Staff reflections - Microphone adventures

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Wednesday, August 11th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler.

REICHARD: I am really loving all these rewind pieces, Paul. It’s so fun to listen to some of our highlights from the past 10 years! And I like hearing from our original batch of brave prerollers.

BUTLER: Me, too! As part of this week’s anniversary coverage, we’re replaying the first five prerolls we ever got. But next week, we’ll be back to our regular programming, and we need more prerolls. So if you want to be among the first listeners to introduce the program as it enters its second decade, better act fast! Visit wng.org/preroll for all the details.

REICHARD: That’s wng.org/preroll. Go ahead! Jump in! The water’s fine!

Okay, time for another walk down memory lane. Today, two of our reporters reflect on their time with WORLD.

KIM HENDERSON, REPORTER: I’m Kim Henderson. I’m a correspondent. My first story aired about four years ago.

I think one of the podcast’s greatest strengths is having reporters all over the place,from Abuja, Nigeria, to the buckle of the Bible belt. But working remotely has some real challenges, especially when it comes to teambuilding. I remember when Paul Butler came on board as features editor one of the things he wanted to do was to have monthly Zoom meetings. At first, I really didn’t understand why the meetings were necessary—especially the 20-minute icebreakers at the beginning that meant we had to unmute and actually participate. But over time, I’ve come to look forward to the second Wednesday of every month, because at 2 central I get to see the faces of my colleagues. I get to learn the stories behind the story tellers. We encourage each other, we pray for each other, learn ways to improve.

I like it so much that now I mark my calendar for a larger radio team meeting every other Friday, as well as the company-wide devotions on Wednesday mornings. They’re all zoomed, so when I see my computer screen fill up with these faces—these WORLD faces—I’m reminded that we’re a team. We have a mission. And I’m just really thankful that I have a small slot on the roster.

SARAH SCHWINSBERG, REPORTER: Hello! Sarah Schweinsberg here. Radio was never on my radar. When I thought of news, I always pictured TV, websites, or print. But this podcast medium? Never.

Five years ago, I got to intern with WORLD. For part of that internship, I stayed with Marvin and Susan Olasky. I saw Susan writing feature stories for The World and Everything In It, but I didn’t really understand what she was doing.

Then, one weekend, I wanted to go on a four day trip for a wedding. Marvin told me I’d best come back with a story. I got his drift. Suddenly a radio feature seemed like a good option.

In between a bachelorette and a dress rehearsal, I visited a Dutch bakery in a small Iowa town. I grabbed enough sound and interviews to turn into my first radio story with a lot of help from Susan.

I’m so grateful that that was the first of many adventures I’ve gotten to have with a microphone. Some of those have included going on a wild horse roundup, attending protests, visiting the border, covering every animal story I think there is (actually don’t worry I’ll find more), covering the marijuana tourism scene in Colorado, and meeting more amazing people with only stories that God could write than I can count.

I’m so grateful to the incredible team here at WORLD Radio. Here, collaboration is always valued over competition. Over and over again, the editors and older reporters have helped raise up young reporters like myself with a lot of patience, love, and tender care. Voicing is not easy to learn.

I’ve not only grown professionally on this team but as a follower of Christ. And I can’t say thank you enough. And to our listeners. Thank you for all of your corrections, cheerleading, and of course support.

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