Melody Kramer




People Not In The News Commenting On The News: Meet Liz

19 Feb 2015 by melodyjoykramer




Meet Liz Ragland. She’s an Oklahoma native who now lives in DC. In her words: “In college, I started out as a broadcast journalism major but realized that TV news was not for me: too sensational and (at times) absolutely ridiculous. I ended up with a Bachelor’s in Mass Communications and have been working in the nonprofit sector most of my post-college career.”

Liz answered a lot of questions about how she gets her news. If you’d like to participate, please let me know. The archives are here.

How do you get your news? This is open-ended on purpose.

I listen to NPR in the morning while I’m getting ready for work (WAMU). I tend to click on Facebook feed links I see that feature interesting topics. Those links usually take me to Vox, The Atlantic, Politico, NYTimes and Al Jazeera. For breaking news, Twitter.

Please send me a gif or video or poem that captures your attention span.

I don’t have a long enough attention span to find something or write a poem so…..

How do you take your coffee?

Black. Dark roast only, please.

Who’s doing it right in news?

Two things I need in news: convenience and trust.

I love the radio (NPR) because I can still absorb the information while doing something else (walking, commuting, exercising, cooking, cleaning). I think news outlets need to realize that we still need quality (please stop with the click baiting) but we need quality in a way that is easy to consume while we are living our multi-tasking lives. I read NYTimes when I can but those articles are just too long. I’ve got stuff to do.

I trust public media because I’m not worried about advertisers influencing content.

What’s the first news event that you remember?

The Murrah Building Bombing. On April 19,1995 I was a sick 3rd grader who stayed home from school. Around 9am my mom and I heard a very loud boom. Our house is 7 miles from downtown Oklahoma City.

What was the best thing that happened to you this week?

I had the pleasure of seeing my home state’s only pro sports team play this week! The OKC Thunder beat the Washington Wizards in overtime!

What do you absolutely hate about the news?

See my answer to why I decided not to go into TV news.

What’s the best podcast or audio to listen to while doing chores?

Too many to name! TEDRadio Hour, This American Life, Serial, On Being, and my newest subscription: Death, Sex & Money. I also have some perfectly curated Pandora stations that almost never let me down.

How do you get your news when you travel around the world?

The last time I traveled internationally I didn’t have a cell phone and was more interested in exploring the UK then checking up on the news. Interesting fact: I was studying abroad in London in 2005 when the Tube bombings occurred. Because I had no phone, my parents figured out I was OK because I updated my Xanga soon after it happened. Some news station heard that there were local students in London at the time and they ended up interviewing my dad.  And my 19 year-old self’s worst nightmare came true: my Xanga page was on the news.


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