When Vidette student reporters need the scoop on preparing for an interview or writing a story, they’re now just a few steps away from a newsroom staffed by experienced journalists willing to share their insights.
In January, WGLT co-located with The Vidette in a newly renovated building on West Locust Street in Normal. The three-year project resulted in a modern shared space for Illinois State University’s National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate and the University’s student media outlet to produce their award-winning local news coverage.
“It gives us a lot more opportunities, and it also gives us a little more guidance,” said Vidette Editor-In Chief Scott Prerost, a senior journalism major. “Obviously, (Vidette Editorial Advisor) Kevin (Capie) is only one person, and we have 30-something people on our staff. Now we can also go to (WGLT staff) to ask more questions. They’re also giving us opportunities to do more stuff, like the Democracy’s Future project.”
An early collaboration between the media outlets is the Democracy’s Future podcast in which Vidette staff interview fellow college students about the future of American democracy ahead of the 2024 election. Vidette News and Features Editor Megan Spoerlein co-hosts the podcast, which is edited by a WGLT student intern and published on WGLT’s website and aired over the radio.
“I think oftentimes young voices, especially college-age students, are just ignored,” said Spoerlein, a senior journalism major. “I think actually being able to sit down and have deep conversations with these students and share them with the community (on WGLT) is really important.”
In addition to her work with The Vidette, Spoerlein is one of nine paid WGLT student interns with duties including reporting, audio production, on-air announcing, and social and digital media content creation.
“It’s really cool to see (The Vidette and WGLT) come together,” Spoerlein said. “Now that we’re all in the same building, everything just feels a lot more connected. Just having the presence of everybody together feels really good.”
The concept for merging Vidette and WGLT facilities emerged in 2020 when WGLT Executive Director R.C. McBride ’99 met with then-Vidette Editorial Advisor John Plevka to discuss the future of their evolving media outlets. Both were experiencing significant growth in digital readership, a shift from their traditional mediums as a radio station and printed newspaper.
“We pulled together some alumni, folks from the School of Communication, and some WGLT staff and just started kicking some ideas around,” McBride said. “And then the idea presented itself that we could both do some better work if we were co-located.”
The University approved $650,000 to renovate and furnish The Vidette Building, and WGLT—led by Assistant Executive Director Melissa Libert ’00—fundraised more than $150,000 for new audio equipment.
“The community expects a lot from us. This was long overdue,” Libert said. “We’re the biggest newsroom in town. So that’s a big responsibility for our team.”
At the beginning of the semester, WGLT made the move from Old Union, its home for the past 47 years. Vidette students simultaneously settled into their newly refurbished space, which includes 20 workstations and five recording studios available to journalists from both organizations.
“This partnership aligns with the University’s mission of educating the citizens of tomorrow, and it aligns with both of our missions to train the journalists of tomorrow. So, we’re really excited about that,” McBride said. “And this is not the end of the race. Our hope is to be bigger and better with every passing day.”
Ryan Denham, WGLT’s digital content director who oversees the station’s internship program, said he will be working with Vidette Editorial Advisor Kevin Capie to establish a formal pathway for students to gain experience at both media outlets.
“I worry about the future of journalism and having enough young people in the pipeline to pursue these careers,” Denham said. “So, it’s our responsibility to make sure that pipeline is filled with great, diverse talent. With the School of Communication right here, it gives us a pretty unique opportunity to really solve that pipeline problem.”
Capie said Vidette students are already benefitting from the opportunity to engage with WGLT staff while sharpening their digital storytelling skills.
“With WGLT here, our students aren’t only thinking about things in terms of traditional print, but now, they’re getting audio experience. And because we’re online, we can do video—that’s one of the areas we want to really start to push,” Capie said. “We want our students to be able to tell all of the different types of stories that our audience wants.”
With graduation on the horizon this spring, Spoerlein said her work with The Vidette and WGLT has solidified her ambition to pursue a career in journalism.
“There’s something so special about being able to help someone share their story when they don’t have the voice to do that themselves,” Spoerlein said. She added that she’s confident her experience as a student reporter will help make her dream job a reality.
“Being able to send in a resume or show up to a job interview with all the stories I’ve written, the podcast I helped produce, and clips of me voicing things—I feel like that’s huge,” Spoerlein said. “That can easily help me stand out.”
