In this INBA Podcast, Margaret Larkin speaks with WGN Radio’s Dave Schwan.

After 45 years in radio news, Schwan is at the height of his career at WGN Radio where he is also on the air with Dean Richards. He talks about anchoring and reporting in Chicago, why he loves doing radio news, hosting the Grant Music Festival concerts and jazz network for WFMT, his mentors, advice, writing, and more. This is from a livestream that Dave did with Margaret Larkin.

In this podcast, Margaret Larkin interviews Jeff Burnett, a producer at WTHR in Indianapolis. Burnett is an Illinois native, with a non-traditional path to broadcast journalism.

Burnett talks about why he delayed going to college and what he learned from working at places like Walmart. Burnett participated in ISU’s TV-10 program and graduated from the Public Affairs Reporting Program at University of Illinois-Springfield.

He previously worked as a producer at WEEK-TV in Peoria and WHAS11 in Louisville.

What drew him to journalism was his interest in music and radio. From there, Burnett said he chose his college where he could get experience in Top 40 radio. To learn how he worked his way from ‘Jeff Jams’ on the radio to TV news producer, take a listen.

In this very special edition of the INBA Podcast, Margaret Larkin interviews John Drummond. Drummond is a legendary TV journalist who spent three decades reporting for CBS2 Chicago. Drummond earned the nickname “Bulldog” for his tenacious reporting. He is known for his coverage of crime, corruption, and the mob in the windy city. He still returns to what he calls “the magic lantern,” every now and then to provide expert analysis and context to stories on CBS2.

But Drummond didn’t start in the big city. He’s from Eau Claire, Wisconsin and he got his first news job doing radio in Iowa.

He said the first time he watched TV was in 1948 and remembers it was “fascinating.” Despite that, it’s not the career he originally wanted.

Drummond was enthralled by the radio broadcasts of WWII and joined the Air Force for four years. He even considered a career in Navy intelligence. After his service he contemplated getting a law degree because of his interest in high school debate.

Ultimately, he got his start in radio and made the transition into TV for a better paycheck; he had a family of three children to support. Drummond said he welcomed the change, adding you have to be “a ham” to work in TV. He had aspired to work in the Twin Cities, but found an opportunity in Chicago and jumped at the chance.

The “Bulldog” gave us some insight on his favorite stories he’s covered in Chicago, including the mob. He said in his career, Chicago had the most powerful mob faction in the country.

If you love history and perspective, this is an episode you can’t miss.

In this podcast, INBA’s Margaret Larkin speaks to Charlie Meyerson about his decades-long career in Chicago news. Meyerson has worked for WGN-AM, WXRT, WNUA, and FM News. He also worked for the Chicago Tribune. Now, he runs his own free email newsletter called Chicago Public Square, where he curates important highlights of the day’s news for subscribers. He also works for Rivet Radio.

Meyerson talks about the challenges with getting younger audiences to listen to radio and how to make money in today’s world of digital news. Despite those challenges, he says he still thinks it’s a great time to get into the communications business. Hey says nowadays, “One person can communicate with thousands of people daily.”

In this podcast, WBBM’s Margaret Larkin interviews NBC5 Chicago veteran reporter Phil Rogers.

Rogers joined WMAQ in 1991, and before that he worked at WBBM Newsradio, KOMA-AM in Oklahoma City, and KVRO-FM in Stillwater, OK.

Rogers talks with Larkin about the news stories he’s covered all over the world throughout his career including Olympic games, conflicts in the Middle East, and the Sandy Hook massacre.

Rogers also dives into how much transparency among public agencies has changed through the course of his career, specifically in Chicago. Spoiler alert: he says it has changed dramatically, but you’ll have to listen to the podcast to hear how he keeps doing the work he does.

To budding journalists, Rogers said, “News isn’t very hard,” adding that 99% of the job is just reporting what happens. He says what interests him is finding the information he’s not supposed to know about. He also talks about how stories can be unpredictable, “News a lot of the time involves things that don’t pan out,” he said, “You’re there to tell the story that you have not the story that you want.”

For journalists hungry for conversations on transparency, public records, and investigative work, this is the INBA podcast for you.

INBA’s Margaret Larkin interviews WGN Radio’s Lauren Lapka about her career in journalism from sports to news in this podcast.

For managers and aspiring managers, Lauren talks about how working as a manager at Hollister helped her navigate leading other young people in the broadcast business.

Lauren’s worked all over the country from Missouri, to Oregon, and now Chicago. In this podcast, she talks about the importance of speaking truth and including a variety of voices in her storytelling. In a world of divisive politics, Lauren says she feels a responsibility to keep doing the news, and provide balance to the public. She says, “WGN is home,” recalling how special the radio station was to kids and families growing up in the Chicagoland area.

Lapka also talked about her decision to not read a controversial promo script from Sinclair Broadcast Group during her time in Oregon, even against the advice of her own family.

Clips of Sinclair anchors reading the promo was strung together and went viral online in 2018. The promos emphasized that one-sided, biased, and false news stories are “extremely dangerous to our democracy.” While the message of the promos seems journalistic at face value, many former Sinclair employees have spoken publicly about one-sided, must-run stories being a regular part of local broadcasts, contrary to the company’s message.

Before she became the Kane County Public Information Officer, Julie Mann worked a few decades in radio news, starting out as an intern at WGN Radio, then as a reporter in Kane County, an anchor at WMAQ, and an anchor and reporter at WBBM until she became the Managing Editor there.

In this interview with Margaret Larkin, Mann talks about what attracted her to radio over TV and print. Mann talks about the thrill of not knowing where you’re going to go next as a reporter whether it’s a parade or a riot, and the dreaded call she used to get from her editor, “Uh yeah it’s snowing, I need you to go to O’Hare.”

Mann also talks about being prepared to receive criticism in journalism. Whether it’s constructive or unwanted, she says, “you can always do better.” She even talks about the one thing she still thinks she’s not good at. Mann emphasizes that news is a public service and talks about her career transition into becoming a public information officer for Kane County, Illinois.

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.

For several years, Max Armstrong has been covering important agricultural issues in Illinois, the Midwest, and throughout the country. He is the Director Of Broadcasting for Farm Progress, is the host of Farm Progress America, Max Armstrong’s Midwest Digest, and This Week In AgriBusiness. He also was a Business/Agri-Business Broadcaster for over 30 years at WGN Radio. He is popular on Ag Twitter (@maxarmstrong). Max was interviewed by Margaret Larkin via Zoom.