During my fellowship at Transmitter Media, I worked on producing an episode for a forthcoming podcast series. When I began my fellowship, production was already underway. However, Transmitter needed extra help in conducting significant research into an episode that was about a conspiracy to commit a kidnapping. At this time, information about the series remains private.

When the case originally happened, the media coverage was lurid, highlighting the persona of the accused. In contrast, we felt it was important to retell this story by shifting the focus to the legal questions at the heart of the case, how the accused’s actions affected victims, and the ways those working on the case contended with its complexities. Through this work, I was able to supply essential production support to the series while advancing Transmitter’s larger mission of creating highly edited and informative podcasts.

Columbia Journalism School equipped me with the essential skills that I needed to execute the fellowship. Because of my coursework in audio production and reporting, I found court records in databases, edited interviews efficiently, located archival audio, read and summarized hundreds of articles for producers, and drafted questions for interviewees. My experience also made me feel confident when I was welcomed to assist on group edits for other episodes.

Additionally, because of my ability to meet the basic requirements of my fellowship, I was thrilled to be given opportunities to participate in the scripting process. Working in various programs, I was able to help the producers put together significant parts of the first draft of the episode. Lastly, my experience at Columbia also familiarized me with tools like Slack, audio editing programs, and production workflows. Therefore, with relative ease, I was able to implement my colleagues’ ideas about anything from the sound they wanted for a series trailer to larger ideas for the story.

One of the main challenges was that the internship was virtual. This meant that I needed to spend more time reaching out to producers at the company to learn about their work and build relationships than I would have had the fellowship been in person. Luckily, Transmitter’s producers were extremely welcoming and communicative. They were also more than happy to not only coach me on my work responsibilities, but also spend time getting to know me.

An additional challenge that I had was the transition from Columbia’s culture of journalism to more client-based work. In journalism, you are trying to capture a situation from many different perspectives. This is not necessarily the case in client work. For the series I was working on, we were adapting the client’s book. Therefore, rather than uncovering new information about the cases themselves, we were finding compelling ways to retell stories that had already been told through the author’s perspective. While this was an adjustment to the ways that I had been telling stories, I was glad to learn from producers as I watched them work with clients in the editorial process.

My fellowship gave me professional experience collaborating with audio producers that I have long admired in the industry. In the process, I sharpened my interviewing and storytelling skills as a journalist. Working closely with the senior producer was a particularly positive experience. Her compassionate interview style, sharp eye for detail, and warm mentorship style inspired me to do my best work every day. Her frequent communication made learning from her feel natural and inspiring. In addition, I was able to meet a couple of times with Transmitter’s editor, who was an expert storyteller and kind-hearted communicator. The fluid nature of collaborating with these two colleagues in particular helped me to enjoy the process of producing audio stories more than ever.

Though my next job is not at Transmitter, I know that the producers I met there are a well of wisdom to which I hope to return for advice many times over the course of my career. They have only strengthened my abilities and self-belief as I take my next steps forward in my career.