Friday, April 8, 2022

7 p.m.

The panelists for “Turing pro: Using your Illini Media experience after college” gave brief introductions of what they did during their tenure at Illini Media.

Megan Jones described her media journey beginning with The Daily Illini. She served as an assistant editor, and then editor-in-chief of The Daily Illini.

Juyeon Kim said a summer camp made her interested in journalism and pushed her to pursue media. She was a daytime editor for The Daily Illini and helped out with production at WPGU. 

“Illinois has so many options to choose from. What I advise for students is to try it all. Whatever it is that you like, I would recommend pursuing it and hone in on it,” Kim said. 

Stephanie Lulay was a news reporter for The Daily Illini. 

“My time as a writer for The Daily Illini really set me up for a career in journalism. I got to learn more from my experience doing journalism on the clock everyday than in my classes,” Lulay said.

Aaron wrote for The Daily Illini where he pursued breaking news and eventually became an editor. He was also a freelancer and interned for investigative broadcasting during his undergraduate years. 

After graduation, he became a news associate for CBS news, shot campaign news for elections and now has been pursuing political news coverage for CBS news. 

James Boyd started off as a sophomore at The Daily Illini. As a broadcasting journalism major, he’s covered a wide range of sports including para sports here at the University. 

“A lot of sleepless nights, but it’s something I enjoy doing. Skipping classes and going to press conferences, that used to be my life,” said Boyd.

7:30 p.m.

The panelist were asked why they chose to do what they are doing now. 

“It’s not doing a big story that matters. It’s those few stories that you do that make a difference which sticks with you for the rest of your life. That has been the ’why’ of why I continue doing what I do now,” Kim said. 

“If you see this room, there’s no one in here that’s black other than me. That’s a reminder for why I continue doing what I do now.

“The reason why I love high school sports is because I could relate to what I was doing… It’s about making a change to the kids who might need some inspiration and some love,” Boyd said.

Navarro described how he gets to cover a lot of interesting demographics and different political standpoints. He noted some of his past experiences including meeting Trump supporters in Minnesota to Biden supporters over the state and getting to hear about their views.

“These experiences and opportunities are something I could never have experienced if I didn’t pursue this,” Navarro said. 

A question was asked in the livestream about the importance of social media such as Twitter. 

Navarro described how it allows one to get their work out there and it also allows for some recognition to be given out. 

“It can also be a tricky spot which is why I don’t try to mess around with it too much,” Navarro said. 

Kim described how it’s important to think of twitter and other social media sites as a tool. As much of the current generation is on their phones now, she noted the importance of being flexible and to shift wherever the viewers are.

“It’s the only medium where you can interact with your viewers and having them understand who you are as a journalist,” Kim said. 

“TikTok has played a huge role in some of the investigative stories that we’ve been doing… you want to go where the people are by thinking of where we’re most connected,” Lulay said.

8 p.m.

An audience member asked a question about prompting mental health and doing one’s job.

“I’ve scheduled a ‘me time’ where once I get to a certain time, I don’t do anything else,” Boyd said. 

Boyd described how throughout the year, he’s been burned out. He said you have to find pockets of time where you can enjoy yourself. 

Jones described how during the Aurora shooting event, it was especially a hard time to control her emotions and her mental health. During another shooting event, she was running from rubber bullets while still trying to recover from the first shooting event she went through. 

“It meant a lot for my boss to come out and reach over,” Jones said when she was going through this time. That support she received really helped according to Jones during that short period of time. 

“Burnout is really common and my biggest advice is to be sure to set boundaries. There’s nothing more important than my mental health,” Kim said. 

Kim advised to turn off your phones and to silence messages after work hours. She noted to use your sick days even if you’re not sick as it will be for mental health which is more important than anything else. 

“Every journalist needs to make a plan of how they plan to manage their mental health,” Lulay said. 

An audience member asked a question about building your brand image in terms of followers.

“Put a premium into knowing your audience … Really finding a niche topic is a way to build your brand and break news,” Navarro said. 

Navarro described how he never focused on building his brand image. He said he focused to “break news” in what he was covering and it was through that he was able to get a few loyal followers over the years.

“Going out in those silent communities and being the first journalist showing what goes on in their communities… you suddenly have 30 other followers from that community. From time to time, your followers grow over time” Kim said. 

To put it simply, Boyd described how simply doing the work and being a good journalist will mean much more and last longer than followers.

“Fail fast … I’ve probably failed 50 jobs after undergraduate but I’ve stayed humble and continued to work” Boyd said. 

Navarro described how great the connections and organizations that the University offers set him up for his career. He said how got a job with CBS as a result of some connections from his classmates and teachers.

Saturday, April 9, 2022:

1 p.m. 

Starting off Saturday’s panel “The Future of Student Media,” Heather Robinson, the current editor-in-chief of The Daily Illini, was asked what the paper’s staff looks like today. 

“We have 40 editors on staff right now,” Robinson said. “We kind of have a lack of writers right now, which we’re trying to work on.” 

She was also asked what she’s trying to do to make sure the staff is representative of the students and those of Illinois. 

Robinson said that she wants The Daily Illini to look as diverse and representative as possible, which is one of her main goals this year.  

She was asked what the everyday work was like. Robinson said it pretty much takes up all of our time, and works most days of the week. 

Robinson was asked about salaries at The Daily Illini. She noted that editors are paid about $50 a week, and assistant editors were paid $32.50 a week. 

“It’s a lack of funding,” Robinson said. “It’s not just helping with donations, but it’s helping keep the DI alive with the support.”

Robinson hopes in the future to have a vehicle for the Daily Illini to help students when breaking news occurs. 

“We need new equipment about every year,” Robinson said. 

When asked about the plan for the print edition in the future, Robinson said she hopes to bring back comics and crosswords for the print newspaper. However, she also noted that The Daily Illini, like many other publications, is placing more of an emphasis on its online content.

“We’re really prioritizing our online content,” Robinson said. “We’re really putting in a lot of work on our social media.” 

Editor’s note: Our coverage of the 150th reunion is ongoing. Please check back throughout the event for more updates. 

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