“This is not a radio newsroom, this is a multi-media newsroom.” ~ Jim Farley WTOP Vice President of News and Programming
On the eve of Washington DC’s largest snow storm in history (later dubbed “Snowmageddon 2010″ by the President himself) the Semester in Washington Journalism Program students visit WTOP, Washington’s only all-news radio station with traffic and weather together. We met with Jim Farley, who took us on a tour of the chaotic newsroom and talked to students about the changes happening in radio communication today. The snow flurries fell as we witness news happen all around us and reporters learn to adjust to the breaking news. Phones rang non-stop and paper flew across desktops throughout our 3 hour visit- it was awesome! The perfect day to watch, listen and learn for aspiring journalists.
Jim spoke about the need for his reporters and hosts to engage audiences as much as possible, across as many platforms as possible, making WTOP not just a radio station but a multimedia news source. Just earlier that week the website alone had surpassed its 2 millionth hit. (As a radio station! Not as blog or a digital magazine!)
He advised students to work hard to become not just good writers but great writers, since writing is the foundation of all media communication. At WTOP, interns are taught write in the simple, present tense. Jim says that by learning to use simple words, short sentences helps students become better journalists. ” If you know how to write for radio you can transfer your writing to ANY medium.” Those words couldn’t be more true, particularly when it comes to writing in the digital world today where it is essential to know how to write in a few sentences or 140 characters.
As the role of the everyday citizen morphs into a form of eye-witness reporter, Jim advises every reporter and intern, “First get it right, then get it first.” His rule of thumb is to be weary of things you may read online, not everything on the internet is true. Remember that next time you read a piece of news that makes you think twice. At WTOP, all reporters have to live by the rule of second sourcing all stories.
SIWJ visits so many news outlets in DC and I’ve noticed the one thing that binds them all together is the passion and dedication to journalism today. Jim summed it up great when he said, ” We work hard every minute of everyday, but we work hard because we love what we do.”
