1/20 A year ago today I started working at KPCC — here are some reflections from my first year in journalism:

2/20 Nothing has shaped me more than @TobinLow and @CathyTu (the hosts of @Nancypodcast) speaking at the station during my first month there. They talked about how their team looks for stories *they* find interesting, not what stories they think fit a mold or are expected of them

3/20 That became the number one guiding principle for me as I started reporting. Nearly every piece I made was connected to something I had been thinking about for a long time. With that in mind, here's a bit about my three favorite stories I've done and why I wanted to tell them

4/20 (“Exploring LA’s Zine Scene”) Four years ago, I started illustrating professionally (mostly by cold-emailing magazines! and it worked! lol!) That led me to table at zinefests around SoCal. I discovered they were a lovely safe space for sooo many folx https://soundcloud.com/arisaperstein/zines

5/20 (“A Show That Demands ‘Close’ Listening") Three years ago, I saw @itsjoshfeldman and @shoshannah7's web series at Outfest. Such a joy to be the first person to interview them for radio and chat about deafness in a way that wasn’t contrived or gimmicky https://soundcloud.com/arisaperstein/a-show-that-demands-close-listening

6/20 (“Kayaking In Hollywood”) Two years ago, I got a plot in the Elysian Valley Community Garden next to the LA River. I’d see kayakers paddling through it and I spent a year thinking “I want to do that” - but didn't until an editor encouraged me to do it https://soundcloud.com/arisaperstein/kayak

7/20 As cheesy as this may sound, I'm totally sincere when I say that more than the stories I've reported or bylines I’ve been able to accrue, the thing I've been most positively impacted by is the people I’ve worked with, how they’ve treated me and how they treat one another

8/20
My first week:
- @sritoper invited me to join her lunch club (on my first day!)
- @AnnieGilbertson took me out to lunch
- @PriskaNeely gave me a guide for navigating KPCC

9/20
Also my first week:
- @natchudnovsky and @the5tooljourno taught me how to write a script and @JGhorn was OK letting me produce his segment and reading the first script I’d ever written for radio (I don’t know I would’ve made the same choice if I were in your shoes, John!)

10/20 My first month, @megs_larson gave me the green light to make my first reported piece — a piece was pretty ambitious in scope and that she would’ve been *absolutely* in the right to pass on… and the fact that she said "yes" when she could’ve said "no" still means so much

11/20 My second month, @write_this_way came *to me* with a project (which was so flattering and validating), commissioning illustrations for @MicheReports investigation on elder abuse. It was easily the most positive editorial art experience I've ever had https://laist.com/2019/06/19/elder_financial_abuse_seniors_scams_illness_abuse.php

12/20 My first six months:
- @CarpOnWheels and Darby Maloney, two very busy people, took the time to sit with me in the booth as I tracked, giving me feedback on my reads
- @Lisa_Brenner and @MelissaLeu were so communicative and collaborative in editing my pieces for @LAist

13/20
- Truly a mensch, @AshleyAlvarado connected me with people to reach out to for more work, grants and other journalistic support
- Top leadership @KrisMul and @herbscannell took time out of their busy schedules to do hour-long lunch hangs with myself and other newbies

14/20 My first year, I became an on-call assistant producer, with the help of the whole Take Two team — through @LeoHasACat’s patience, @austincross’s kindness, @LoriGalarreta’s positivity @_tamika_adams’s encouragement and @udacha1234’s rockstar engineering support

15/20 and, of course, @AMartinezLA’s always being a good sport with letting me produce him, even if I (inevitably) goof up something. Most of all, I've only gotten to a point in the last 12 months where I can now say I'm a radio producer because of @megs_larson's help.

16/20 Outside of KPCC & LAist, I...
- got a grant to attend @ThirdCoastFest (which was easily the highlight of my year)
- presented at @IPPkcrw's pitch panel
- made a radio story for @whyy’s @thepulse
- wrote pieces for @thecut, @bellocollective @thecounter & @instyle

17/20 As with KPCC, in every one of those instances, too, all the editors I worked with and journalists I met have been across the board lovely. My main takeaway about the industry from the past 12 months is that there are many good people in journalism, especially audio.

18/20 Namely @KristenLepore @lmisitzis @alexkapelman @meganleetan @muktamohan @pbalonon_rosen @audioeliza @pod_ppl @slamgranderson @molaborde @heyavishay and @bob_mondello — some of the many people who've gone out of their way to help me or connect me with jobs or just be lovely

19/20 When I started a year ago, my goals were:
- to tell stories I thought were important
- learn a shit ton about producing
- hustle for any freelance things I could get when I wasn’t scheduled to work
- and bring different kinds of voices to radio that aren’t often heard

20/20 and for the most part, I did that! Some days/weeks/months more successfully than others, but when I look back at the past year I feel pretty dang good about how things have shaped out. Hopefully, in this next year there's a tiny bit less hustling and more fun new projects.