The Lead

University of Georgia

How to get ahead in the news industry, told by the people who did. Hosted by Jacqueline GaNun and executive produced by Charlotte Varnum for the Cox Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management & Leadership at the University of Georgia. read less

Our Editor's Take

The Lead is a podcast for aspiring journalists. The show has had a variety of hosts through the years, but the show's mission stays the same. The series title comes from a journalistic term.

Jacqueline GaNun is an incoming graduate assistant at the University of Georgia, Athens. She started hosting The Lead in May 2022. In each podcast episode, she interviews storytellers and news educators. Her guests share their stories and advice for people who want to start or advance in the industry. These conversations are personal and honest. They may be helpful for people who are still deciding if they want to start working in this industry.

In one of the latest episodes, Jacqueline asks Long Haul author Ryan Prior why he chose journalism. He replies that he wanted to write books but needed money. Journalism is one way to make money with writing. Ryan also discusses how his experiences led him to report on people managing complex diseases. He was ill in high school and later learned he had a complex disease. His illness was due to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

In another episode, Jacqueline talks to Dr. Denetra Walker, whose class she has taken at UGA. Denetra explains the importance of seeing Black folks in news management. Representation is impactful. She once spoke to a reporter who was an intern when she was assistant news director. Denetra inspired that reporter. Denetra and Jacqueline also discuss the complexity of teaching the foundations of journalism. The media, like health care and criminal justice, is harmful.

Award-winning Lylla Younes describes writing at the intersection of environmentalism and justice. In this episode of The Lead, Lylla talks about working at the nonprofit Grist. At the end of the episode, Jacqueline asks what advice Lylla has for aspiring journalists. Lylla advises people to read a lot of different kinds of work by journalists. She offers the caveat to always stay critical while reading. These leadership lessons make this podcast valuable. Anyone wondering what's next in their journalism career or how to get started might enjoy it.

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Season 11 Trailer: Welcome Back!

Season 11 Trailer: Welcome Back!

Welcome to a new season of The Lead, a podcast about how to get ahead in the news industry from the people who did. This season we're going to continue bringing you stories from seasoned news professionals, where we'll dive into how they broke into the journalism world and hear their advice for aspiring media professionals. New episodes begin on Wednesday, September 8. Hosted by Kyra Posey, and executive produced by Keith Herndon, Ph.D.

Episodes

Alex Crevar on finding a travel journalism niche

Alex Crevar on finding a travel journalism niche

Alex Crevar moved to the Balkans in the 1990s and has been reporting from there ever since. His vivid and insightful travel stories are published in outlets including The New York Times, National Geographic and Lonely Planet, but his focus isn’t on filling a résumé — it’s about traveling genuinely and responsibly. In this episode, Alex recalls how he fell into travel writing and why he’s been doing it for more than 30 years. As a cyclist and hiker, his hobbies also inform his adventure journalism, and he talks about his role in creating the Via Dinarica hiking trail and Trans Dinarica cycle route across the Balkans in Southeastern Europe. Guest: Alex Crevar, freelance travel journalist. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

Scripps News’ Alexandra Travis on telling Black stories on screen

Scripps News’ Alexandra Travis on telling Black stories on screen

Alexandra Travis works to tell stories that have gone uncovered. As a documentary producer at Scripps News, she creates long-form, in-depth video journalism focusing especially on the experiences of Black people in the South. In this episode, Alexandra talks about what it feels like when she realizes there’s a story she can tell using video, why focusing on Black stories is important to her and how her documentaries connect with audiences. You can watch her award-winning documentary “Ropes in Brown Hands,” which is about an Oklahoma town that’s home to one of the nation’s oldest Black rodeos, here. Guest: Alexandra Travis, documentary producer at Scripps News. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

WRAL’s Kelsey Coffey on knowing what drives you

WRAL’s Kelsey Coffey on knowing what drives you

Kelsey Coffey gets up at 2:30 a.m. every day to deliver the morning news as a broadcast reporter at WRAL in Raleigh, North Carolina. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 2020 into uncertainty from the pandemic and protests for racial justice across the country. But today, she knows what drives her to wake up early each morning — connecting with her audience and serving them through her reporting. In this episode, Kelsey talks about the projects she’s worked on with Charlayne Hunter-Gault, a phenomenal journalist and one of two students who desegregated UGA in 1961, and about why it’s important to know your “why.” Guest: Kelsey Coffey, reporter at WRAL. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

