. I think it's it's important for young journalists, especially to remember that you can advocate for yourself and it's not an automatic you're going to lose your job if you say no to something. You know, you have that ability to say, I'm the one here. I'm the one assessing the situation. I'm telling you, it's not going to work in this moment. So I think that's great because I do believe young journalists especially may default to, well, I can't say no or I can't advocate for myself because
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Gretchen Hoak: I don't want to lose my job or that's not my place or position and and I think like you said Nine times out of ten your your newsroom and your management are going to support you
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, it's so easy for us as journalists to say, like, I'm not going to do that. I want this story to go well. I'm not going to tell my bosses because they might get upset with me. But if they get upset with you, they get upset with you. Like, at some point, you just need to know when no is no.
Gretchen Hoak: are some of the other aspects of your job that have been challenging as you've gone throughout your career?
Stephanie Weaver: I think one of the things that was most challenging for me was I would say that my perfectionism has gotten in the way. And it's funny because you know when you do interviews and they say, never say what your weakness is that you're a perfectionist because that's not what people want to hear because you're just lying. like, no, being a perfectionist was actually my weakness. And I'll tell you why, because when you're a perfectionist in this industry, in a deadline driven environment, you get so hung up on the details. I once had a photographer say, make air, not art. And that always stuck with me because I can get so hung up on the art. I love creating. I love creating packages so much. I think it's my favorite part of a job is creating packages. I don't do it as much anymore because I'm writing so much.
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah
Stephanie Weaver: I love creating packages. And so for me, and it was always a running joke that, ⁓ Stephanie is going to have a longer than usual package because it was always a minute 20. And I'm like, guys, it's a minute 54. Is that OK? Like because I just get hung up on the details. So I think perfectionism was a challenge that I had to really rework for myself. I think that perfectionism also had me start having panic attacks. And I've been open on my own podcast about this.
Gretchen Hoak: Come on. ⁓
Stephanie Weaver: And I've since learned that so many women deal with anxiety attacks and panic attacks on air, which is crazy. when I say that, I say it loosely because I'm not a doctor, but basically the symptoms that I was starting to have was I would get on air and immediately when I would get on air, I would get out of breath and I couldn't talk for more than a minute and a half without feeling completely winded, which is hard when you're a meteorologist and you have a three minute hit and you have
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah.
Stephanie Weaver: 12 graphics to get to. I couldn't say, hey, anchor and hit them to continue with the story. It's just me on air. And I think once I learned that I had anxiety, which could have been out of these perfectionist tendencies, it got worse because I knew what it was now. And so every time I would get on air, I would start spiraling in my head. And that's taken some time to slowly get back on air. And that's why I had originally taken this little maneuver and went more into the digital side of things because I had to work on that part of it. But again, what I tell ⁓ listeners is that that's okay too. I think we think ⁓ our career just over if something ⁓ happens like and it's not, okay. I've freelance reported for Fox Los Angeles, the number two market in the country. ⁓ I hosted the live streaming channel, Live Now from Fox. I've done on air since then. But at that time, it can feel like grief because you're like, what now? Who am I without this job, this position, this title? And so a challenge that I've had to learn, aside from being a perfectionist, A challenge that I've had to learn is, who am I without news? Because for so long, I identified with being a newscaster. I mean my Instagram, my socials, I would only post things if they were weather related. I would only post if it somehow branded me as the meteorologist that I was. and That can be part of you and that's great if that's part of you. I think it's beautiful to show that you're passionate about your job. But what else are you if you're not Stephanie, the meteorologist, the journalist? What else are you? And that's been a challenge for myself that I've had to work through the whole identity side of it. And don't even get me started about once you have a kid and how identity shifts as well because
Gretchen Hoak: Ha ha.
Stephanie Weaver: Once you have a kid and you go back into news, which we can talk about as well, as a whole other identity thing in itself. identity has been something that I've had to work on as well.
Gretchen Hoak: I think ⁓ television is the kind of industry can wrap you up as part of your identity because you're so forward facing. ⁓ And these days it's so important connect with your audience and establish a relationship, if you will, with them. ⁓ And at the same time, I it's also the type of career that if you are a perfectionist or are prone to overthinking, ⁓ It's just that career that is ripe for a problem. It's going to feed into that type of situation. So it's great to hear that you were able to kind of recognize that and work your way through that because clearly you love what you're doing and this anxiety and these issues were a stumbling block and didn't have to be an end to what you were trying to do and what you saw as your career path. And I think that that's a great lesson because there are just so many ways that you can.
Stephanie Weaver: Yes.
Gretchen Hoak: pivot and still stay with what you're trying to do in order to work through the issues that you have.
Stephanie Weaver: Yes, you need to know that you can pivot. You don't need a lifetime subscription to things that no longer serve you. And I think that's really important to know that if it's not working for you, you can pivot, your career is not over, and you can still do things that you're passionate about, but maybe in a different way.
Gretchen Hoak: Absolutely. So I do have to ask what was the transition to mom slash journalists like and how did you manage that knowing that there is no perfection in child rearing I have to myself and it's been a, I would call it a hot mess from the beginning. So how has that transition been for you?
Stephanie Weaver: Well, when I first had a child, and for anybody that becomes a parent, it is a massive identity shift because you now have this human being that you're taking care of. And of course, you know that that's going to be the case when you're pregnant and when you know you're going to have a child. But once you actually have this child and you realize that life is no longer about you, like you are also taking care of another individual. ⁓ your priorities have to shift and you have to get used to these priorities shifting. You have to get used to the trade-offs and that's something that I had to learn. So you can't just on a whim go wherever you want or do whatever you want and if you want to be at a kids event you have to make sure that you can be there at the times you can be there but I will say that it's possible and you can be a badass mom and a badass worker and journalist. But again, like I said, you have to get used to the tradeoffs because there are always going to be sacrifices. So there might be times when you really need to focus on this hard news story. And that means you miss bedtime. But then knowing the next weekend, It's all about your kid and it's all about them. And something I've learned is that when you're at work, you're at work. And when you're at home, you're at home. And those lines can get so blurred so quickly, especially for someone like myself who works from home a lot of the time. You feel like my computer is in my living room and so am I at work still, but I'm at home still like. Where am I in this whole matrix? But I've had to learn that when I'm at work, I'm passionate, I'm focused on my work. And when I'm at home, I'm at home, focused on my child with my phone away somewhere else where I'm not seeing the news. Easier said than done, sometimes that line gets blurred. Sometimes I pick up my phone and I start scrolling and I can't help myself. But I try my hardest.
Gretchen Hoak: you
Stephanie Weaver: to do that because I think that's the best way that I can prioritize the things that are most important at that time.
Gretchen Hoak: did not have children when I was a journalist, but I've spoken with journalists who also have children. And one of the things they've talked about is sort of a change in mindset on stories. Like certain stories hit you harder once you become a parent because now you can put yourselves in the shoes of other parents where maybe in the past you couldn't when you were doing stories related to children. Did you notice a shift in your mindset during stories or how stories would affect you after you became a mom?
Stephanie Weaver: 1000 % I did. And they tell you that before you become a parent. And you say, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But once you become a parent, it's like, oh my gosh. Like, even when I'm writing national digital stories, we have all these stories that pop up into our feed as ideas that we can write throughout the day. And just reading these stories can be really, really difficult. Seeing the headline of these stories can be
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah.
