Meet New Board Member: Christine Hatfield
Christine was elected to the INBA Board of Directors in October 2025. She’ll serve a 2-year term. She offered these responses to help INBA get to know her.
Name, employer, title: Christine Hatfield, Illinois Public Media in Urbana, Producer of “The 21st Show”
Education: Bachelor’s in News (Journalism/TCOM dual major) at Ball State University ’20, Master’s in Public Affairs Reporting at UIS ’21
Previous journalism-related jobs: Second Century news fellowship at Wisconsin Public Radio in Milwaukee (2021-22), reporting for WGLT and WCBU while in PAR (2021), student reporting at Indiana Public Radio in Muncie, IN (2018-20), internship at WNIJ (2019)
Favorite thing about your job: Getting to really dive deep into these stories and conversations that make a difference in the lives of Illinoisans. There’s a place for short-form news, of course, but there’s something to be said for being able to slow down and talk about something for a full hour if it’s needed!
A favorite story you’ve covered recently: Education’s always a hot topic, and our show’s no exception. I put together a full hour on school start times in Illinois. We talked to doctors who think schools should start later, and then we opened up a dialogue with educators across the state on why these start times are what they are, and why they think they should or shouldn’t change. It was a nuanced discussion, and everyone engaged so thoughtfully with each other’s points, even when there were differences in opinion. That’s really the essence of what we try to do: give people the opportunity to engage with each other’s perspectives (not just guests, but also the people who call in!) and hopefully come away having learned something.
Favorite activity outside of work: As past president Jenna would attest to, I’m an avid board gamer! There’s something to be said for sitting down with a bunch of friends and enjoying a fun game together. My absolute favorite would have to be “Sushi Go Party!”
Why you’re a member of INBA: In this time of continued change and evolution in the world of news, I think it’s so important that those of us in this field are able to stick together, work as a community to improve what we do (and how we do it!), and build a better future for journalism.