UGA’s Dodie Cantrell-Bickley on the bright future of broadcast journalism

UGA’s Dodie Cantrell-Bickley on the bright future of broadcast journalism

Dodie Cantrell-Bickley was taught the importance of a free press from her mother, who grew up in Nazi Germany and saw how crucial journalism was. Dodie pursued that passion for more than 30 years as a broadcast reporter and president of multiple news stations. She was a leader during the pivot to digital and the advent of the internet, and she’s always looking forward to what’s next. In this episode, we talk about leading through change, encouraging innovation and staying powerfully optimistic about the future of journalism. Guest: Dodie Cantrell-Bickley, senior lecturer in journalism at the University of Georgia. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Savannah Sicurella and Tyler Wilkins on starting out in business journalism

The Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Savannah Sicurella and Tyler Wilkins on starting out in business journalism

Savannah Sicurella and Tyler Wilkins are making careers in business journalism soon after graduating college and entering the job market. In this episode, they debrief about what drew them to reporting on commercial real estate and development, and how they managed to navigate the learning curve that comes with starting a new role — especially a business-focused one. Check out Savannah’s reporting here and Tyler’s reporting here. Guests: Savannah Sicurella and Tyler Wilkins, staff reporters at the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

The Current’s Margaret Coker on reviving an investigative news desert

The Current’s Margaret Coker on reviving an investigative news desert

Margaret Coker has covered stories from 32 countries on four continents, working for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other outlets. In 2020, she returned home to Savannah, Georgia, to found The Current, a nonprofit news source dedicated to filling the vacuum of high-quality investigative news on the coast. In this episode, we chat about her international reporting, founding a news start-up and why nonprofit news is increasingly important. Check out Margaret’s book, “The Spymaster of Baghdad,” here. You can read some of her reporting in The Current about the murder of Ahmaud Arbery and racism in the Glynn County police force. “High quality facts, high quality information, high quality local news should be a public good and not a for-profit commodity. That is at the essence why nonprofit news matters.” Guest: Margaret Coker, editor-in-chief of The Current. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

Special: What the Hackathon, featuring Adam Levin

Special: What the Hackathon, featuring Adam Levin

Misinformation. Deepfakes. Scams. None of these are going away, and we need tools to figure out what’s true. This special episode of The Lead brings you into the What the Hackathon at the University of Georgia, where students learned in real-time how to navigate our disordered information ecosystem to produce and consume news responsibly. It also features an interview with Adam Levin, a sponsor of the Hackathon and host of the What the Hack podcast, a no-shame zone for anyone who’s ever been scammed, hacked, phished or cyber-bushwhacked. Adam and I talk about how it’s more important than ever to combat misinformation as our democracy and society is impacted. Listen to Adam on What the Hack here or any platform where you listen to podcasts. “Never lose your curiosity and don’t be complacent. When it comes to receiving what is presented to you as news, always ask questions.” Guest: Adam Levin, host of What the Hack. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

UGA’s Moni Basu on the power of storytelling

UGA’s Moni Basu on the power of storytelling

In her 40 years as a reporter, Moni Basu has learned how to tell a good story. She’s covered presidential elections, natural disasters and the human stories of the war in Iraq. Today, she tells me how she discovered the power of a good narrative and how she earned the nickname “Evil Reporter Chick” in Iraq. Guest: Moni Basu, director of the University of Georgia’s narrative nonfiction MFA program. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

NPR’s Joe Shapiro on covering disability rights and finding voices for radio

NPR’s Joe Shapiro on covering disability rights and finding voices for radio

In his more than 20 years at NPR, Joe Shapiro has written stories from health to rising court fees to solitary confinement. He’s spent most of his career writing stories about disability, starting when editors wouldn’t even publish his work because they didn’t think it was relevant. In this episode, Joe talks about covering disability rights, finding voices to anchor radio stories and saying “yes” to unexpected opportunities. “I love radio. I love hearing somebody’s voice … you have to have the right person who can tell their story.” Guest: Joe Shapiro, investigations correspondent at NPR. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

