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10 Questions with ... Jenna Kochenauer
November 11, 2014
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Started out as a news stringer for a news/talk station in my hometown of Tri-Cities, Wash., then weaseled my way into a TV reporter gig at KEPR-TV, also in the Tri-Cities. Moved to Oregon to try my hand at advertising and PR before being drawn back into radio at KAGO and KLAD in Klamath Falls, Ore. Once I married, my now-ex wouldn’t allow me to work in radio in any capacity, so I went back to marketing before starting a family. As soon as the divorce process started, I headed right back to radio, like a moth to a flame, getting a job as an anchor at WORD/WYRD in Greenville, SC.
1. First, the usual opener: How and why did you get into radio in the first place?
I was a home-schooled high school senior taking a radio/television production class at a local vocational school, when my instructor sent me to the local radio news station to talk them about a stringer position they were hiring for. So, at 17 years old, I was covering local civic meetings, writing and voicing news stories for the morning news show. By 19 I had migrated to the TV station next door, and by 22, I was news director for stations in Southern Oregon. After taking many years off to raise a family, I found myself in Greenville, SC, harassing the Program Director for a chance to get my foot back in the door, and I’ve been here ever since. In the meantime, I’ve also started doing news remotely for the stations I worked for in Oregon, as well as a group of stations in Texas.
2. In a similar vein, you went into radio and TV news from the beginning (and really young at that) -- what drew you to doing news in particular? And as a veteran radio news person, are you optimistic about radio's place in the news industry moving forward -- what role will radio news play in the a competitive media landscape?
I had never even considered news as a career option. I was going to be an actress! But when I look back on my childhood, I have very vivid memories of sitting in front of a fireplace pretending that I was inside a TV while I read Goldilocks and the Three Bears as breaking news, and watching Connie Chung on the evening news and trying to mimic her. My mom always said I was nosy. I don’t think she realized I could make a career out of it!
Radio will always have a place in the news industry. It’s going to evolve and change as technology and the means of accessing it changes, but it’s too vital a medium to be cast aside entirely. Radio was for decades what text and push alerts are today, the most immediate source of news and information, especially in an emergency. That’s one of the things I love about radio over television—the accessibility and availability on both sides of the transmission. I can walk into a radio studio as one solitary person and do a breaking news story. I can’t do that with television.
3. You've been doing remote newscasts for other markets for the last year or so -- describe the process. How do you acclimate yourself to a market in another area of the country? How do you get the pronunciations right and the stories prioritized?
Right now I do news for stations in Oregon and Texas, in addition to working at the station in South Carolina. It’s pretty similar to doing news locally, you get on press release distribution lists and scour the ‘net for story ideas. The only major difference is that I get to do news in my PJs from the comfort of my home. The Oregon station is easy—I used to live in Klamath Falls, and worked at the station in real life many years ago, so I know the market and what’s important to listeners there, and know how to pronounce the names of towns and streets. In Texas, it’s a little different. There was a politician whose name I wasn’t sure how to pronounce, so I called her office. Even though it was 3 am local time, the outgoing message stated her name so I was able to get the pronunciation that way. Calling the non-emergency number for the local dispatch center is another good way to get pronunciations, and the morning show guys are very responsive to texts in a pinch.
I read blogs and other news agencies in the community to get an idea of what are the hot-button news stories for those communities. But the best way to find out what interests the community is facebook. I hunt for community forums and follow those, and participate as well. Listeners know I’m hanging out there, and they’ll tag me in posts if they think something would make a good news story or if someone has a question that they think I can help them get an answer to.
4. You write a fitness column for a local paper, too -- how did that, and your interest in fitness, come about?
Several years ago I participated in a Biggest Loser program that a radio station here runs every year, and I really embraced it. I never realized that unathletic little ol’ me could actually change the composition of my body. So my interest in fitness came from being not fit. I started a blog, NotSoFitGirl.com, and it was brought to the attention to the editor of a local parenting magazine, who offered me a monthly column on family fitness. I’m still a not-so-fit girl, and the crazy hours I’m working make it difficult to be as fit as I would like to be, but it’s certainly something I enjoy.
5. You've lived all over the country; before Greenville-Spartanburg, what was your favorite place to live and why?
I love Oregon, and will always consider it home. Most of my extended family is in the Pacific Northwest, and I miss being at Aunt Mary’s farm on Thanksgiving. I think there is something about every town I’ve lived in that has something that’s my favorite. Greenville is probably my overall favorite. It’s such a beautiful city, and there is never a shortage of things to do. If my siblings were closer, I’d plan to stay here pretty much forever.
6. Of what are you most proud?
Recently I spoke to a the broadcast writing class at a local college and part of my story is about my experience escaping from an abusive relationship. Afterward a student came up to me with tears in her eyes and said that she was also recovering from domestic abuse, and she was inspired by my story. Being a domestic abuse survivor is not an experience I wanted, and it’s an experience I wish I didn’t have, but I know that sharing my story with women has given others courage to change their circumstances., and that’s an awesome and humbling experience.
7. Who are your mentors, influences, and heroes?
When I was a teenager working late nights covering news stories, there would be about 15 minutes between the time my dad got home from work, and I had to leave for work. Every afternoon, I’d be in the bathroom putting the finishing touches on my hair and make-up and I would hear my dad run down the stairs, two at a time, to spend those few minutes asking me about what stories I had covered the night before, and what stories I would be covering that night. He has always been my biggest fan, and he’s the first person I turn to when I need advice. More recently, a talk show host at WORD, Russ Cassell, was a great influence. Listeners would call in asking questions and he’d declare, “We’ll get Jenna on that!†He was never one to give an empty compliment, and he said some of the nicest things to me about my skills as an anchor and as a journalist. He just recently passed away very unexpectedly. I hope that I can live up to his expectations.
8. What do you do for fun?
LOL! I’m a single mom with three boys and three jobs. What is this “fun†you speak of? At this point in life, it’s all about my tweedles (kids), doing things they enjoy. I have fun watching them have fun.
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _______________.
...coffee, prayer, and hugging my tweedles.
10. What's the best advice you've ever gotten? The worst?
Best: The tragedy in life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it. It was a quote my dad gave me, not sure where it originated.
Worst: Can’t think of any bad advice I’ve received. Generally I’m pretty good at coming up with the stupid stuff all on my own.
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