The journalist's journey: an interview with Tess Novotny
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| Photo courtesy of Tess Novotny |
In the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic, Tess Novotny isn’t slowing down. While many local newspapers are struggling to stay afloat, Novotny has found her place at Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) where she assists with the production of the popular radio show ‘Think Out Loud’ and is working on a series of promotional podcasts for an upcoming documentary series on OPBTV.
Novotny may be young –– she graduated from college in 2018
–– but she has already had a diverse journalism career. At the University of
Oregon, she worked at the school’s magazine writing features and also worked at
the college radio station. She has covered crime in the small town of Klamath
Falls, and now she works for the well-known broadcasting company OPB.
As an aspiring journalist about to graduate, I wanted to learn
more about Novotny’s journey and see if she had any advice for someone coming
into the industry.
Novotny is a self-proclaimed introvert and more on the quiet
side. She said this often left her intimidated in journalism school when other student
reporters would dive in headfirst into investigative pieces.
As an introvert myself, Novotny offered some advice that she
would tell her younger self and I hope to apply this advice to my own
journalism journey.
“It’s harmful to compare yourself to other people and where
people are at,” Novotny said. “Everybody has a different path in their career, and
we all are interested in different things and different parts of journalism and
have different talents and skills to bring to it. I would tell myself to trust
my own gut and trust what I want to do in journalism and trust that I have the
ability and skills to do it.”
I asked Novotny about her path to OPB and what it has been
like working in audio storytelling. She shared insights on journalism
professors who inspired her and helped her network and ultimately receive an
internship in Klamath Falls. She stressed the importance of networking in this industry.
Audio storytelling is something that I am still learning more
about. Novotny helped me to see the real reporting that goes into even just
being a producer for a radio show and even inspired me to look into working in
radio. I always thought of audio journalism as people who actually speak and
record their voices but there is a lot of behind the scenes work.
I enjoyed my time speaking with Novotny and she gave me a
lot of hope as I get ready to start my own professional career. She shared the
best and worst parts of journalism and reiterated the power that journalism and specifically audio can have.
“The most rewarding thing is when you can hold power
accountable or give someone a platform they haven’t had before to share their
story or what they’ve been through,” Novotny said. “It’s so fun to get to tell
someone else’s story. The most challenging thing…it’s a job that’s kind of
thankless sometimes.”
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Check out this audio story Tess worked on for OPB!
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