Stephanie Weaver: really, really difficult, especially when they have to do with children. Not that before kids, we didn't care about those stories. I mean, of course we did, but there's just something that hits differently once you become a parent and you're covering those stories. And I think that goes for anyone that's dealt with certain things in their life. I haven't, knock on wood, I haven't dealt with grief the same way other people have. I haven't dealt with major health issues like other people have, but I am certain if there is somebody out there that has had breast cancer and is now interviewing a breast cancer survivor, they are going to have a different way in which they shape that story than even I would have. And so I don't go out here to say, well, I'm a parent, I'm the special one that's covering these stories. I just... see it differently and it's hard to explain until you become a parent. But yeah, the stories that I'm able to digest, it's very different since becoming a parent than it was.
Gretchen Hoak: knowing that you had deal with the issues with anxiety and that's part of the reason that you took the digital position But then you did get thrown into the fires Was there any sort of special way or special things you had to do for yourself to be able to ⁓ get back into doing something that was incredibly stressful and has the potential to reignite anxiety that you had worked so hard to deal with?
Stephanie Weaver: It's so interesting you say that because of course it crossed my mind when I started doing more on air again because your mind just goes right back to it. Like, will this happen to me again? You know, will I start having panic attacks on air again? And I want to tell listeners that when I say I had panic attacks on air, it wasn't like super obvious. Like I wasn't on air like, oh my gosh, you know. ⁓ And I think the first time I ever did the live streaming channel, I think I was a little bit out of breath. And then I started to get used to it again. And then I was like, okay, this is like riding a bike. I'm fine. You know? And then when started reporting, was totally fine, different environment. so I think that environment could play a role. You're not in the exact same situation or the same studio or the same setup that you were when you were having them. And so the situation was different. And so. the situational anxiety could have been different. Again, I'm not sure, I'm not a doctor, but I will say I did do things to keep myself from potentially getting there. So some of the things that I did do before I would get on air, really deep breaths. And I know like sometimes when people are like, take some deep breaths, it's like, ⁓ yeah, whatever. But like really. taking those deep breaths and making sure you're as calm as possible before you start your live hits, I think is actually really helpful. having a little bit of calm in the midst of the chaos, having a little bit of calm before you get on air has been really helpful for me.
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah, I think those purposeful behaviors, like you said, ⁓ everybody's supposed to take deep breaths, but if you know you are doing so with a purpose and that it has worked for you, then something simple like deep breaths can really be very, very helpful in these high stress situations with these highly emotional and changing stories.
Stephanie Weaver: Yes. Yes. Yeah, this made me think of another thing. Some of the things that I thought about, and this goes back to being a parent, some of the things I thought about while I was reporting were things I didn't think about before having children. And what I mean by that was I would be doing a live shot and looking at my phone and thinking, ⁓ man, I really want to get home so I can say good night to my kids. And that was, well, my child, I have one child, but I remember thinking that being like, wow, I never had that thought before. Because when you're on a story, you're just on the story. Yeah, you might say I want to get home and eat dinner or whatever. But once you become a parent, you evolve, you as a person. And you might have those feelings of, I'm doing what I love. I'm passionate about this. ⁓ But at the time, I also love my child and I want to be home with my child and I want to say good night to her. So I think by me doing more of this digital role, I've been able to have a lot more work-life balance than I wouldn't have had because this job, which is not surprising to all of your listeners, does come with a lot of sacrifice. Your hours are crazy, you're working holidays a lot of the times, you're on these crazy news stories. I think it's interesting ⁓ we ⁓ are in this business a lot longer how not just as parents, just as people we evolve and our priorities evolve with the times too.
Gretchen Hoak: Do you think as you've gotten older and more confident and had more experience in the business, you've been able to advocate for yourself more, make choices more that allow you to have that balance that maybe when you were a newbie and you were young, you never would have either had the experience to know you should or the guts to know that you could advocate for those things?
Stephanie Weaver: So hands down, hands down, I mean, when you first start out, you just say yes to everything. that's why I try to, ⁓ and what you do, your work is so great, is that you try to let people know of the things beforehand so that they could make some of these same decisions early on. Because in my early my career, I worked every weekend, of course. Like in some ways you feel like you have to pay your dues, right? So. I worked every weekend. worked every shift. I worked 15 days in a row. I did all of that, but, as, as you're in this business long enough, and maybe that's also, ⁓ you build up a more clout too, to feel like you can do those things. for ⁓ I worked weekends up until I went ⁓ on. ⁓ maternity leave and I said when I come back from maternity leave I want to have the same schedule as my husband because my husband worked Monday through Friday and I worked weekends which for some people is great. Some people love doing that because then they have less days to pay for child care. For me I was like I can't go anywhere ever. I mean it's been how many years that I've been in in Los Angeles and and I haven't been able to go on a weekend trip somewhere or
Gretchen Hoak: ⁓ I think.
Stephanie Weaver: ⁓ a day trip somewhere, because one of us is always working. But again, I had already worked ⁓ my station for a few years weekend, so it's not like I felt like day one I'm asking for the world, right? So I ⁓ ⁓ it takes time to ask for those things, but at the same time, you also need to know, have integrity. ⁓ if something's really important to you to speak up and say that it's important to you.
Gretchen Hoak: ⁓ looking back on your career, there other things that you wish you would have known ⁓ or would have been helpful to know before you had embarked on this journey?
Stephanie Weaver: Hmm. I think it's important to know that you're going to be green at first. I don't think that anybody looks at their first footage from when they first started out and said, wow, that was fantastic. I don't think I don't think that is ever the case. it's if you look back and think it's terrible, because you know what? That meant you grew and you want to continue to grow in this field. ⁓
Gretchen Hoak: Let's hope not, yeah.
Stephanie Weaver: But guys, if your real footage is not great at first, it is okay. You are going to be green at first. You are learning this job. Just make sure to learn every single possible thing you can try to review your footage, try to review your tapes when you can get out in the field, shadow those people that you look up to, and you're just going to continue and continue to get better. And then hopefully after two years, you are going to look back at that stuff and be like, wow, like That was really bad, but in a good way because you're like, okay, now I know that I am improving my skills, but it takes time. even when I watch like actors try to be journalists on camera, I can tell they're acting. Like there is something that just is that consistency of doing it every single day that it just cannot be, it cannot be replicated. Like I watched the morning show and I can tell that those morning show.
Gretchen Hoak: Hahaha
Stephanie Weaver: as great as Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon are. I love them. I love them as actors, but I can still tell that they're not journalists at the end of the day. Like it takes time to perfect that. And I think I would, I would tell my younger self, like it takes time to get good at this job and, and don't look at your stuff and get down about it because we've all been there. Every single one of us that looks back at that stuff at their early days thinks, ⁓ my gosh, I wish that would have been better. But it just means that you're continuing to grow in this field.
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah. I think I might be among the worst people to watch any sort of movie or television show where there are people being television journalists because I feel the same way. like, you're just acting. You don't got it. It's not, it makes it very hard for sure.
