Susan Stephens is northern Illinois’ host of All Things Considered on WNIJ. She is also a reporter and former President of the INBA.

Stephens knows she was “bit by the radio bug” as a kid, and talks about her childhood interest in radio. In this podcast interview with INBA & WBBM’s Margaret Larkin, she talks about how INBA has always been an affordable outlet for learning, networking, and having fun with other broadcasters across the state.

Stephens says one of the things she’s learned throughout her award-winning career is, “just about everyone has an interesting story and the trick is getting it out of them.”

Whether you’re a sucker for radio, work in TV, or you’re still figuring out your place in broadcasting, check out this podcast for some valuable advice and anecdotes.

To book a room at our group rate of $109 per night with free parking, please click here or call 309-637-6500.

Deadline for room reservations is April 22.

Convention registration cost: 

Members: $115

Spouses: $95

Students: $95

Non-members: $130

Saturday day only (includes lunch): $50

Saturday evening banquet only: $50

WEEK-TV houses two separate local affiliates: 25 News and Heart of Illinois ABC. Hendricks will manage both news teams under one roof.

Hendricks is a Chicago native, but has lived in central Illinois for more than 20 years. Throughout that time, he’s worked as a news photographer, promotion producer, newscast producer, assignment manager, and assistant news director.

In a statement to the INBA, Hendricks said, “It’s an honor to lead a newsroom I grew up in. I have been a part of serving our viewers fair and unbiased news coverage for more than 20 years and plan to continue as long as I can.”

Hendricks is a graduate of Illinois State University, where he was heavily involved in TV-10. He’s also worked in communications for Caterpillar, as well as news operations in Rockford and the Quad Cities.

In a news release form WEEK-TV the station said Hendricks has been part of earning several Illinois Broadcasters Association Silver Domes, Illinois Associated Press Awards, a News Emmy and Regional Edward R Murrow honors.   

WEEK-TV has been owned and operated by Quincy Media for about the past five years. At the start of 2021, it was announced that Gray Television would purchase the station.

The Illinois Times wrote, “It’s OK for lawmakers to moonlight as lobbyists, but reporters aren’t supposed to be tools of outfits with business before the legislature. Legislative leaders have drawn parallels between Capitol News Illinois and a defunct news arm of the Illinois Policy Institute, a conservative think tank.”

After a digital discussion among board members, the INBA agreed that CNI provides legitimate journalism without influence from affiliated organizations. For that reason, the board submitted a letter to the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and the Senate President, asking them to reconsider their decision.

The INBA was not contacted by CNI to write a letter of support. The board made the decision organically. You can read the full letter below.

May 11, 2021

The Honorable Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch

Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives

The Illinois News Broadcasters Association, formed January 22, 1955, is one of the largest statewide broadcast news associations in the nation. The organization is made up of about 200 members from throughout Illinois. The goals of the organization are to preserve and protect the public’s right to know, to ensure the free flow of information, to provide scholarships and to exchange information among members.

It is our belief that journalists employed by Capitol News Illinois are worthy of press credentials offering the highest level of access to state government. In fact, we believe it is essential that CNI reporters have this access in order to continue to provide reliable, credible, and legitimate news to media outlets across the state.

Capitol News Illinois, operated by the Illinois Press Foundation, was born from a desire to expand unbiased reporting of state government functions at a time when statehouse bureaus are shrinking.

Further, the nonprofit news service is transparent in its funding model and its donors. Among them, the reputable Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

We acknowledge every media outlet seeking press credentials should be individually vetted to ensure the entire organization upholds a journalistic code of ethics. Reporters and editors with Capitol News Illinois have proven to uphold these values and are deserving of such official press distinction.

Sincerely,

Jenna Dooley, President, on behalf of the INBA Board

  For Brooks, being a journalist means being heavily involved at WIU’s News 3 during the Spring and Fall semesters, working part-time at Tri States Public Radio, and adding summer internships at WGEM-TV in Quincy and then WREX-TV in Rockford. For the most recent internship, he worked from home (in St Louis) as a web producer. 

  One of his main responsibilities was updating the latest local and state coronavirus numbers. “That task reminded me how important our job is to keep people informed with what they need to know on a daily basis.”

  The pandemic has made for challenges at school too, but Brooks says it’s pushed him to get better at digging for story ideas. One story he’s covered at Western is the selection of a new president: 
   And one thing he’s faced as a journalist is racism. “I’m in a predominantly white community, and whenever I’m covering meetings or covering police briefings, when I’m the only black person in the room, I wonder ‘Are they really telling me the truth? Or are they giving me the runaround? Or treating white reporters differently than they treat me?’ But at the same time, I’m telling myself that I can handle this. I know what my job is. I know it’s worth coming to work and getting the information out to the public.”
  Brooks credits his parents for his ability to stand up to discrimination, and his can-do attitude. They’ve been helping him aim for a career in TV news for a long time. He remembers first being attracted to microphones at about seven years old, then visiting the KTVI-TV studios and meeting the personalities. His mom would buy him books related to journalism and how to be a news reporter. He names KTVI’s Mandy Murphey and NBC’s Lester Holt as particular role models whom he’s watched and learned from.  And he also credits his faculty directors at News 3, which have included Jasmine Crighton, Emily Manley and now Jessica Martin. “I think a lot of my directors have really kept my spirits up, you know, during the time of a lot of noise that we have going on.” 

  Now he’s serving as a mentor to younger students at WIU, who sometimes have a hard time covering race issues. “I know how they feel, but at the same time I also know how important it is to not give up and to fight for what’s right. It takes time for them to see it. We have to take breaks and we have to mentor each other.” 

Host of ‘Land of 10,000 Stories’ and reporter for KARE-11 TV in Minneapolis, Boyd Huppert talks about his stellar career: how to produce compelling stories, why he loves reporting, the importance of listening to people, advice for working in TV news, and much more.

He conducted a storytelling workshop at the INBA Spring Convention in 2019. In this interview Huppert talks about how he got into hosting workshops. “I was a workshopaholic,” he said about his earlier career, “I would drive five or six hours if there was a journalist I could learn from.” Huppert said he’s still learning, “You’re never a better learner than you are when you’re a teacher I’ve found.”

Boyd was interviewed by Margaret Larkin via Zoom.