[Radio] Re-Imagine Chicago: City Government
Reset, WBEZ
Selected Clips:
[Producer Notes] I worked with another producer to kick off the first installment of the show’s Re-Imagine Chicago series. We both took on two segments each and worked on the fifth segment together that explored how Chicago could reimagine its city government. The turnaround was about a week and a half. The process involved:
- Research, booking 9 guests, writing scripts, prepping and recording multiple interviews
- Editing and arranging hours of tape to three 25-30 minute segments (Part 2, Part 4, 1/2 of Part 5)
- Creating montages and scoring moments (with music created by our audio engineer)
- Collaborating with the University of Chicago for suggestions on guests and topics
[Radio] How Starring In ‘Minari’ Helped Steven Yeun Understand His Korean Immigrant Parents
Reset, WBEZ
[Producer Notes] This segment will forever be a highlight of my personal and professional life. The process involved:
- Working with two WBEZ reporters who hosted the conversation
- Booking, cutting tape for the interview, prepping and writing the script
- Editing the final tape that aired
- Collaborating with the multimedia team to create a complete web buildout with photos
[Radio] Asian American Communities Raising Awareness, Removing Stigma Around Mental Health
The Morning Shift, WBEZ
Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial group in the U.S. But according to the American Psychological Association, they’re two to three times less likely to seek mental health services than other Americans.
[Producer Notes] I pitched this reported segment as an intern. The process involved:
- Research, booking guests, writing scripts
- Prepping and recording interviews in-studio and on the field
- Arranging tape for a talk-and-tape segment I recorded with our show’s host
[Radio] EY’s Chicago Office Hires Often Overlooked ‘Neurodiverse’ Workers
The Morning Shift, WBEZ
[Producer Notes] This segment was featured on NPR’s homepage under its “Local Radio” section. The process involved:
- Prepping and recording interviews and taking photos on the field
- Writing scripts and arranging tape for the live broadcast
- Collaborating with the web team to embed photos and audio in the web post
[Print] Local Koreans react to historic Trump-Kim summit
The Connecticut Post, Hearst Connecticut Media Group
Longtime adversaries have now become friends, President Donald Trump declared Tuesday, following a historic meeting in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The summit marked the first meeting between the two nations that have been bitter rivals since the Korean War ravaged and divided the Korean Peninsula nearly seven decades ago.
Both leaders signed an agreement that reaffirmed North Korea’s commitment to achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in exchange for halted U.S. military exercises in South Korea.
Sean Ahn, head pastor of the Connecticut Korean Mission Church in Norwalk, was in disbelief as he watched the news unfold on the TV screen inside his Stamford home.
The 52-year-old South Korean native never imagined he’d witness such a meeting between the U.S. and North Korea in his lifetime — let alone two months after North Korea and South Korea held its own historic summit to move toward the reunification of the Korean Peninsula.
“I think Kim Jong Un has made the decision to change his country,” Ahn said Tuesday, sitting outside his office at church.
“We always pray for that, but this was unexpected,” he added.
[Print] Autistic teen says peers at Norwalk High unfairly label him a threat
The Norwalk Hour, Hearst Connecticut Media Group
Owen Lynch went to school early Tuesday, thinking it would be a typical day at Norwalk High.
The 17-year-old junior mostly kept to himself, something he’s learned to embrace as he navigates life with autism and a lack of social skills.
But by third period, the school was under a shelter alert, as the administration had received a report from a student who thought he heard a gun sling back in the boys bathroom earlier in the morning.
Since Lynch was at the bathroom around that time, he was pulled out of class during third period and questioned by Norwalk police and a school security officer, he said.
They took his phone and searched him, and later searched his locker, too. They found nothing, so they sent him back to class.
Lynch thinks that’s when the rumors started — and when an old photo of him began circulating on social media with captions that read, “@schoolshooter” and “He’s the one who brought the gun.”
[Print] Wilton Quakers celebrate 75 years
The Norwalk Hour, Hearst Connecticut Media Group
In Quakerism, listening to the voice of God is more than sitting in silence. It’s centering your body, clearing your mind of thoughts and, sometimes, repeating a phrase to yourself as you wait for a divine message.
At times, people feel overcome with the sense to stand up and share that message or revelation with everyone else in that worship meeting.
This has happened several times to Renda McCaughan, a ninth-generation Quaker.
“One of the basic tenets of Quakerism is that we don’t believe that we need a minister to tell us what God is all about. We believe that God can speak to us directly,” she said.
“I’ve been a Quaker all my life, so I’ve had a lot of experiences in this waiting business.”
Read the rest of the story. (Won a first-place Excellence in Journalism Award from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists)
[Print] A Stronger Bond
The News-Gazette
Darrell Price was especially tired one night after a long day at work, and his wife, Peggy, noticed. She knew it was hard for him to juggle two jobs, one as a DeWitt County assistant state’s attorney and the other caring for her. Many a husband would leave his wife, she remembers thinking that night, because of that burden.
“Do you hate me because this happened?” she recalls asking him.
“No,” he quickly responded.
“How? Isn’t this a tortuous life for you? I mean, wouldn’t you rather just leave?”
“Well, if I didn’t love you, I probably would.”
Read the rest of the story. (Placed sixth out of a record 159 feature writing entries in the 2015 Hearst Journalism Awards)
Stephanie H. Kim 