This spring semester, students in Professor Paul Garber’s On the Air with WFDD course took a beat coverage focus, with each student covering a county in North Carolina, to explore stories they were curious about in areas that have historically been news deserts in WFDD’s listening area. Below are some of the stories that were published. Keep an eye out for more to come!

 

Aria Heyneman (’25) covered the High Point furniture market. Her interview with new Market Authority CEO Tammy Nagem made the N.C. Tribune’s list of top ten statewide stories on April 24, 2023: https://www.wfdd.org/story/new-president-high-point-market-authority-prepares-first-event-under-her-leadership. Heyneman’s spot coverage of the event was also shared with NCPRA, a statewide wire of public radio stories for stations from Asheville to Willmington: https://www.wfdd.org/story/high-point-busy-return-furniture-market.

 

Journalism students also focused on the importance of diversity in their stories, for example, Vir Gupta’s (’25) interview with Tina Firesheets on her new book, 100 Things to Do in Winston-Salem Before You Die, included questions about how the author’s inclusive approach to her subject: https://www.wfdd.org/story/new-book-has-ideas-and-itineraries-exploring-winston-salem.  Additionally, Liam Kimbro (’23) interviewed a drag performer responding to a bill that would limit performances: https://www.wfdd.org/story/proposal-would-ban-drag-shows-people-under-18-north-carolina.

 

Diversity also included stories about people with disabilities. Braden Bock (’24) pitched a story about the Wake Forest baseball team’s epilepsy awareness effort that resulted in a well-received interview with former pitcher Marc Palmieri, who wrote a book, She Danced with Lightning, about his daughter’s struggles with seizures: https://www.wfdd.org/story/former-wake-forest-pitcher-marc-palmieri-teams-epilepsy-awareness-effort-personal.

 

Other stories written by journalism students included one by Turner Jones (’23) who made three trips to Kernersville to get this touching spot on a traveling version of the Vietnam War Memorial: https://www.wfdd.org/story/traveling-vietnam-memorial-makes-stop-kernersville. Students also covered governmental issues, including this piece by Lauren Carpenter (’25) in the wake of a child abduction case in Davidson County that made national news: https://www.wfdd.org/story/davidson-county-sheriff-seeks-additional-positions-following-high-profile-cases-involving.

 

Furthermore, stories from WFDD’s listening area’s new deserts include:

Liam Kimbro in Wilkes County: https://www.wfdd.org/story/wilkes-county-organization-fights-growing-hunger-problem.

Vir Gupta in Davie County: https://www.wfdd.org/story/davidson-davie-community-college-program-targets-health-care-worker-shortage.

Braden Bock in Alleghany-Ashe: https://www.wfdd.org/story/high-country-health-executive-says-telehealth-brings-benefits-rural-patients.

Xander Friedel (’23) in Randolph County: https://www.wfdd.org/story/last-lion-north-carolina-zoo-gets-companion.