Stephanie Weaver: Exactly, The other thing I think I would tell our listeners is, and this is not meant to sound pessimistic, but some things just don't work out. And what I mean by that is you have in your head what you believe will happen in your career. You have it. this is what I'm going to do, this is where I'm going to get, I'm gonna get to network by 30, whatever that dream is of yours. And sometimes things just don't work out. You don't get the job you want, you don't get the opportunity you want, and it has nothing to do with your skill, what you look like, where you were at this time, et cetera, et cetera. You have no idea. it's so easy for to get wrapped what's wrong with me. ⁓ What did I have that someone else had? Why did this person less experience it over me? You don't know. You just have no clue. And even if you do know why that person got it over you, again, it just goes back to sometimes life is just not fair. Sometimes you were the best person for that job. You should have gotten that job and you just did not. And I think, again, I'm not trying to sound like a pessimist by saying that, but it's just the reality of things. It makes it a little bit easier if you can just step away and be like, there are going to be times in your career where The things you want are just not going to work out. And I'll say this, when I was early in my career and I wanted to work for E Entertainment so badly as an entertainment reporter, I went and took my resume to E Entertainment because I wanted to hand it to them in person. And I got stuck in the elevator on my way up to E News because I didn't have a key card and you need a key card to get onto that floor. So usually when you hear this type of story, it goes something like this. It goes, And then the CEO of E entertainment just happened to be in the elevator at that time. And they liked what I was wearing and they liked what I said. And I just gave the best elevator pitch pun intended. And they brought me on as an E news correspondent. That's usually how it goes for me. I was shoved out of the elevator, buh-bye could not hand off my resume and I never made it to E news. And again,
Gretchen Hoak: you haha
Stephanie Weaver: It just goes to show that sometimes those opportunities just don't work out. Everybody's path and everybody's trajectory is different and that's okay. just that makes it maybe a little bit easier for some people, I guess.
Gretchen Hoak: Well, speaking of opportunities, we definitely have to talk about your podcast, which is another endeavor that you have. The I Am Not a Weather Girl podcast, how did that start? What encouraged you or made you want to start creating content in that way?
Stephanie Weaver: I wanted to start it back in 2019. So it took a while for me to get the guts to finally do it. But I kept saying, I wish there was something like this when I was first starting out. And what I am not a weather girl is, is I speak with women who have made their mark in media, women who have made it in the industry and talking about their career journeys. And I talked to meteorologists, I talked to reporters, I talked to women from Good Morning America, NBC News, Dateline. ⁓ Entertainment Tonight, TMZ, all about how they got started in this career because it is so different for so many people, but there's also those through lines of everybody is dealing with something. Everybody has something, whether that is a career setback, whether that is grief, whether that is loss, whether that is anxiety, depression. Everybody is dealing with something internally. They all are, no matter if it looks like it was an easy road for them. Everybody is dealing with something and it's what makes each person uniquely human, but it's also what connects us all and gives us the shared experience. so hearing those stories hopefully makes other journalists and other aspiring journalists feel not alone in the industry that they're working with. And that's why it's so great what you're doing too. It's. all of us journalists coming together and saying, me too, me too, me too. And so you don't feel alone in all of this because we're all dealing with these things, but you can listen to it on, I am not a weather girl. You can find it wherever you listen to podcasts. So Apple, you can listen to it on Spotify. You can watch it on YouTube, anywhere you listen.
Gretchen Hoak: Well, I really love that idea because I think that journalists inherently don't talk about themselves because I think it is the whole, well, we're not the story, we're there to tell the story, but you're still a human and you still have an experience in your work and you still have valuable. things to share and it's nice to have a platform like yours and hopefully this one where we can talk about what it is like to be a journalist and what it's like to be a human as a journalist and some of the challenges that you face because you're human and you know ultimately it's a it's a difficult job it's a great job but it comes with challenges and I love the idea of that conversation starting and having the ability to just talk about it.
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, and I think the through line with all of this is my podcast title is called I am not a weather girl. And it's not just that I am a meteorologist because I am a certified meteorologist, but it's also that we are so many other things than our title. So I am not a weather girl, but I'm also a meteorologist, but I'm also a mother, a wife, a friend, a creative person and so on and so on. so I'm all of these things, but also Let's not be defined by all of these things at the same time. Let's just love our lives and love ourselves for being who we are too.
Gretchen Hoak: And I think it goes back to like what you were talking about with identity that a ⁓ television career because you have that sort of forward facing thing and the audience feels like they know you, but they know you as just this one tiny facet of who you are
Stephanie Weaver: Yes.
Gretchen Hoak: ⁓ nobody really or even thinks that hey behind that is a person, ⁓ They're still real people even though they're forward-facing and are on a platform like television. and the more there opportunities for the audience to see journalists and ⁓ people like you ⁓ as humans. I think is even better for the profession overall.
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, tell that to all the trolls online, please.
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah. What's on the horizon for you? Do you have any creative projects, new directions? ⁓
Stephanie Weaver: So I just wrapped season one of the podcast that was supposed to be usually a season is 10 episodes. did an entire year. So my season one is 52 episodes long. Go check it out. I am not a weather girl. And yeah, I'm prepping for season two. So hopefully within a couple of months, I'll have a season two up with new guests. So I'm really excited about that.
Gretchen Hoak: You've got some great, great guests on there. And I already have students who listen to it. I'm really excited to see who you have on for your next season.
Stephanie Weaver: And guys, I interviewed Gretchen on the podcast, so come on over and listen to our conversation because it's a great one too.
Gretchen Hoak: Hahaha! Yes, absolutely. A little personal plug. was on there as well. I was honored. So I appreciate the opportunity. Well, Stephanie, thank you so much. This has been a pleasure. You are really inspirational and you have such an interesting career journey and an interesting perspective on life in broadcast news. And I really appreciate your willingness to take some time to share it today.
Stephanie Weaver: Yes. Aw, thank you, this was so fun!
Stephanie Weaver: Thanks for having me. Yeah, I know. It feels like all the things I do so many and wear so many hats. But thank you for having me on. It's crazy to finally be interviewed because I'm always the one interviewing. ⁓
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah Welcome to the Informed Reporting podcast, where we connect research and the real world to have real conversations about life as a journalist and how to make it better. I'm your host, Dr. Gretchen Hoak a former local TV journalist, turned university professor and researcher. Today I'm joined by Stephanie Weaver. She's a broadcast meteorologist and journalist with more than a decade in news. She's currently a digital content creator for Fox television stations based in Los Angeles and a freelance reporter for Fox 11. Right flip the flip the script a little bit. So to start off Why don't you tell my listeners a little bit about your position now you work for live now Fox based in Los Angeles where you're doing digital content creation and ⁓ Reporting tell a little bit about that position
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, I love it. Yeah, so now I work on the national side of things. So for so long I worked in local news, but for the last almost six years I've worked on the national team. Now the Fox national team covers Fox, New York, Fox, Los Angeles, Fox, Chicago, all of the Fox owned and operated stations. And they also have live now from Fox, which is our national streaming channel, like a fast channel. So you can watch it on all of those.
Gretchen Hoak: She also hosts her own podcast, I Am Not a Weather Girl. In this conversation, we talk about that. Plus, Stephanie talks candidly about her winding career journey, her struggles with anxiety, and her experiences covering the Los Angeles wildfires of 2025.
