WPR Staff
Press Release

Wisconsin Public Radio Names Latest News Fellows

 

By , Wisconsin Public Radio - Oct 9th, 2024 09:27 am
Nick Rommel and Anna Marie Yanny. Photos courtesy of WPR.

Nick Rommel and Anna Marie Yanny. Photos courtesy of WPR.

Wisconsin Public Radio, in its continuing commitment to providing opportunities for early career journalists, has two new reporting fellows who have joined the WPR news team for the next year.

Nick Rommel, a recent graduate of the University of Chicago, reports from Milwaukee as WPR’s Second Century Fellow. Originally from Lexington, Mass., Rommel completed a news internship with Prairie Public Broadcasting in Fargo, North Dakota, where he reported stories covering economics, politics, health care, and other topics. He also reported news and features for the Chicago Maroon, the University of Chicago’s independent student newspaper, and hosted a weekly music and talk program on WHPK 88.5 Chicago.

The chance to hone and grow his reporting with WPR is a rare opportunity, Rommel says. “Many early reporting jobs expect you to be fully formed as a journalist before you start, but this fellowship is a chance to really contribute while gaining more skill.” Rommel says he hopes to find stories in and around Milwaukee and southern Wisconsin that will highlight the region’s diversity and culture, as well as contribute political and breaking news stories.

Anna Marie Yanny, the Lee Ester News Fellow, is a general assignment reporter in WPR’s Madison newsroom. Yanny worked in neuroscience laboratories before turning to journalism, completing a master’s degree in science communication from the University of California – Santa Cruz. She has reported for KQED in San Francisco, the Monterey Herald in Monterey, Calif., and Stanford Medicine magazine.

While working at a lab mapping and differentiating the scores of different types of human brain cells, Yanny says she found the most satisfaction when stepping away from the microscope and conveying the excitement and impact of the lab’s research. “I realized my favorite part of the lab work was describing and explaining the science for a more general audience,” Yanny said.

WPR Interim News Director Kyla Calvert Mason says the continuation of WPR’s reporting fellowships demonstrates the service’s dedication to training new journalists.

“It’s essential that we work with early-career journalists and train them in the work reporters do – asking critical questions, using public records to check facts and research stories, and developing the community connections that can find impacts and angles you wouldn’t otherwise see,“ Calvert Mason said. “Nick and Anna Marie have each already shown they have the insights and instincts to do terrific work for WPR during their fellowships, and then with this experience, throughout their careers. We are grateful to have them here with WPR for the next year.”

The two reporting fellowships provide an opportunity for early career journalists to gain practical, hands-on experience in public media news production, and include a salary and full status as a member of the WPR news team.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

Mentioned in This Press Release

Organizations:

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us