If you ever visit KALW’s studios at Phillip and Sala Burton High School, or our event and newsroom space at 220 Montgomery, you will see that each room carries with it the vestiges of the station’s history. Walls are plastered with pictures, posters, and other memorabilia. And what you will see is that many photos show our history of training, especially from the past two decades — when KALW began shaping its most recent iteration of training programs.
Since its inception over 80 years ago as the first FM Station west of the Mississippi, training and education have been central to KALW’s ethos. In fact, at the height of the second World War, when KALW was just in its second year of existence, it was the first to train nearly a hundred women in radio operations.
This spirit — of bringing new perspectives to the airwaves — continues today and it is, in fact, where we put the majority of our resources. This is for good reason. Many award winning shows that you may be familiar with— like TBH, Uncuffed, and Crosscurrents — have their root in training. While they are nationally recognized because they tell powerful stories and highlight communities that are not traditionally represented in the media, it is our commitment to setting people up to succeed when given the platforms to tell their stories that we most value.
Our core work includes amplifying the stories of the Bay Area and we know that the best way to get at these stories is to have the people who are living them lead their storytelling. We also know that these stories often don’t get told because of barriers to access like the high cost of journalism school.
If you tune into KALW, you know that it’s not unusual to hear the voices of teens, incarcerated folks, or other community members (maybe your neighbor!). KALW has dedicated its entire existence toward sharing these stories with millions of dials across the Bay Area. To me, this is KALW’s superpower.
Right now, I am helping to facilitate the Audio Academy and the Summer Journalism Program — our two programs for adults with little to no radio journalism experience. I talked to some recent Audio Academy graduates to better understand how the program helped shape their practice of journalism and storytelling.
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Wendy Reyes was part of the class of 2023 and is currently working as our Immigration Beat Reporter. She said that working in the KALW newsroom taught her how to identify and tell stories that she felt were overlooked by more traditional media outlets.
You might have heard Wendy’s story on the experiences of California’s domestic workers and their fight for fair working conditions. Or her profile of an Oakland based food incubator program that is providing opportunities for refugee and immigrant chefs.
“I didn’t have to fit into the formula that was set in place,” Wendy told me. “That empowered me to pursue the stories that I think matter.”
Steffi Puerto just graduated from the Audio Academy last year and she’s now working as a Project Manager on the station’s communication and marketing efforts. She agrees with Wendy and says that “getting people from all different walks of life, from different neighborhoods, who've had different experiences is really powerful because you’re not just learning about journalism but you also get to learn from your peers’ experiences and the knowledge that they bring.”
Our approach to journalism is not just innovative in the voices it amplifies, it’s also innovative in the way it is helping shape the industry. So many Audio Academy alumni continue to stay in the industry and their formative experiences at KALW help shape the way they approach reporting and storytelling in other newsrooms, across the country.
By creating an encouraging and rigorous space for journalists without traditional media backgrounds, we are bringing in new perspectives to the industry and helping foster an environment where new approaches to journalism can be cultivated and ripple across the industry writ large.
When you support us because of our programming, you are supporting a vision and a mission that extends beyond the stories you hear on any given day. You are helping shape the future of journalism.
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This piece was brought to you by KALW Speaks, a monthly series of essays from KALW staff and contributors, exploring the ideas that drive our work. Each of these essays reflect our commitment to innovation and invites you into a deeper conversation about the future of public media.
Learn more: From A Whisper To A Roar.