Stephanie Weaver: free streaming platform. So let's say you're on Samsung TV or Apple TV, you'll be able to watch live now from Fox. So I handle the digital side of all of that. So what that means is I'm writing national stories. So that could be national stories on entertainment, weather, ⁓ news, all the things for all of these owned and operated stations. I used to also host Live Now from Fox. We do have our digital journalists that host that show. I used to do that as well. After I came back from maternity leave, I don't do that as much, but I also freelance report for Fox Los Angeles, the local station sometimes as well.
Gretchen Hoak: And how did you end up in that position in looking at your bio? I know you had stops in Tucson. What's your career path been that has landed you at this position in LA?
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, so a lot of people think that I originally wanted to be a journalist because my mom worked in news growing up. So when I was a kid, my entire childhood, my mom worked for the ABC station WXYZ in Detroit, which at the time was a number seven market. It's a big news market. so my mom worked there for 14 years. So I grew up going to a newsroom as a child. I would color on news scripts in the control room. would, watch the Lion King and the edit bays. Like I just grew up going there all the time. ⁓ And people always think, well, that's ⁓ what wanted to be from a very young age. ⁓ And kind of like, yes ⁓ and in a way, because sure, like I saw it and I thought maybe I could do this. But what I really, really wanted to do was be an actor. So from a young age, I was always creative. So I love to write and I love to perform. ⁓ So.
Gretchen Hoak: You've been listening the Informed Reporting Podcast with me, Dr. Gretchen Hoak. If you liked you heard today, please like and follow us on Spotify or Apple podcasts and feel free to leave us a positive review. To keep the conversation going and for more information and content between shows,
Stephanie Weaver: Becoming a journalist makes sense, but at the time I wanted to be an actor. I went to school and wanted to get a theater major, but at the time they were only accepting, and this was at the University of Arizona, they accepted two people into their acting program and I was not one of them. And I was crushed. So I thought, well, what's next? Like, what do I go, what do I do from here? I did get a theater minor, but I was like, I don't know what my major is going to be. I could have done.
Gretchen Hoak: Please follow us on Instagram @ informedreportingpodcast. Our music is Casual Fridays by 1000 Handz, through a Creative Commons license from Free Music Archive. This podcast is produced independently of my teaching and research roles in the School of Media and Journalism at Kent State University. The information shared here reflects my views and those of my guests and is not reflective of the views or official policies of my institution.
Stephanie Weaver: the bachelor's in theater, but you weren't allowed to act in the plays. So I was like, okay, I need to know what my next step is. So I just sat down and I remember so vividly with my mom just going through all the programs at the college, trying to figure out what I would do next. I did throw out the idea of public relations, but there was no PR program at the University of Arizona and.
Gretchen Hoak: If you have any questions or ideas for guests or topics, please email us at informedreportingpodcast@gmail.com.
Stephanie Weaver: So I would have to create my own program, which I almost did, But the whole degree would have been called interdisciplinary arts. And I was like, people aren't going to know what that is, so scratch that. ⁓ And then I thought, hmm, like, ⁓ I think I floated the of journalism, but I ended up a degree in media art. So I went to film school ⁓ and I thought, OK, if I'm not going to ⁓ get an acting major, maybe I'll get a film major and do producing and directing. so my degree is in media arts. So when I graduated college, my idea was going out and becoming a filmmaker. So I moved out to Los Angeles immediately and I worked in the film industry for two years. So I was a PA, a production assistant on film and TV shows. I did a little bit of acting. had an acting agent. I also worked as a producer's assistant at a post-production company. I interned at Sony Pictures. I worked for a short stint at the Weinstein company. Did a bunch of the film and TV things, but my heart was still on the on-air side of it. I know this is long-winded, I'll get there. So I said, okay, I need to do something more creative. I was a producer's assistant. I was basically getting coffee for celebrities. I needed something more. And so I found a job where my parents were living in Tucson, Arizona, cause they retired out there as a part-time TV host for the local ABC station in Tucson. And I thought, well, that's creative. That's interesting. That's on air. Why don't I just apply and see what happens? And of course, long story short, I got the job. I moved back to Tucson where my parents live and started my job at the ABC affiliate in Tucson, Arizona as a part-time. TV host slash digital producer. So that was my first job in foray into TV news and then it snowballed from there.
Gretchen Hoak: Well, it's so funny to see your career that for the last several years has been strictly journalism and meteorology, which we'll get to, but it wasn't your immediate path. You took a sort of winding road to finally get there.
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, and I have my own podcast where I talk with journalists and it really is that think that like women just have this straight line, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, but actually it's a lot more convoluted than that. ⁓ a lot of people have to pivot and maneuver ⁓ ⁓ course. And I did so many times throughout my career. And I think for aspiring journalists, they need to know that's okay. ⁓ think... We all have this vision when we get out of college that if we don't stick to it, that it's not gonna work out, but it will work out, but it might look a little different than what you originally anticipated.
Gretchen Hoak: For sure, feel like journalism definitely is one of those careers that has that tendency where the path may be a little bit winding and not everyone has that same way that they got into it and got to the position that they want. Where did the meteorology fall into it? How did that become a part of what you do?
Stephanie Weaver: So when I was at my first station, which I was at for a very long time, I think people think when you go to your first station that it's generally maybe one year, maybe two years, and then you're onto your next station. Tucson's not a very small market. I would call it a medium-sized market. It was around like 60, 65 when I was there. So it's a decently medium-sized market. And I was at that station for four and a half years. So when I started as a part-time TV host, I was... just learning everything. was learning reporting. I was learning digital. I mean, I didn't come from a journalism background. So I was starting and kind of just meeting everybody. I did some sales work at the time. There was the radio stations also attached to that new station. So I started doing more entertainment and my job and my career started on the entertainment side of things. So as this on air personality starting out, what that really meant was that During commercial breaks, I would go on air and I would say, you're watching the CW Tucson coming up on the vampire diaries tonight, dot, dot, dot. I did a lot of those little cut-ins and these one minute hits talking about entertainment news during the commercial breaks. Then from there, I started a segment on the, cause we were a duopoly, a CW and an ABC duopoly. So I started an entertainment segment called sizzling Hollywood. that would air on ABC and CW on their Morning Blend show, which is their morning lifestyle show. So I did an entertainment segment on there once a week. The radio stations then got wind of that and wanted me to do entertainment on the radio. So I was also on the radio once a week talking entertainment news. Then from there, after maybe about two years of doing that, they approached me to start. doing more news side of things. So digital first reporting. So what that meant was that my stories were more lifestyle based, not hard news. Usually I would call that the D block stories, the stories that don't go at the beginning of the newscast. And I would do these more lifestyle consumer type packages. So I did things on the poisonous toads in Arizona and I would go and interview, you know, the person and their pets and stories like that in the community. So I started doing those and they would go online and then I would tease them on air, part of the story on air, and then the rest of the story would go on digital. I will get to the weather part of it, I swear to you. I talk a lot. So I was doing that and then they needed someone to fill in on weather. So.
