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 graduate student reporter Ben Howell.
“Journalism felt like a good thing, where, when I was in college (and) I knew I wanted my career to be something with a sense of service or a sense of duty, journalism fit the bill,” Howell said. “That I could talk about politics, all the things that were rattling around my brain, and then also be a really dutiful member of a community.”
WGLT: Your job title here is graduate student reporter. Can you tell me what that means and what you do every day?
Ben: The joke that I tell my friends or family or other new students when I meet them for the first time is that it means I do whatever I'm told, but in reality, I'm doing newscasting responsibilities and I'm doing reporting responsibilities in tandem with whatever the newsroom needs that day. And I came here as a student, spent a lot of time here, at the student radio station, and I enjoyed my internship so much that when I knew I was going to do graduate school, I asked if I could stay in this position. And that's what I did. So it was just a lot of what I did before kind of carried over with some extra time and now some new responsibilities.
Why do you work in journalism? And what do you like about it?
Ben: Two major things. I've always enjoyed being behind the microphone, and broadcasting has fascinated me. I had a family friend years ago that got me into announcing basketball, football, etc., games at my high school, and so I enjoyed that kind of performance aspect.
But at the same time, I was drawn to journalism. I've always had a mind that was drawn towards politics and current events and history and things along that line. And journalism felt like a good thing, where, when I was in college (and) I knew I wanted my career to be something with a sense of service or a sense of duty, journalism fit the bill. That I could talk about politics, all the things that were rattling around my brain, and then also be a really dutiful member of a community.
Is there a specific interaction that you've had with a listener that reminded you why public media matters?
Ben: If I think of one specific interaction, I remember a little after I started my internship here, and I was working with some other student leaders and some ISU administration for WZND when I was the general manager there, that one member of the ISU administration had come up to me and was like, ‘Oh, keep talking.’ And was like, ‘Oh, you sound familiar. I listened to you on the car ride home from work.’ That's just such a fun and cool experience to be a part of, for somebody to be like, ‘I've heard your work. I've seen your work.’ And anytime if I go out into the community and somebody says something like, ‘Oh, I've read that story.’ Or one of my first interactions with somebody who was like, ‘Do you know Charlie Schlenker?’ And Charlie was my mentor for newscasting. So I was like, ‘Yeah, I'm well aware of Charlie Schlenker. He's great.’ But anytime like that.
When you're in this building it's hard to see impact. So when you do get to hear it, it's rewarding.
If you could force everyone in Bloomington-Normal to listen to or read just one story that we've produced this year, which one would it be and why
Ben: I'm personally really proud of the work that I did under the mentorship of Ryan Denham, and also in collaboration with him at the same time, that we did on the story for Oak Wood properties. For me, especially as a student and getting to actually practice professional journalism, that was the biggest mountain to climb, the biggest challenge that I had, the biggest project that I did, and to see its completion, and to see people interacting with it, to see it make a difference in legal terms, in Facebook comments and social media comments, and people who we interviewed telling us that they appreciated what we were doing. That was great, and to be able to show off the finished product was great. And it was one of those stories that when you look at it, it really has a lot of forward momentum. It does things for the community, and we have a ton of stories like that, but that story was something that you have this idea of investigative journalism, and you're working and you're getting under the dirt and angering the elected officials or really finding out the deep, dark secrets. That's what that story felt like, and it was such a fun experience to be a part of. If I can almost say, like that stereotypical investigative journalism.
What is one thing about your daily job that would most surprise a reader or listener who only hears the finished product?
Ben: I think people would be surprised, but also delighted, to learn how much collaboration goes on in the newsroom. It's great. And some of my favorite memories or instances are when I ask ... I sit across my desk is right across from Charlie. And it's great when I take off my headphones and I ask him a question about AP Style or about using an abbreviation or something like that. And then he tells me, and then next to him, someone, Lauren goes, ‘Well, I might say it like that.’ And then Eric will pop up from his desk and say, ‘Well, you could also flip it like this.’ And then Ryan will come over from the hallway and just kind of get this big conversation going. And it's just kind of a funny, I'll kind of sit back and just watch them kind of have — I guess they can read this after — kind of a nerd-fight about it.
But really, there's a lot of collaboration, and you might gloss over a sentence in reading or listening, and I might have talked out how to write that sentence with someone in the newsroom for like 30 minutes. And it's great to be able to, as a student, learn all that much and learn in unexpected ways as well. It's a very collaborative environment, and the fact that even when I have a mess up or I do something, there's correction that's great for both the readers and for me.
This is WGT’s 60th anniversary. So let's do a prediction. What do you think news media will look like in 60 years? The year 2086.
Ben: Maybe by that time I'll have enough money to be an NPR donor. But as of right now, it's hard to think about. I fear radio might not be radio anymore with the way technology progresses so quickly. What I would hope to see is still some of those core values and critiques and challenges to media that really better it for everyone. But I think at the end of the day, what it'll look like in 2086 will probably be so unrecognizable to us working here today, but we could hopefully read between the lines and have some common ground if we're even here by then.
When you aren't at the station, where are we most likely to find you? And what are you doing to unplug?
Ben: While I am an extroverted person, I'm also sort of a homebody, so you might have a hard time finding me. To be honest if I'm not here, I'm probably in class, since graduate classes can be pretty demanding, but one of my favorite activities is, I'm a huge movie theater guy. I love going to the movies. I love all four of Bloomington-Normal’s movie theaters for drastically different reasons. Marcus has the comfy seats, Normal Theater’s historic, Golden Ticket has the unlimited popcorn, although without advertising them. And I'm, like I said, I'm a homebody. I'm watching a movie at home. I love video games. My New Year's resolution was to read more books. That kind of failed. But, yeah, I'm really, I kind of take it in and hide myself away sometimes in a positive way.
Let's wrap it up with a speed round to get to know you a little better. So number one, what's the last good book you've read?
Ben: The last book I read, I'm in the middle of reading A Clockwork Orange right now, trying to get some classic literature in. But the last good book that I completed was The West Wing book authored by two of the actors on there that had so much behind the scenes stuff, cast memories, and that's my favorite TV show of all time. So it was great. It was just one of those behind the scenes books.
What's the movie you've seen the most?
Ben: If you put any of the original six Star Wars movies in a hat and picked one, you'd probably be pretty close to the movie that I've seen the most.
Who's your favorite NPR host or reporter?
Ben: I can't pick just one. I'm probably a big fan of any of the round table of people that show up on the NPR politics podcast. Domenico Montanaro, Tamara Keith, Sarah McCammon, Miles Parker, Mara Liasson — I think she's great — any of those people. You could pick any of them.
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?
Ben: The newsroom teases me for being the cat-guy in the office. So I would be remiss if I did not mention The Cat's Meow Cafe, Bloomington-Normal’s cat cafe. It's a great place. I could talk about how wonderful it is and the fact that you can go, you can grab a little coffee, or, I like to get a lemonade or something. And you can hang out with all these cats and play with them and cuddle with them and do whatever. And if you're looking for a cat, they're all adoptable. Other than that, the McLean County Museum of History is also a great gem.
