You know the voices, and you know the stories. But behind every story on WGLT is a person who calls this community home just like you do.
The Meet the Newsroom series pulls back the curtain to introduce you to the team that makes WGLT possible. The series continues with reporter Joe Deacon.
"I've always been good at crafting the way things are written, the way things are approached, and I've had a lot of good mentors over the years that have helped me along in this field," Deacon said. "But it's nice to be able to convey someone else's story."
WGLT: So your job title here is reporter. Can you tell us what that means and what you do every day?
Joe: There's a lot that goes into it. I'm always working on assignments. I'm setting up and conducting interviews, kind of like we're doing right now. I'm writing stories for the web, sometimes editing audio, I'm responding to a lot of emails, contacting sources, I go to meetings and news conferences, working on setting up the news items that will appear in the newscast each day, and doing a lot of research and preparation for a lot of the interviews I'll do. So it's a lot to fit into a short time frame.
And why do you work in journalism, and what do you like about it?
Joe: Coming out of school I was very interested in sports, and I got into sportswriting a bit. And I guess what it really does for me is, I like being able to tell other people's stories to a broader audience and share their interests and things like that. I'm also, I think, a fairly good writer. I've always been good at crafting the way things are written, the way things are approached, and I've had a lot of good mentors over the years that have helped me along in this field. But it's nice to be able to convey someone else's story.
Is there a specific interaction that you've had with a listener that reminded you why public media matters?
Joe: I would say it's, again, being able to tell other people's stories. I don't know that I can think of a specific interaction or a message that I've gotten from someone. I know I've gotten some feedback from certain sources I've spoken to, and they really appreciated the story and the way it was written and presented. But again, it's getting those messages out to people and making sure people are informed, and that's what I hear most about.
If you could force everyone in Bloomington-Normal to listen to or read just one story that we've produced in this last year, which one would it be? And why?
Joe: It's hard to pick just one. I mean, there's so many that choose from. In addition to myself, I had other people helping me, but we did a lot with the Illinois State football team when they were advancing to the championship game. It's not just one story, but there was a lot there, and I think a lot of people would really appreciate that. But another story, we did a feature on a report that a lot of people misunderstand the First Amendment and what it really means. And I think that one is really impactful, and it shows, again, why being able to have these messages and have media and shed a light on what government is doing is very important.
What's one thing about your daily job that would most surprise a reader or listener who only hears the finished product?
Joe: It's really the amount of work that goes into everything that we do. I mean, you may be listening to a story that's in a newscast (that's) a minute long at most, or maybe a longer feature that's four or seven minutes or so, but there's a lot of advanced work that goes into that, and a lot of doing the interviews and editing the interviews. It's really a very labor-intensive development to put on what we're putting on the station every day.
This is WGLT's 60th anniversary. So let's do a prediction. What do you think news media will look like in 60 years? In the year 2086.
Joe: Wow, that's really hard to say. I mean, we just look back at the past 60 years and how far media has advanced and society has advanced, technology has advanced. Obviously, we're seeing the emergence of artificial intelligence right now, and it’d be foolish not to think that that will be involved in media reporting in some way as even maybe five years from now, 10 years from now, so 60 years from now, a lot of it's going to depend on what the audience is like too, and how they receive their messages. It's really hard to predict. Again, thinking how far we've already come in 60 years.
When you aren't at the station, where are we most likely to find you, and what are you doing to unplug?
Joe: I try and unplug as much as I can. I'm spending a lot of time with my wife and my friends. I watch a lot of TV, go to the movies. I'm a big sports fan, as I mentioned before, so I'm watching a lot of sports, a lot of baseball, mainly. Sometimes I go out and I do karaoke every once in a while too. So that helps me unplug a little bit.
So let's wrap it up with a speed round to get to know you just a little better. What's the last good book you've read?
Joe: So I don't get a lot of time to read books, just again, because of everything else I'm doing. But I did read, and I interviewed the author about this a few years ago, but there was a book about ball players on stage back in the 20s and 30s, when major league baseball players in the offseason would actually get jobs as actors and stage actors and stage performers.
What's the movie you've seen the most?
Joe: So many. I would say, just going back to my childhood, big Back to the Future fan. The Big Lebowski is always a fun one to watch. I was also a big fan of Midnight Run with Robert De Niro, and Harrison Ford's my favorite actor, so I've seen many of his many times, I'd say The Fugitive probably the most.
Who's your favorite NPR host or reporter?
Joe: I would have to say Steve Inskeep, and a large part of that is because we got to meet him here when he was here just this past fall for our Radio Faces event.
And let's say you've got out of town relatives coming to visit you in Bloomington-Normal, you've got one day to show them around. Where do you take them to show off the town?
Joe: Boy, there's a lot to try and fit in one day, isn't it? I would say, obviously, you go to the Illinois State campus, Uptown Normal and Downtown Bloomington, you don't want to miss either of them, and there's so many restaurants to choose from here in town. So I would think we'd have to definitely go out and get a bite.