Gretchen Hoak: Ha
Stephanie Weaver: I raised my hand and said, me, I want to do this. I want to do more on air stuff. And so then I was able to fill in on weather. And about three months after that, the weekend weather anchor slash general assignment reporter job opened up across the street practically at the NBC affiliate in Tucson, Arizona. So I did have an agent at the time because honestly, I was like, what do I do next? Because I had all this lifestyle entertainment reporting under my belt, but I was like, stations don't want that. Stations want hard news reporters. So it was very difficult for me to know, do I go the entertainment side of things and go to LA and just become an entertainment reporter? Well, when I networked with people, they said, no, no, no, there's not enough jobs in that. No, no, no. which is even more so, no, no, no, no, no, no. But at the time they were like, no, you should probably try to just do straight reporting. So I got an agent and he said the same thing. And so when I started filling in a weather and I fell in love with weather, I went back to school for weather. And in those three months of going back to school for weather, filling in, I got the job at the NBC affiliate in Tucson, Arizona as their weekend weather anchor and general assignment reporter.
Gretchen Hoak: haha
Stephanie Weaver: That's how weather happened. And I think it's a great lesson for our aspiring journalists that if you want to anchor, try to fill in anchoring. If you want to do weather, try to fill in on weather because if that station allows you to even shadow some of the reporters and get that experience that you want, then you can move over to your next job, hopefully doing that.
Gretchen Hoak: Well, I do think it's a great lesson that I know we try to teach our students, especially those that are aspiring to get into television and television journalism, that you kind of got to be willing to do all the things because your, like we've said, your path to that kind of final cherry on top job that you're looking for may be winding and it may involve you doing other things than you initially planned. But at the same time, that might also set you off in a new direction that you didn't know that you would like, which seems to be the case with you.
Stephanie Weaver: Mmm. Yeah, like learn everything because I was just telling somebody this morning I started freelance reporting for Fox Los Angeles, where I need to MMJ anymore. I had a photog. I had somebody out in the field with me editing and shooting my stuff. It was like a breath of fresh air. was like, my gosh, I don't have to do all of this myself. ⁓ But I that it set me up for success because just knowing all of those things.
Gretchen Hoak: haha
Stephanie Weaver: ahead of the time, think is really beneficial and just makes you a stronger journalist, honestly.
Gretchen Hoak: Well, it's interesting that you bring up Los Angeles because I noticed in your bio that you were covering the fires last year in Los Angeles for ⁓ and knowing your sort of accidental adventure into weather and then it became something that was really a passion of yours. What was it like covering that story
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, I think what makes the Southern California wildfires of 2025 unique is because it was personal. I think a lot of times we cover stories that aren't necessarily in our own backyard, but this story was not in my own backyard, but it was very close to my own backyard. I had a condo in Brentwood and Brentwood was evacuated. Luckily, A year before this, I moved a little further south. So I was probably 30 minutes, 25 minutes away from the wildfires. But I knew people that lost their homes. My friend lost her childhood home. My coworker lost his high school. My former boss lost his home. I mean, I knew a lot of people that directly were impacted. my doctor's office was in the Pacific Palisades that burned down, the coffee shop I went to at least monthly burned down. I knew these places, I knew these people that were directly impacted and There's one thing to see it on the news and watch it but to be right there standing in it is completely different. So when you ask me how did it feel covering it, it was in some ways harder because you just, you knew exactly what, not exactly what these people were going through, but To see the places that you went to, sometimes weekly, sometimes monthly, and to see it gone. And to have friends call you up crying hysterically because their parents lost their family home and now where do we live? I mean, it was heartbreaking. was, It was devastating, but I think it also, covering it, I saw the resilience of a lot of people. I saw the strength of so people. I saw the Los Angeles coming together. ⁓ I covered a lot of the aftermath. So went to a dog shelter for instance, and they were taking in all these displaced pets during the wildfires and the veterinarians were living in the ⁓ vet because their home had burned down. So they were literally living there and taking care of all these pets and bringing in these pets. what was so important was giving the voice to them, putting this on the air, telling their story so that people knew about it and could help out. And I think that's why journalism is so important because it does give platform to people that without this they might not otherwise have that voice.
Gretchen Hoak: What was it like trying to balance your own emotions of, like you said, losing places that you frequented and having a personal connection, What was it like trying to ⁓ balance that flow of emotion with I don't know if composure is the right way, but just sort of staying. ⁓ aware of your job as a reporter in that moment while still knowing you've got these emotions that have to be affecting you as you're seeing these things happening.
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, it's difficult, right? in some ways you feel guilty because for me personally, I felt guilty because I wasn't the one that had their house burned down, right? I easily could have been one of those affected, but I wasn't. And you're seeing the heartbreak and you're seeing the devastation and you're seeing all of these lines of homes that are no longer standing. And that's hard. I think as journalists, we have to try to compartmentalize that so that we can do our job accurately and then when the job's over you end up like letting it all out because you're like ⁓ my gosh like I'm relieved by the end of the day I think the advice I've gotten over the years is like to try to show that emotion but as journalists we have this idea of having to ⁓ somehow keep our through it all too so I've found that it is quite the balance of trying to do the story while keeping yourself in it while also not keeping yourself in it. Does that make sense?
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah, yeah, it's a lot to juggle. when you were off air ⁓ did you find yourself confiding in friends or trying to let emotion out knowing that when you're on the air and covering the story, you do sort of have to keep it kind of controlled and not let things come out too much?
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, I guess so. I I did have people that would reach out and be like, I saw you on air. I saw you on TV. Because generally I do a lot of digital national reporting. So I'm writing a lot of national stories. So it's not that often that I go on air. But with big stories like this, everyone was watching. mean, this was the news of the month or few months. I mean, we were working. constantly. mean, there were people at my station sleeping at the station. I mean, we were working tirelessly and I think it was important for me to take it day by day. And I think with any story that you do that is taxing, that is hard hitting, I think what I tried to do was at the beginning of the day, I tried to be like, okay, I just need to get through today. I don't want to think about tomorrow, the next day, the next day, because that can feel really overwhelming. What I tried to do was let me get through today, do a great job today, and then I will focus on tomorrow's story. And that's also what's so great about our industry is that no day is the same. When you're covering the wildfires, sure, the wildfire is the story and you know tomorrow you're covering the wildfire and the next day you're covering the wildfire, but each day, is a different component of that. if you do get overwhelmed in your job, I think the best advice is just take the day, say, okay, I'm just gonna try my best today, do what I can today. And usually it goes better than what you thought and then you can handle the next day after that.
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah, I think it is a bit of a ⁓ blessing in that if you weren't able to maybe do your job as well as you would hope to in that situation on that day, you know you get to try again tomorrow. And so I like that idea of focusing on here's the best I could give today. This is what I tried to do, knowing that you're gonna get the chance to try again and do a better job or improve in some way that following day.
Stephanie Weaver: There was one journalist that once told me, when you look back at your stuff, you never do as bad as you think you did. And you also never do as great as you think you did. And that just like was so accurate.
Gretchen Hoak: Hahaha Yeah, unfortunately, it's true works both ways right? Had you ever covered anything as big or as difficult as those fires before when you got the call to go out there?
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, it totally does. Hmm. I've covered homicides, I've covered breaking news. They were usually one day and not an entire month that I was covering a story. This was something where I was actually covering it for a large portion of time. There were obviously other moments in my career of covering severe weather. I remember having to drive up a mountain in the middle of snow because somebody needs to report on it, right? It's not everybody else.
Gretchen Hoak: Yep, somebody's got to go out there. ⁓
Stephanie Weaver: It's not everybody else staying at home bundled inside. It's Stephanie that's going up the mountain in the news van by herself, right? I think the lesson with that one was I was driving up the mountain. I could not see out my windshield. And this mountain, you can't just veer off, okay? There are no side rails here. ⁓ I remember thinking, I need to pull over.
