Olivia Gilliand is a sophomore at Ohio University and our WVXU News Intern this summer. Olivia’s a lifelong WVXU fan thanks to her dad, Shawn who has been a teacher for 30 years, a public radio listener for decades and a sustaining member since we launched the program. Olivia invited her father to tour the studios, meet some of the staff and talk about her journey into journalism.
Oliva: So, it’s been cool to have you in the studio today and to introduce you to a lot of my coworkers, who have been really instrumental in my journalism journey. What was it like for you to be in the studio and meet some of the voices that you hear on the radio?
Shawn: It’s been kind of a fanboy day for me because I’ve been a longtime WVXU listener. These are the people I hear on the radio every morning and everybody’s been super nice. You and I geek out over science fiction, so watching the production of a Cincinnati Edition about aliens today was right up my alley.
Olivia: But do you have a favorite show of favorite hosts, or a favorite, dependable local news intern?
Shawn: I’m a Morning Edition guy. For years and years I’ve been listening to Morning Edition on the drive to work as you know because you would be in the car with me listening to NPR and trying to tell me something about your latest drama. Maryanne is my favorite on air personality. And Howard. I love Howard. But I suppose you are now my favorite WVXU employee.
Olivia: I’m honored! I’ve really loved getting to know the voices behind the people that I’ve listened to my whole career. As we joke, I wrote my college essay about Cincinnati Public Radio. Why did you raise me on public radio?
Shawn: I moved to Cincinnati about 25 years ago, and when I moved here, I listened to just commercial radio primarily, you know, morning shows on classic rock stations. And that was around the same time that the politics in the country were getting ugly, and the discourse was getting crude. And you and your brother came along, and I was looking for something a little bit more calming and a little less inflammatory in the mornings. And I landed on WVXU pretty early in that process. I didn’t want you hearing the kind of discourse that was going on in commercial radio, I guess. I thought WVXU was a positive influence, and it kept me informed. And it was kind of cool, because you seemed to be into it, too. You would ask questions about what they were talking about, We had lots of conversations around the stories that we heard.
Olivia: I have been so lucky to grow up with a family that prioritizes our local community and information and access to these kinds of stories that are so vital to our lives into our democracy. When I got this internship, you are almost as excited as I was! What did you hope I got out of that and how do you see journalism as a whole contributing to our democracy and lives?
Shawn: Sadly, I don’t think a lot of what people take for journalism these days is really journalism. We were always told that reporting should be unbiased and level-headed. And I feel like there’s just a big fracture in the journalism community, everything is pretty partisan. And like I was talking about earlier a little bit ugly. And WVXU and National Public Radio are calm and well-reasoned. And there’s intellectual discourse, and there’s disagreement but that’s fantastic. If all you hear is the people who agree with you, it’s no wonder we can’t have civil discourse because no one is hearing the other side. So tell me about this internship.
Olivia: I’ve taken away two really big things. One is that this industry is less cutthroat than people make it out to be. I was really worried when I came into this internship that people were going to be really short and just kind of stick to themselves because that’s the sense that I kind from national news organizations. And that’s what you hear from a lot of people who aren’t journalists so I think I brought some of those misconceptions with me. And the people that I’ve gotten to work with have opened my eyes to what real journalism and real community is. I’ve learned so much from just being able to be in the same space as some of these award-winning journalists. The second thing that I would take away is just, you don’t have to know everything. It took a lot of courage for me to go up to Howard Wilkinson, who I’ve been listening to since I was a child and say, “I don’t know what I’m doing.” But it wonderful when he said, “That’s okay. Let me show you.”
Shawn: Having met most of these people today, I can absolutely see all of them responding that way. What surprised you the most about the internship?
Olivia: That is a really difficult question, because I feel like I have learned so much. I would say I was surprised by the dedication of the newsroom. I knew that journalists worked all kinds of crazy hours, but there have been times when I’ve been up editing a story when it’s late, and I need help. I’ll text Jen (our Digital Editor), and she will hop on in less than two minutes later. It could be 11 o’clock at night and she is always there.
Shawn: Do you feel you are learning more on your own?
Olivia: Yes. I covered the JD Vance rally earlier this week in Middletown. I got an email from Howard Wilkinson saying you’re ready for your first solo trip. And that message meant so much to me, because, again, he’s one of the people that I’ve been listening to my entire life.
Shawn: I wanted to tell Howard about when you were a swimmer in school and we would carpool. There would be three or four other kids in the car, I would always have NPR and WVXU on in the car and I could hear your friends in the backseat whispering, “Olivia asked your dad to change the radio station.” But you never asked me to change the radio station. I’m saying this as your dad, but also as a guy who’s been a teacher for 30 years, we have to convince young people of the importance of unbiased news.
Olivia: This internship has been a great opportunity and I think engaging young people in an internship program or in a conversation or through social media is important. Howard said to me earlier this week, “they hate news organizations, they don’t hate journalists.” That was really profound for me. This station, and these reporters are invested in this community which sets us up for better conversations and more engagement in journalism and in democracy as a whole.
Shawn: I have to say I am so proud of you for doing this. And I hope more than anything that this goes out over the air, because I want everyone to know that I am so proud of you. And I think this is the coolest thing you’re doing. Thank you to everyone here at WVXU for the service to the community, and for the excellent reporting for all of the value that you have brought to me and to my family over the last 25 years. The small amount of donation I make on a monthly basis, could not possibly cover the value that we’ve received, both as members of the community and now with my daughter interning here and having this opportunity. It’s been amazing. And I just wanted to say that on the record.
Oliva: Mic drop. That’s gonna make me cry. Thanks Dad.