# Do Radio Stations Employ Reporters anymore? If not, who was the last reporter left standing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 1, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-stations-employ-reporters-anymore-if-not-who-was-the-last-reporter-left-standing/708678 "2015-01-01T14:44:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-stations-employ-reporters-anymore-if-not-who-was-the-last-reporter-left-standing/708678/1 "2015-01-01T14:44:28Z")
Radio stations seem to either read news off the wires or use local TV reporters. My local channel 7 News (ABC) has a sister station (radio) and the tv weather and news reporters do the radio too. Are radio journalists still employed anywhere? Real journalists that cover local news and don’t simply read it off the wire? Any information on the last radio stations with reporters? Maybe rural radio stations still send out reporters? Find out that farmer Brown’s milk cow got out or something. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-stations-employ-reporters-anymore-if-not-who-was-the-last-reporter-left-standing/708678/2 "2015-01-01T15:01:30Z")
Most local NPR stations have their own, real reporters. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-stations-employ-reporters-anymore-if-not-who-was-the-last-reporter-left-standing/708678/3 "2015-01-01T15:20:08Z")
I was a volunteer reporter for a community radio station for about 3 years. This was 2009-2012. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-stations-employ-reporters-anymore-if-not-who-was-the-last-reporter-left-standing/708678/4 "2015-01-01T15:29:51Z")
A [list of all-news stations streaming on the Internet](http://streamingradioguide.com/streaming-radio.php?format=2). I’m assuming that all-news stations in major markets have some reporters of their own, but I can’t say for sure. [WINS in New York](http://newyork.cbslocal.com/station/1010-wins/) certainly does: > [@](#): > > Listeners always know what they’re going to hear when they tune in 1010 on the AM radio dial: No talk shows, no sports play-by-play, no music. Only ALL NEWS, ALL THE TIME. With a team of local street reporters, anchors, writers and producers, New Yorkers can rely on fair, straight-forward, and concise coverage of their world. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-stations-employ-reporters-anymore-if-not-who-was-the-last-reporter-left-standing/708678/5 "2015-01-01T15:35:57Z")
I’m relieved to hear theres still some radio reporters left. I’ve noticed some of my local tv reporters don’t have good radio voices. I’m glad my radio station is getting local news, but its not quite the same. Radio broadcasters have a different delivery style than tv. They write news scripts differently because they have to \*describe \*the news events. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-stations-employ-reporters-anymore-if-not-who-was-the-last-reporter-left-standing/708678/6 "2015-01-01T16:07:34Z")
All-news stations still use reporters. Most local stations never had actual reporters, other than Rip N. Reed from the AP newswire or the local paper. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-stations-employ-reporters-anymore-if-not-who-was-the-last-reporter-left-standing/708678/7 "2015-01-01T17:03:33Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > All-news stations still use reporters. > > Most local stations never had actual reporters, other than Rip N. Reed from the AP newswire or the local paper. I was a reporter who covered the cop shop and the usual variety of “street” reporting for stations in the late '70s and early '80s, as well as sometime anchor duties (this was in a mid-major market where there was competition from at least two other stations). [A casual search](http://www.indeed.com/q-Radio-Reporter-jobs.html) shows that there are still such jobs out there. I listen occasionally to all-news stations in places like Detroit, New York and Philadelphia (skywave is a nice thing) and their local news coverage still depends on having reporters out in the field. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-stations-employ-reporters-anymore-if-not-who-was-the-last-reporter-left-standing/708678/8 "2015-01-01T17:05:48Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Radio stations seem to either read news off the wires or use local TV reporters. My local channel 7 News (ABC) has a sister station (radio) and the tv weather and news reporters do the radio too. You seem to think that your radio station uses TV reporters. Maybe it is your tv station that uses radio reporters! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-stations-employ-reporters-anymore-if-not-who-was-the-last-reporter-left-standing/708678/9 "2015-01-01T17:12:09Z")
No, its the tv reporters on my radio. 😉 Melinda Mayo is channel 7’s morning meteorologist and I hear her forecast on my clock radio when I wake up. Probably pre-taped. Channel 7’s assignment reporters do the hourly news updates I’d guess they pre-record two or three updates a day. I’ve never heard the station’s main evening anchors do any radio reports. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-stations-employ-reporters-anymore-if-not-who-was-the-last-reporter-left-standing/708678/10 "2015-01-01T20:36:16Z")
I know someone who was employed as a city hall reporter by WCBS in NYC in the last five years. She’s not any more, so I guess they may have laid everyone off, but probably not. In LA, one of the NPR stations, KPCC, has a quite extensive reporting staff including a Washington correspondent and a Sacramento correspondent. I get the sense that some of the reporters probably have other jobs, or report for other outlets as well, as their beats don’t produce stories every day (eg “childhood and early education correspondent”). KPCC also has a news-sharing deal with KNBC-4, the TV channel, which usually comes into play when there’s a very big local story–KNBC has more resources to devote to breaking news. And KNBC personnel sometimes guest-host on the radio, but rarely. I’ve never looked at the TV side but I assume the radio reporters show up there when they have a hot story that KNBC hasn’t covered. Hope this helps. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-stations-employ-reporters-anymore-if-not-who-was-the-last-reporter-left-standing/708678/11 "2015-01-02T06:14:33Z")
WLS-AM in Chicago still has actual newsreaders for their local-origination programs as well as a City Hall reporter. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-stations-employ-reporters-anymore-if-not-who-was-the-last-reporter-left-standing/708678/12 "2015-01-02T13:24:32Z")
KFI in Los Angeles (which isn’t a dedicated news station) has a considerable news staff, including 4 full time reporters: > **[KFI AM 640 - The News. What It Means, Why It Matters.](https://kfiam640.iheart.com/?pname=www.kfiam640.com&sc=dnsredirect)** > > More stimulating talk and news radio in Los Angeles and Orange County. Listen to Jennifer Jones Lee on Wake Up Call, Bill Handel Morning Show, Gary and Shannon, John and Ken, Tim Conway Jr, Coast to Coast AM, KFI News and more on KFI AM 640! ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-stations-employ-reporters-anymore-if-not-who-was-the-last-reporter-left-standing/708678/13 "2015-01-03T02:50:14Z")
KMBZ in Kansas City still has a couple of reporters. Bill Grady is the name that comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-stations-employ-reporters-anymore-if-not-who-was-the-last-reporter-left-standing/708678/14 "2015-01-03T13:04:53Z")
Les Nessman. it had to be said.