Gretchen Hoak: Ha ha.
Stephanie Weaver: And I know I have a live shot to get to, but my safety is priority. And I remember pulling over because I just could not see out my windshield. And I remember calling the assignment desk and saying, Hey, this isn't safe. I don't feel comfortable. I need to wait until I feel a little bit more comfortable to drive up this mountain and get to this spot where we need to do our live shot. Because I was driving the news van by myself and totally understandable. They were very understandable. but also get there when you can get there, right? and I put that on myself too, because obviously I want to tell the story. I want to get there as well. But I think the lesson there is you need to know when no is no. You need to be able to stand up for yourself in this business because it's easy for us to say, ⁓ this new story is important. My boss is going to get mad if I don't get there on time, X, Y, and Z, but
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah.
Stephanie Weaver: Safety is number one and if you don't feel comfortable, there's nothing more important. You need to just speak up and say that. And honestly, nine times out of 10, your management is going to say, okay, we understand, pull over, get up there when you can get up there. If they don't do that, you know that maybe this isn't the right station for you and you need to find another station that appreciates that because there are stations that do. So long story short, I did pull over. I waited until I felt safe. I got up there. And when I did get up there to the photographer who was already up there, he said, you have 30 seconds to get on air. I didn't even have time to put an IFB in. I didn't have time to review notes and I was on air and probably made zero sense in what I was saying, but I was on air. And I guess I made the live shot.
Gretchen Hoak: Ha Hahaha Yeah, you made it anyway, which was which was a bonus. But you do have a you make a great point there. I think it's it's important for young journalists, especially to remember that you can advocate for yourself and it's not an automatic you're going to lose your job if you say no to something. You know, you have that ability to say, I'm the one here. I'm the one assessing the situation. I'm telling you, it's not going to work in this moment. So I think that's great because I do believe young journalists especially may default to, well, I can't say no or I can't advocate for myself because
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Gretchen Hoak: I don't want to lose my job or that's not my place or position and and I think like you said Nine times out of ten your your newsroom and your management are going to support you
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, it's so easy for us as journalists to say, like, I'm not going to do that. I want this story to go well. I'm not going to tell my bosses because they might get upset with me. But if they get upset with you, they get upset with you. Like, at some point, you just need to know when no is no.
Gretchen Hoak: are some of the other aspects of your job that have been challenging as you've gone throughout your career?
Stephanie Weaver: I think one of the things that was most challenging for me was I would say that my perfectionism has gotten in the way. And it's funny because you know when you do interviews and they say, never say what your weakness is that you're a perfectionist because that's not what people want to hear because you're just lying. like, no, being a perfectionist was actually my weakness. And I'll tell you why, because when you're a perfectionist in this industry, in a deadline driven environment, you get so hung up on the details. I once had a photographer say, make air, not art. And that always stuck with me because I can get so hung up on the art. I love creating. I love creating packages so much. I think it's my favorite part of a job is creating packages. I don't do it as much anymore because I'm writing so much.
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah
Stephanie Weaver: I love creating packages. And so for me, and it was always a running joke that, ⁓ Stephanie is going to have a longer than usual package because it was always a minute 20. And I'm like, guys, it's a minute 54. Is that OK? Like because I just get hung up on the details. So I think perfectionism was a challenge that I had to really rework for myself. I think that perfectionism also had me start having panic attacks. And I've been open on my own podcast about this.
Gretchen Hoak: Come on. ⁓
Stephanie Weaver: And I've since learned that so many women deal with anxiety attacks and panic attacks on air, which is crazy. when I say that, I say it loosely because I'm not a doctor, but basically the symptoms that I was starting to have was I would get on air and immediately when I would get on air, I would get out of breath and I couldn't talk for more than a minute and a half without feeling completely winded, which is hard when you're a meteorologist and you have a three minute hit and you have
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah.
Stephanie Weaver: 12 graphics to get to. I couldn't say, hey, anchor and hit them to continue with the story. It's just me on air. And I think once I learned that I had anxiety, which could have been out of these perfectionist tendencies, it got worse because I knew what it was now. And so every time I would get on air, I would start spiraling in my head. And that's taken some time to slowly get back on air. And that's why I had originally taken this little maneuver and went more into the digital side of things because I had to work on that part of it. But again, what I tell ⁓ listeners is that that's okay too. I think we think ⁓ our career just over if something ⁓ happens like and it's not, okay. I've freelance reported for Fox Los Angeles, the number two market in the country. ⁓ I hosted the live streaming channel, Live Now from Fox. I've done on air since then. But at that time, it can feel like grief because you're like, what now? Who am I without this job, this position, this title? And so a challenge that I've had to learn, aside from being a perfectionist, A challenge that I've had to learn is, who am I without news? Because for so long, I identified with being a newscaster. I mean my Instagram, my socials, I would only post things if they were weather related. I would only post if it somehow branded me as the meteorologist that I was. and That can be part of you and that's great if that's part of you. I think it's beautiful to show that you're passionate about your job. But what else are you if you're not Stephanie, the meteorologist, the journalist? What else are you? And that's been a challenge for myself that I've had to work through the whole identity side of it. And don't even get me started about once you have a kid and how identity shifts as well because
Gretchen Hoak: Ha ha.
Stephanie Weaver: Once you have a kid and you go back into news, which we can talk about as well, as a whole other identity thing in itself. identity has been something that I've had to work on as well.
Gretchen Hoak: I think ⁓ television is the kind of industry can wrap you up as part of your identity because you're so forward facing. ⁓ And these days it's so important connect with your audience and establish a relationship, if you will, with them. ⁓ And at the same time, I it's also the type of career that if you are a perfectionist or are prone to overthinking, ⁓ It's just that career that is ripe for a problem. It's going to feed into that type of situation. So it's great to hear that you were able to kind of recognize that and work your way through that because clearly you love what you're doing and this anxiety and these issues were a stumbling block and didn't have to be an end to what you were trying to do and what you saw as your career path. And I think that that's a great lesson because there are just so many ways that you can.
Stephanie Weaver: Yes.
Gretchen Hoak: pivot and still stay with what you're trying to do in order to work through the issues that you have.
Stephanie Weaver: Yes, you need to know that you can pivot. You don't need a lifetime subscription to things that no longer serve you. And I think that's really important to know that if it's not working for you, you can pivot, your career is not over, and you can still do things that you're passionate about, but maybe in a different way.
Gretchen Hoak: Absolutely. So I do have to ask what was the transition to mom slash journalists like and how did you manage that knowing that there is no perfection in child rearing I have to myself and it's been a, I would call it a hot mess from the beginning. So how has that transition been for you?
