MADISON – Wisconsin Public Radio’s latest reporting fellows reflect a continuing commitment to providing opportunities for underrepresented and early career journalists. This year, WPR welcomes Lee Ester News Fellow Diane Bezucha and Second Century News Fellow Christine Hatfield.
Bezucha was a high school teacher in California and a photographer and educator in New York City before turning to journalism. As a graduate student at City University of New York, she embraced audio journalism. She is based in WPR’s Madison office, covering stories from around the state.
Community engagement underscores Bezucha’s passion for public radio. “Whether it’s through call-in talk shows, supporting with their dollars, or an engagement initiative like WHYsconsin, public radio is a true dialog between journalists and the community,” Bezucha said.
Hatfield grew up outside Chicago and studied journalism at Ball State University. She comes to WPR fresh from a Master’s program in Public Affairs Reporting at the University of Illinois-Springfield, where she interned with public radio station WGLT in Bloomington-Normal, covering the Illinois statehouse. She is based in WPR’s Milwaukee office.
Hatfield is drawn to radio for its powerful storytelling. “With a really good radio story, that little bit of sound requires the listener to take an active role, to picture what it’s like to be there, to put themselves in the place of whatever the subject of the story is,” she said. In addition to daily news responsibilities, she will be gaining experience in producing talk programming on “The Morning Show” on The Ideas Network.
WPR created the Lee Ester News Fellowship in memory of journalist Lee Ester, and the Second Century News Fellowship to provide opportunities for new, early career and underrepresented journalists to gain practical experience in public media news.