NPR’s Elissa Nadworny on reporting internationally

NPR’s Elissa Nadworny on reporting internationally

Elissa Nadworny likes to cover higher education because she sees it as a gateway to stories about everything, from housing to transportation to parenting to politics. But that’s not her only interest — she’s been covering the war in Ukraine from the ground and has traveled to Jordan to report on Syrian food aid programs. She’s also covered the White House for Bloomberg. On this episode of The Lead, Elissa talks about uncovering unique higher ed stories, reporting internationally and interviewing people who have experienced trauma. Elissa mentions one of her recent projects where she followed a class of kindergarteners in Ukraine to showcase the impact of the war on children and families. It aired on NPR’s All Things Considered and can be found here. “I think sometimes people are waiting for the job to make the work that they want to make. And I just don’t think you have to wait.” Guest: Elissa Nadworny, higher education correspondent at NPR. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

B. “Toastie” Oaster on telling Native stories

B. “Toastie” Oaster on telling Native stories

Toastie Oaster’s first ever feature made them a finalist in the 2023 National Magazine Awards. Now a staff writer on the Indigenous affairs desk at High Country News, Toastie focuses on stories that highlight social and environmental justice for Native nations and the consequences of colonialism in the West. In this episode, we’re talking about why having Native stories told by Native journalists is important and how non-Native people should report responsibly on Indigenous communities. Toastie’s feature that we talk about (and that was a finalist in the National Magazine Awards) is called “Underwater Legends.” It’s about the relationship between the Pacific lamprey and Native nations in the Northwest, and it can be found here. “Reporting on Native issues, if you allow it to, will challenge your worldview. And it should.” Guest: B. “Toastie” Oaster, staff writer on the Indigenous affairs desk at High Country News. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

The Houston Chronicle’s Brady Stone on reaching readers

The Houston Chronicle’s Brady Stone on reaching readers

Stories don’t always make their way from reporters to readers on their own. Sometimes they need help — that’s where audience engagement journalists come in. On this week’s episode of The Lead, Brady Stone, an audience producer at the Houston Chronicle, breaks down why reaching readers quickly and accurately matters. “People need to see this work, and without an audience journalist to be there to really help you uplift that story … there’d be a piece missing.” Guest: Brady Stone, audience producer at the Houston Chronicle. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

Ryan Prior on uncovering stories about health and disability

Ryan Prior on uncovering stories about health and disability

Ryan Prior has been interested in telling stories about health, science and disability since high school. Now, he does that as a journalist — and has added documentary filmmaker and published author to his résumé. He also found time to consult with the federal government about long COVID and create a position at a think tank. Today, we chat about telling health and disability stories and about his many different projects. Ryan’s documentary “Forgotten Plague” is about chronic fatigue syndrome and can be found here. His book “The Long Haul” was published in 2022 and tells the story of millions of people living with long-term effects from COVID-19. “The voices of the marginalized can be one of the places where there’s the greatest level of insight.” Guest: Ryan Prior, journalist-in-residence at The Century Foundation (and University of Georgia alum). Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

UGA’s Denetra Walker on creating change through social justice journalism

UGA’s Denetra Walker on creating change through social justice journalism

It’s Denetra Walker’s second semester teaching at the University of Georgia and she’s just getting started. After a multitude of experiences in the broadcast journalism field, she’s teaching social justice journalism and journalism ethics, all while providing mentorship and representation for students in the classroom. In this episode, we chat about what social justice journalism is and why it’s crucial for the future of storytelling. “Your dreams should be so big that it scares you. And if your dreams don’t scare you, you’re not dreaming big enough.” Guest: Denetra Walker, assistant professor of journalism at the University of Georgia. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

