In this month’s Radio Ink, ABC Audio VP Liz Alesse discusses her journey from a chance encounter with a TV crew to now overseeing a division that distributes news and content to more than 1,900 radio stations and digital distributors.
Alesse also speaks on the importance of local media, how reputable news coverage is critical to ensuring brand safety, and how broadcasters can inspire and mentor the next generation of industry professionals.
Here’s what she told us:
“Radio has this advantage over television when it comes to the urgency factor. We were able to contact the United States Geological Survey within moments. And we don’t have to worry about whether there’s lighting and a camera. We can get the information
out very quickly. In a true emergency, that becomes critically important to people. We have the ability to stand up and get ourselves on the air without a lot of extra bells and whistles.”
“Those of us who work in news inherently feel [a responsibility to know the news] and that pull. There’s a real calling for people who work in this industry. I was speaking with one of the producers about the day the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed overnight. And that happened at 1 or 1:30 in the morning. News got to us a couple of hours later that that had happened. Obviously, when news breaks at that time of night, it moves a little slower. And we were ready. We’re staffed 24/7.”
“As soon as we sensed something big was happening, the phone started ringing, and the head of our special coverage unit was in his car and arrived before daybreak. We were live on the air, giving updates and bringing our radio stations the first presser. That was the first press conference that happened, before 6:30 in the morning. We were poised and ready to do it. It’s a privilege, and frankly, it’s what we do this for.
“Even if the stories are often difficult to tell, those of us who do this as a career feel a real calling to do it. And the day-to-day, when the news cycle is predictable, those days are good, too. But the days when we really get pressed into service to do what we signed up for are the most gratifying — the days we walk away really proud and I’m so proud of the team. Those days, I want to roll up my sleeves and jump in the studio and help with what I used to do on the television side. And I love it. And now I watch the team do it, and they’re the best in the business, and it’s really exciting.”
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