Submitted by Sarah Eldred

Meet Ellen Bartyzal, a senior at the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota. Ellen was one of the two Eichten News Fellows this summer at Minnesota Public Radio. She applied for the program because she knew former Eichten Fellow, and they had “nothing but good things to say about their summers at MPR.”

From Ellen: I have learned so much at this internship! I’ve learned about interviewing, reporting and writing concisely for radio. I’ve also learned a lot of technical skills through recording interviews and sound with state-of-the-art recording equipment and then editing and mixing that sound into a story. I’ve learned about voicing pieces for radio and how challenging it can be to find your voice and express that in your stories. I learned these things from all of the work that I did day-to-day, but I learned so much more from just observing others in the newsroom.

Give Ellen’s story a listen. We think she’s found her voice!

The Gary Eichten News Fellowship is a partnership between MPR and two affiliated schools: the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. One student from each school works full time from June to August in the newsroom learning how to write, report and produce for radio, calling on news sources, editing and assisting with other production tasks.

Ellen shared these insights about working in the newsroom while reporters covered the Allina nurses strike:

They [reporters] need to be sure to report on the facts, but also be aware that some sources may
have their own agenda. I saw the high standards that MPR holds for what is accurate and fair. I had a greater appreciation for this organization after seeing the great lengths that Lorna Benson  (Ellen’s supervisor) went through to gain all of the facts and make an educated decision regarding the story.