Stephanie Weaver: Well, when I first had a child, and for anybody that becomes a parent, it is a massive identity shift because you now have this human being that you're taking care of. And of course, you know that that's going to be the case when you're pregnant and when you know you're going to have a child. But once you actually have this child and you realize that life is no longer about you, like you are also taking care of another individual. ⁓ your priorities have to shift and you have to get used to these priorities shifting. You have to get used to the trade-offs and that's something that I had to learn. So you can't just on a whim go wherever you want or do whatever you want and if you want to be at a kids event you have to make sure that you can be there at the times you can be there but I will say that it's possible and you can be a badass mom and a badass worker and journalist. But again, like I said, you have to get used to the tradeoffs because there are always going to be sacrifices. So there might be times when you really need to focus on this hard news story. And that means you miss bedtime. But then knowing the next weekend, It's all about your kid and it's all about them. And something I've learned is that when you're at work, you're at work. And when you're at home, you're at home. And those lines can get so blurred so quickly, especially for someone like myself who works from home a lot of the time. You feel like my computer is in my living room and so am I at work still, but I'm at home still like. Where am I in this whole matrix? But I've had to learn that when I'm at work, I'm passionate, I'm focused on my work. And when I'm at home, I'm at home, focused on my child with my phone away somewhere else where I'm not seeing the news. Easier said than done, sometimes that line gets blurred. Sometimes I pick up my phone and I start scrolling and I can't help myself. But I try my hardest.
Gretchen Hoak: you
Stephanie Weaver: to do that because I think that's the best way that I can prioritize the things that are most important at that time.
Gretchen Hoak: did not have children when I was a journalist, but I've spoken with journalists who also have children. And one of the things they've talked about is sort of a change in mindset on stories. Like certain stories hit you harder once you become a parent because now you can put yourselves in the shoes of other parents where maybe in the past you couldn't when you were doing stories related to children. Did you notice a shift in your mindset during stories or how stories would affect you after you became a mom?
Stephanie Weaver: 1000 % I did. And they tell you that before you become a parent. And you say, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But once you become a parent, it's like, oh my gosh. Like, even when I'm writing national digital stories, we have all these stories that pop up into our feed as ideas that we can write throughout the day. And just reading these stories can be really, really difficult. Seeing the headline of these stories can be
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah.
Stephanie Weaver: really, really difficult, especially when they have to do with children. Not that before kids, we didn't care about those stories. I mean, of course we did, but there's just something that hits differently once you become a parent and you're covering those stories. And I think that goes for anyone that's dealt with certain things in their life. I haven't, knock on wood, I haven't dealt with grief the same way other people have. I haven't dealt with major health issues like other people have, but I am certain if there is somebody out there that has had breast cancer and is now interviewing a breast cancer survivor, they are going to have a different way in which they shape that story than even I would have. And so I don't go out here to say, well, I'm a parent, I'm the special one that's covering these stories. I just... see it differently and it's hard to explain until you become a parent. But yeah, the stories that I'm able to digest, it's very different since becoming a parent than it was.
Gretchen Hoak: knowing that you had deal with the issues with anxiety and that's part of the reason that you took the digital position But then you did get thrown into the fires Was there any sort of special way or special things you had to do for yourself to be able to ⁓ get back into doing something that was incredibly stressful and has the potential to reignite anxiety that you had worked so hard to deal with?
Stephanie Weaver: It's so interesting you say that because of course it crossed my mind when I started doing more on air again because your mind just goes right back to it. Like, will this happen to me again? You know, will I start having panic attacks on air again? And I want to tell listeners that when I say I had panic attacks on air, it wasn't like super obvious. Like I wasn't on air like, oh my gosh, you know. ⁓ And I think the first time I ever did the live streaming channel, I think I was a little bit out of breath. And then I started to get used to it again. And then I was like, okay, this is like riding a bike. I'm fine. You know? And then when started reporting, was totally fine, different environment. so I think that environment could play a role. You're not in the exact same situation or the same studio or the same setup that you were when you were having them. And so the situation was different. And so. the situational anxiety could have been different. Again, I'm not sure, I'm not a doctor, but I will say I did do things to keep myself from potentially getting there. So some of the things that I did do before I would get on air, really deep breaths. And I know like sometimes when people are like, take some deep breaths, it's like, ⁓ yeah, whatever. But like really. taking those deep breaths and making sure you're as calm as possible before you start your live hits, I think is actually really helpful. having a little bit of calm in the midst of the chaos, having a little bit of calm before you get on air has been really helpful for me.
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah, I think those purposeful behaviors, like you said, ⁓ everybody's supposed to take deep breaths, but if you know you are doing so with a purpose and that it has worked for you, then something simple like deep breaths can really be very, very helpful in these high stress situations with these highly emotional and changing stories.
Stephanie Weaver: Yes. Yes. Yeah, this made me think of another thing. Some of the things that I thought about, and this goes back to being a parent, some of the things I thought about while I was reporting were things I didn't think about before having children. And what I mean by that was I would be doing a live shot and looking at my phone and thinking, ⁓ man, I really want to get home so I can say good night to my kids. And that was, well, my child, I have one child, but I remember thinking that being like, wow, I never had that thought before. Because when you're on a story, you're just on the story. Yeah, you might say I want to get home and eat dinner or whatever. But once you become a parent, you evolve, you as a person. And you might have those feelings of, I'm doing what I love. I'm passionate about this. ⁓ But at the time, I also love my child and I want to be home with my child and I want to say good night to her. So I think by me doing more of this digital role, I've been able to have a lot more work-life balance than I wouldn't have had because this job, which is not surprising to all of your listeners, does come with a lot of sacrifice. Your hours are crazy, you're working holidays a lot of the times, you're on these crazy news stories. I think it's interesting ⁓ we ⁓ are in this business a lot longer how not just as parents, just as people we evolve and our priorities evolve with the times too.
Gretchen Hoak: Do you think as you've gotten older and more confident and had more experience in the business, you've been able to advocate for yourself more, make choices more that allow you to have that balance that maybe when you were a newbie and you were young, you never would have either had the experience to know you should or the guts to know that you could advocate for those things?
Stephanie Weaver: So hands down, hands down, I mean, when you first start out, you just say yes to everything. that's why I try to, ⁓ and what you do, your work is so great, is that you try to let people know of the things beforehand so that they could make some of these same decisions early on. Because in my early my career, I worked every weekend, of course. Like in some ways you feel like you have to pay your dues, right? So. I worked every weekend. worked every shift. I worked 15 days in a row. I did all of that, but, as, as you're in this business long enough, and maybe that's also, ⁓ you build up a more clout too, to feel like you can do those things. for ⁓ I worked weekends up until I went ⁓ on. ⁓ maternity leave and I said when I come back from maternity leave I want to have the same schedule as my husband because my husband worked Monday through Friday and I worked weekends which for some people is great. Some people love doing that because then they have less days to pay for child care. For me I was like I can't go anywhere ever. I mean it's been how many years that I've been in in Los Angeles and and I haven't been able to go on a weekend trip somewhere or
Gretchen Hoak: ⁓ I think.
Stephanie Weaver: ⁓ a day trip somewhere, because one of us is always working. But again, I had already worked ⁓ my station for a few years weekend, so it's not like I felt like day one I'm asking for the world, right? So I ⁓ ⁓ it takes time to ask for those things, but at the same time, you also need to know, have integrity. ⁓ if something's really important to you to speak up and say that it's important to you.
Gretchen Hoak: ⁓ looking back on your career, there other things that you wish you would have known ⁓ or would have been helpful to know before you had embarked on this journey?
Stephanie Weaver: Hmm. I think it's important to know that you're going to be green at first. I don't think that anybody looks at their first footage from when they first started out and said, wow, that was fantastic. I don't think I don't think that is ever the case. it's if you look back and think it's terrible, because you know what? That meant you grew and you want to continue to grow in this field. ⁓
Gretchen Hoak: Let's hope not, yeah.
