Great News Comes in Threes for KALW’s Training Programs

By Ben Trefny, Interim Executive Director, KALW Public Media

I’ve got three pieces of great news to share with you.

One – KALW’s Editorial Operations Manager, Shereen Adel — Audio Academy class of 2016 and KALW’s current training director — was recently named as part of the Online News Association’s 2022 Women’s Leadership Accelerator! The inspiring group represents six countries and showcases a range of expertise: from local news; to production innovation; to audio. (Or, in Shereen’s case, all three!) You can meet the #ONAWLA cohort by clicking here.

Two – The station’s listeners really came through in our March membership drive, helping KALW surpass it’s $250,000 fundraising goal. In fact, we set a “stretch goal” of $275,000 that would ensure funding for our high school podcasting institute. And our supporters helped us meet that, too! I met with our program’s teachers, Holly J. McDede (Audio Academy class of 2013) and Sarah Lai Stirland (Audio Academy class of 2020), last week, and we’re setting plans in place for recruitment of teenagers around the Bay Area and the timing of our program. As I’ve shared before, the podcast we help teenagers create — tbh — won the most recent “Student Special Project” award from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Northern California chapter. Can’t wait to get started on the new season!

Three – Johanna Miyaki, one of KALW’s current fellows in its Audio Academy training program, is part of a class that’s just two months away from graduation. Here are some of Johanna’s thoughts about working on her first full-length feature story (which you can hear by clicking here):

My experience producing my first feature was such a great opportunity to identify how to play to my strengths and lean into emerging skills. Having the talent and support of the team of mentors, editors, and engineers at KALW available to me was such a great confidence boost and motivator. I am proud of the work I did and so grateful to my subject for trusting me with his story. His response to me meant so much, he was so pleased with the story and said one of the actualities I used (from someone else in the story about him) “brought a tear to his eye.” A high compliment! This meant I moved someone with the story, my subject no less, and it meant the world. I am digging into my next feature now. It’s sort of set a bar for me personally in the best way!

Four – I know I said three pieces of great news, but here’s a fourth: KALW is currently accepting applications for its next Audio Academy class! Learn all about audio journalism and storytelling from a well-seasoned team of supportive professionals serving the Bay Area. It’s a mission-driven, community-building, fun, fulfilling, and potentially life-changing experience, and we welcome you to apply to be part of it! Learn all about it by clicking here