Next Gen Radio

Doug Mitchell, founder and director, Next Generation Radio, NPR (Illustration by Halisa Hubbard)

We started one-to-one mentorship in 1995, and we’ve never left that model. My late father, who was a college professor, said the best student-teacher ratio was one-to-one.”

Doug Mitchell

NPR’s Next Generation Radio project is both a unique professional development opportunity and a talent pipeline for audio journalism and the broader journalism field.

It’s an intensive five-day boot camp for aspiring audio storytellers funded by NPR member stations. Not only is it free, but participants receive a stipend to help cover their costs for the week.

Next Gen-Texas’ Reporter Kaiya Little (l to r) worked with Multimedia Journalist Patricia Lim, who reports for NPR member station KUT in Austin, Texas. Lim is an alumna of the Next Gen program.

“That’s in the interest of inclusivity,” Doug Mitchell explained. Mitchell is Next Gen Radio’s founder and director, as well as an NPR producer and director for more than two decades. “There are people who can’t afford to take time off. We wanted to make sure that there’s some money to take that question off the table for people who can’t afford it.”

To apply, candidates pitch a selection committee, explaining what they hope to get from the experience. Mitchell said they’re looking for diversity in candidates, not only in demographics and lived experiences but also in their professional aspirations. Not all intend to pursue an on-air radio, podcasting or journalism career. Some seek behind-the-scenes roles as producers or technicians. Others may see storytelling as a valuable skill for a corporate career in marketing, public relations or another field.

The Dallas-based Next Gen-Texas Newsroom team gathered at NPR member station KERA.

Each participant is paired with a mentor. “We started one-to-one mentorship in 1995, and we’ve never left that model,” Mitchell said. “My late father, who was a college professor, said the best student-teacher ratio was one-to-one.”

The seed for Next Gen Radio was planted in the mid-1990s when Mitchell was a producer for NPR affiliate KERA Dallas and received a call from NPR colleague Traci Tong. The Center for Public Broadcasting gave Tong a grant to start a radio training project for an upcoming conference. They spent several months developing the curriculum and delivered the training at other events and conferences.

Next Gen-Texas Newsroom El Paso Reporter Rumi Sevilla interviewed her story subject, Rosa Inungaray. Every year, Inungaray’s family comes down from different parts of Texas to be together during St. Anthony’s bazaar in El Paso.

In 2000, Mitchell bought the domain name NextGenRadio.org and grew the program to include residencies at NPR member stations nationwide. The project paused from 2008 to 2013 but returned with a new focus on non-narrative audio and multimedia storytelling. In 2020, out of pandemic necessity, they went virtual. Gradually, they returned to in-person attendance, but still welcome virtual participation.

“It meant that we could be more inclusive — for example, if people have a disability and can’t attend in person,” Mitchell said.

Pictured (l to r) are members of the recent Texas Newsroom project in Houston: Laura Insensee, executive producer, City Cast Houston; Colleen DeGuzman, enterprise reporter, Houston Public Media (and Next Gen alumna); 2024 Next Gen Texas Newsroom Reporter David Mercado; Houston-based Next Gen Illustration and alumna Lauren Ibanez; and Carlton Abernathy, Next Gen mentor and instructor at Houston Community College.

Patricia Lim has been interested in a journalism career since high school. After her college studies at the University of Texas-Austin, she expected to pursue visual journalism. However, a course in audio journalism exposed her to the platform, and her professor, Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, suggested Next Gen Radio as a professional development opportunity.

Lim was chosen for a cohort and spent a week under the mentorship of Dani Matias, producing a multimedia, audio-driven segment about a Taekwondo athlete who’d been injured, necessitating six surgeries on her knees. She went on to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.

The experience broadened and honed Lim’s organizational skills, her acumen for building a story and her writing abilities. She recalled the week as “intense” and not only educationally fulfilling but also a great way to build her professional network. She’s currently a multimedia producer for KUT and KUTX in Austin. “I produce concert videography and photography, and video and photos for the daily news and long-form news features,” Lim said.

“Since 2013, we’ve had 499 alumni — roughly 80% are women and 70% of people of color. We have nine working at NPR and [approximately] 30-35% in public media,” Mitchell concluded.

Gretchen A. Peck is a contributing editor to Editor & Publisher. She's reported for E&P since 2010 and welcomes comments at gretchenapeck@gmail.com.