Stephanie Weaver: But guys, if your real footage is not great at first, it is okay. You are going to be green at first. You are learning this job. Just make sure to learn every single possible thing you can try to review your footage, try to review your tapes when you can get out in the field, shadow those people that you look up to, and you're just going to continue and continue to get better. And then hopefully after two years, you are going to look back at that stuff and be like, wow, like That was really bad, but in a good way because you're like, okay, now I know that I am improving my skills, but it takes time. even when I watch like actors try to be journalists on camera, I can tell they're acting. Like there is something that just is that consistency of doing it every single day that it just cannot be, it cannot be replicated. Like I watched the morning show and I can tell that those morning show.
Gretchen Hoak: Hahaha
Stephanie Weaver: as great as Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon are. I love them. I love them as actors, but I can still tell that they're not journalists at the end of the day. Like it takes time to perfect that. And I think I would, I would tell my younger self, like it takes time to get good at this job and, and don't look at your stuff and get down about it because we've all been there. Every single one of us that looks back at that stuff at their early days thinks, ⁓ my gosh, I wish that would have been better. But it just means that you're continuing to grow in this field.
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah. I think I might be among the worst people to watch any sort of movie or television show where there are people being television journalists because I feel the same way. like, you're just acting. You don't got it. It's not, it makes it very hard for sure.
Stephanie Weaver: Exactly, The other thing I think I would tell our listeners is, and this is not meant to sound pessimistic, but some things just don't work out. And what I mean by that is you have in your head what you believe will happen in your career. You have it. this is what I'm going to do, this is where I'm going to get, I'm gonna get to network by 30, whatever that dream is of yours. And sometimes things just don't work out. You don't get the job you want, you don't get the opportunity you want, and it has nothing to do with your skill, what you look like, where you were at this time, et cetera, et cetera. You have no idea. it's so easy for to get wrapped what's wrong with me. ⁓ What did I have that someone else had? Why did this person less experience it over me? You don't know. You just have no clue. And even if you do know why that person got it over you, again, it just goes back to sometimes life is just not fair. Sometimes you were the best person for that job. You should have gotten that job and you just did not. And I think, again, I'm not trying to sound like a pessimist by saying that, but it's just the reality of things. It makes it a little bit easier if you can just step away and be like, there are going to be times in your career where The things you want are just not going to work out. And I'll say this, when I was early in my career and I wanted to work for E Entertainment so badly as an entertainment reporter, I went and took my resume to E Entertainment because I wanted to hand it to them in person. And I got stuck in the elevator on my way up to E News because I didn't have a key card and you need a key card to get onto that floor. So usually when you hear this type of story, it goes something like this. It goes, And then the CEO of E entertainment just happened to be in the elevator at that time. And they liked what I was wearing and they liked what I said. And I just gave the best elevator pitch pun intended. And they brought me on as an E news correspondent. That's usually how it goes for me. I was shoved out of the elevator, buh-bye could not hand off my resume and I never made it to E news. And again,
Gretchen Hoak: you haha
Stephanie Weaver: It just goes to show that sometimes those opportunities just don't work out. Everybody's path and everybody's trajectory is different and that's okay. just that makes it maybe a little bit easier for some people, I guess.
Gretchen Hoak: Well, speaking of opportunities, we definitely have to talk about your podcast, which is another endeavor that you have. The I Am Not a Weather Girl podcast, how did that start? What encouraged you or made you want to start creating content in that way?
Stephanie Weaver: I wanted to start it back in 2019. So it took a while for me to get the guts to finally do it. But I kept saying, I wish there was something like this when I was first starting out. And what I am not a weather girl is, is I speak with women who have made their mark in media, women who have made it in the industry and talking about their career journeys. And I talked to meteorologists, I talked to reporters, I talked to women from Good Morning America, NBC News, Dateline. ⁓ Entertainment Tonight, TMZ, all about how they got started in this career because it is so different for so many people, but there's also those through lines of everybody is dealing with something. Everybody has something, whether that is a career setback, whether that is grief, whether that is loss, whether that is anxiety, depression. Everybody is dealing with something internally. They all are, no matter if it looks like it was an easy road for them. Everybody is dealing with something and it's what makes each person uniquely human, but it's also what connects us all and gives us the shared experience. so hearing those stories hopefully makes other journalists and other aspiring journalists feel not alone in the industry that they're working with. And that's why it's so great what you're doing too. It's. all of us journalists coming together and saying, me too, me too, me too. And so you don't feel alone in all of this because we're all dealing with these things, but you can listen to it on, I am not a weather girl. You can find it wherever you listen to podcasts. So Apple, you can listen to it on Spotify. You can watch it on YouTube, anywhere you listen.
Gretchen Hoak: Well, I really love that idea because I think that journalists inherently don't talk about themselves because I think it is the whole, well, we're not the story, we're there to tell the story, but you're still a human and you still have an experience in your work and you still have valuable. things to share and it's nice to have a platform like yours and hopefully this one where we can talk about what it is like to be a journalist and what it's like to be a human as a journalist and some of the challenges that you face because you're human and you know ultimately it's a it's a difficult job it's a great job but it comes with challenges and I love the idea of that conversation starting and having the ability to just talk about it.
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, and I think the through line with all of this is my podcast title is called I am not a weather girl. And it's not just that I am a meteorologist because I am a certified meteorologist, but it's also that we are so many other things than our title. So I am not a weather girl, but I'm also a meteorologist, but I'm also a mother, a wife, a friend, a creative person and so on and so on. so I'm all of these things, but also Let's not be defined by all of these things at the same time. Let's just love our lives and love ourselves for being who we are too.
Gretchen Hoak: And I think it goes back to like what you were talking about with identity that a ⁓ television career because you have that sort of forward facing thing and the audience feels like they know you, but they know you as just this one tiny facet of who you are
Stephanie Weaver: Yes.
Gretchen Hoak: ⁓ nobody really or even thinks that hey behind that is a person, ⁓ They're still real people even though they're forward-facing and are on a platform like television. and the more there opportunities for the audience to see journalists and ⁓ people like you ⁓ as humans. I think is even better for the profession overall.
Stephanie Weaver: Yeah, tell that to all the trolls online, please.
Gretchen Hoak: Yeah. What's on the horizon for you? Do you have any creative projects, new directions? ⁓
Stephanie Weaver: So I just wrapped season one of the podcast that was supposed to be usually a season is 10 episodes. did an entire year. So my season one is 52 episodes long. Go check it out. I am not a weather girl. And yeah, I'm prepping for season two. So hopefully within a couple of months, I'll have a season two up with new guests. So I'm really excited about that.
Gretchen Hoak: You've got some great, great guests on there. And I already have students who listen to it. I'm really excited to see who you have on for your next season.
Stephanie Weaver: And guys, I interviewed Gretchen on the podcast, so come on over and listen to our conversation because it's a great one too.
Gretchen Hoak: Hahaha! Yes, absolutely. A little personal plug. was on there as well. I was honored. So I appreciate the opportunity. Well, Stephanie, thank you so much. This has been a pleasure. You are really inspirational and you have such an interesting career journey and an interesting perspective on life in broadcast news. And I really appreciate your willingness to take some time to share it today.
Stephanie Weaver: Yes. Aw, thank you, this was so fun!
