Journalists Lauren Trager and Sarah Fentem spoke to students in a Saint Louis University journalism class on Thursday, February 13 about launching a career in journalism, their biggest challenges, and other topics related to their industry.
Trager, an investigative reporter for KMOV, talked about the atypical path she took to reach her current position. After graduating college, Trager worked multiple jobs in radio and small newspapers. Now, Trager advised aspiring journalists to “start small, get your hands dirty” and “work your way up.”
Fentem, a Saint Louis University graduate who now works as a healthcare reporter for St. Louis Public Radio, gave students similar advice: “do your time in a small station first, build your reputation, then you can start moving up the ladder.” Fentem said her career path has included various setbacks, but she found her place in radio reporting, eventually becoming one of Missouri’s only full-time health reporters.
Students had the chance to ask both reporters questions about different types of broadcasting, the reporters’ day-to-day routines, tensions between reporters and politicians, and more. Trager’s reporting can be found at kmov.com, and Fentem’s reporting can be found at stlpublicradio.org.
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