Grist’s Lylla Younes on environmental storytelling

Grist’s Lylla Younes on environmental storytelling

Lylla Younes’ work has had an impact. Her work mapping cancer-causing industrial pollution in Louisiana for ProPublica helped lead to a plastic manufacturer’s permit to be suspended. She’s written about oil spills, hazardous waste and a tanker off the coast of Yemen that’s poised to cause an environmental disaster. She’s now a staff writer at Grist, a nonprofit telling stories at the intersection of climate and justice. In this episode, we chat about her path to data and environmental journalism, her work as an investigative reporter and all the intersections environment stories contain. Lylla’s project she mentions is called “We Were Not Allowed To Mourn.” It tells the stories of New York’s Arab and Muslim community after 9/11 and can be found here. “I think the best stories, the ones that I want to tell myself, often have an eye for both the very close view and the local and that specific instance, and also the larger systemic forces at play, and are able to kind of balance those two perspectives.” Guest: Lylla Younes, staff writer at Grist. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

Atlanta Magazine’s Kamille Whittaker on recording Black history

Atlanta Magazine’s Kamille Whittaker on recording Black history

Kamille Whittaker’s career is intimately intertwined with the Black Press, starting with her time as an intern. Since then, she’s worn many different hats and is now a managing editor at Atlanta Magazine, where she puts together a product that truly tells the stories of the city. In this episode, we chat about her work at the magazine, her role as a training director at the nonprofit Canopy Atlanta and her project “Perhaps, To Bloom,” which aims to celebrate the cultural impact of Caribbean communities in Atlanta and the South. “Connect yourself to a writing tradition, or storytelling tradition, or storytelling genealogy. … It really kind of guides you and guides your steps.” Guest: Kamille Whittaker, managing editor at Atlanta Magazine, training director at Canopy Atlanta and 2023 Cox Institute Industry Fellow. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Erin Schilling on the joy of editing

Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Erin Schilling on the joy of editing

It’s only been a couple of years since Erin Schilling graduated from the University of Georgia, but she’s already a digital editor at the Atlanta Business Chronicle. In this episode, we chat about the skills that got her there, what she likes about business reporting and one of her favorite stories — that started with her being scooped. “There’s a level of give and take there when you’re editing, that you’re not trying to rewrite someone’s work, you’re just trying to help them make it shine more.” Guest: Erin Schilling, digital editor at the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

Paul Glader on getting out of the office

Paul Glader on getting out of the office

Paul Glader’s reporting has taken him all over, from California to Sweden and Germany. He spent 10 years at The Wall Street Journal, where he covered business, travel, technology and even metals and mining. In this episode, we’re chatting about his international experiences, his work as a professor in New York City and the good old basics of reporting. His piece about a chance meeting with a relative that led to him traveling to Sweden, “A journey up the family tree,” can be found here. “The best advice I got was, dude, you’re not gonna find a story sitting here in your cubicle. And so you need to get outside and go find a story.” Guest: Paul Glader, journalism professor at The King’s College in New York City, executive director of The Media Project and director of the Dow Jones News Fund business reporting program. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

UGA’s Vicki Michaelis on sports journalism’s expansive impact

UGA’s Vicki Michaelis on sports journalism’s expansive impact

Vicki Michaelis is one of few people who have witnessed Michael Phelps win every one of his Olympic medals. After 12 years as USA Today’s lead Olympics reporter, she now teaches sports journalism classes at the University of Georgia. In this episode, we talk about her career path, what drew her to teaching and her advice for aspiring sports journalists. “I loved that sports are a microcosm of life and that they both reflect and can help change things in society.” Guest: Vicki Michaelis, director of the John Huland Carmical Sports Media Institute at UGA. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.

GPB’s Stephen Fowler on political reporting and the power of radio

GPB’s Stephen Fowler on political reporting and the power of radio

What does it take to cover politics in a state as crucial and rapidly changing as Georgia? In this episode, Stephen Fowler, a political reporter at Georgia Public Broadcasting, has some answers. In this episode, we talk about covering the midterms, the gravity of covering local political news and the magic of radio storytelling. The article Stephen mentions about the shoal bass, “On The Flint, A Fight For A Fish,” can be found here. “Don’t wait for somebody to give you permission or assign you a story to do something.” Guest: Stephen Fowler, political reporter for Georgia Public Broadcasting. Host: Jacqueline GaNun.