Izzy Ross's dedication to KDLG and passion for community radio have helped guide the station for the past five years. Ross sat down with reporter Christina McDermott to talk about her time here and what’s next.
Christina McDermott: After five wonderful years, KDLG’s News Director Izzy Ross is on to new adventures, and Izzy’s with me now in the studio. Hi Izzy!
Izzy Ross: Hi!
McDermott: How are you feeling?
Ross: I'm feeling sad. But I'm also feeling very grateful for the time that I've spent at KDLG and in Dillingham and in Bristol Bay.
McDermott: So five years — that's quite a while. Listeners have heard your stories, and you've hosted newscasts. What experiences have stood out to you the most?
Ross: Well, I came here from Washington, D.C., and I really hadn't found my footing at that point. I didn't have any real, concrete local reporting skills. But I also didn't really feel any connection to the work that I was doing in a deeper way. I had been talking with the former news director, Avery Lill, and she had mentioned that there was a job opening here. So I applied and came up in March of 2018. And that connection is really what I found when I got here and something that I've really worked to develop and that I've valued over the years.
McDermott: Are there any stories that you're particularly proud of in these five years?
Ross: Local news is really a conversation between the news organization, the newsroom, and the communities that we serve. And I think that keeping that going and holding that at the center of our work is really the most important thing we can do and will only lead to us improving and having a good, solid foundation to build upon. So I think that really is at the center of what I hope to move forward with.
I'm really proud of a lot of stories. Talking to students, talking to kids — they're always the most honest. I remember during the
pandemic, one of my favorite reporting experiences was just going and talking to kindergartners outside of their classroom, because they'd been away from school for, you know, months and months and they were finally able to come back. When the snake escaped from the classroom last year, that was another great one.
McDermott: Just a shout out — your great ‘snake escape’ story won an award at this year's Press Club Conference.
Ross: Third funniest story of the year, yes.
I think that for me, the biggest learning experience here has been working to continually reassess my approach to journalism. When you're reporting in Bristol Bay, in Dillingham, in any of the communities around the region, it's not the same as if you're reporting anywhere else in the country or even in the state. You have to take the time to understand and be open to changing your approach to journalism in order to best serve the people that you're meant to be working for.
McDermott: So Dillingham is a pretty unique place. What were some of the challenges of working here?
Ross: So many challenges [laughs]. Working at a small station, as you know now, means that you don't just have one job. You're not just a news director, you're not just a general manager, you're not just a reporter. You have many other duties that you are constantly trying to fulfill in order to keep the station running.
There's a lot of stuff that we do that I think a lot of journalists in larger newsrooms never even think about, [like] maintenance issues in the office. Last year, our office flooded during the spring because there was a lot of snow outside and so there was an inch of water in the on-air studio. Sometimes in the moment, it can be really frustrating, because you're like, 'I'm just trying to report a story. I'm trying to do this interview, and somehow I'm standing in an inch of water.'
I do think that in the newsroom, we're more connected and more
rounded and better for it on some level, because it puts everything into perspective. Like the news is important — absolutely. But also, you know, if your neighbor has a lot of fish, and you have to go help them out to put up the fish, you're going to do that. If someone's like off the side of a road and you need to help them change a tire you're going to do that. That would be if I knew how to change a tire [laughs].
But I think that living here is just one of the most important things to working in the radio station here and helping inform this work as well. I'm really going to miss it.
I've also struggled with the responsibility of reporting local news. This work has a very direct impact on everyone around us. And the weight of that responsibility is pretty intense sometimes. I think that's kind of magnified when there's not more experienced people in the newsroom to work to address a mistake or an issue.
I'm really hoping to develop some reporting guidelines as well for working in small newsrooms that hopefully KDLG, but also other radio stations in Alaska, can use as a template. Because it can be so difficult and you want to do this job well and you want to be responsible, but it can often feel like you're thrown out without a lifeline to some extent, just because if you're the only person in the newsroom for months on end, there's not a lot of support. So I think some of those dynamics are things that I'm going to hopefully work on moving forward.
McDermott: We are going to miss you. So what's next for you?
Ross: So I'm heading to Interlochen, MI, for a one-year reporting job working as a climate solutions reporter for a journalism nonprofit called Grist. That's in partnership with Interlochen Public Radio, which is the local radio station there. So I will still be doing audio work, which is very exciting.
And for those of you who've been listening for a little longer, former KDLG reporter Tyler Thompson also works at Interlochen Public Radio, so it will be like a small newsroom away from home, which is a little bit heartening for me and is helping with the transition.
But obviously, I will deeply miss working here. I just want to thank everyone who's taken the time to be interviewed by us, to inform our work, to correct us when we're wrong, and offer helpful suggestions on how we can improve what we're doing. And also to everyone who just understands that it is really challenging to work in a small newsroom. It takes a lot of effort and just stick-to-it-iveness. And I really appreciate everyone who recognizes that and has helped out over the years.
McDermott: What would you say to anyone who was thinking about coming here? Any advice?
Ross: If you are listening to this and you are interested in applying, you should absolutely do that. This has been the most important experience of my life. I would absolutely recommend applying to work at KDLG, because it is a wonderful place to be.
McDermott: Did you want to do an outro?
Ross: Christina, who's with me here, is holding down the fort with local news, and she's doing an awesome job. So please send her news tips, story ideas, or if you just want to say ‘hi.’ We also have a great fisheries reporting team this summer who you'll be hearing more of throughout June and July, with a few familiar voices. I feel like I'm leaving the station in good hands. I'm going to be following along [with] all of your work. Also, if anyone's listening and they would like to connect, please just reach out. I'd love to talk.
Get in touch with the author at christina@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200.
