WBA Newsroom
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 said. “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 said 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 said 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 said 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.