A native-born Chicagoan who started out in the newspaper business and is now a reporter at WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, Monica Eng will speak about transitioning from print to radio and how to become a more flexible freelancer at “Boost Your Content IQ” in Chicago on Saturday, Nov. 18. Along with winning awards for her writing, Monica has been nominated for the James Beard award five times. And: Today, Sept. 5 is the last day grab the early bird discount and hear Monica and other stellar presenters at this and the Friday, Nov. 17 “Spotlight on Ghostwriting”! Click on the links for speaker and scheduling details on Friday and Saturday and to register.
You got quite the unusual start in this business. Do tell! My mom’s boyfriend at the time was Roger Ebert [film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times], and he asked her if one of her kids wanted a summer job at the paper. This was back in 1985, when print was king and reporters were retiring as millionaires thanks to big salaries with stock options. Anyway, I fell in love with journalism and never looked back. Since I was in high school, in addition to my duties as a copy clerk, I wrote stories about teen life for the Sun-Times and continued writing about college experiences while at the University of Illinois. I was at the Sun-Times for about 32 years, working there summers between college, as an editorial assistant and later intern reporter and also freelancing.
But then, you did an abrupt — actually several abrupt – pivots. Yes, I went to Nicaragua for a few months after college graduation, as a construction worker but mostly as part of the solidarity movement. I returned to Urbana and freelanced for while, but in 1993 moved to Uzbekistan to accompany my husband on his anthropology field work. While there I did travel stories and after we came back a year later, one piece about radioactive waste for NPR. That got me hooked on radio. But I stayed with print, first as a film and culture freelance writer for the Chicago Daily Southtown which eventually hired me as its entertainment editor, then in 1996 as an entertainment reporter for the Sun-Time’s biggest rival, the Chicago Tribune. In 2013, I accepted a position as a producer/reporter for Chicago Public Radio specializing in segments and stories on food, health and culture. Today I am a reporter for WBEZ’s Curious City show, where people send in questions like “Why do they make boys swim nude in Chicago public schools?”
How did you manage to be so flexible throughout such a circuitous route? It’s all about being willing to learn new skills. Print was changing and shrinking and I saw the cutbacks coming. Reporters unwilling to podcast or learn how to use social media were among the first to be let go….By the time the early 2000s rolled around, I decided to diversify, so I worked at finding out as much as I could about new things to make myself more marketable.
What were some of the challenges you faced in switching from print to radio? Who knew that by investing in radio equipment in the 1990s, it would serve me so well 20 years later? Of course the technology has changed and when I first took the [public radio] job I wasn’t quite sure exactly what a producer did. But they were willing to teach me, and reporting is reporting: knowing what the question is, getting answers and shaping a coherent story. Yet radio is different; for example, learning how to introduce sounds that will highlight what you’re speaking about, whether it’s that of a diagnostic machine during a health-related story or children laughing if you’re doing something on education. I love editing audio—it adds a whole new dimension of intimacy and spontaneity to a story.
You mentioned working with freelancers. What were you looking for, from an editor’s perspective? I have to confess: I did not want to be an editor. Budgets, schedules, meetings, managing and disciplining employees…those are not for me. But I do enjoy working with freelancers. And while impressive clips are fine, I prefer people who come up with great ideas, turn in stories on time and produce clean copy. Show me five really fun things you want to write about and I will give you a chance. There have been some disasters among freelancers I’ve worked with, but others have gone onto great things.
What advice would you give freelancers today? Actually I took a cue from [the late] Roger Ebert, who remained my mentor long after his relationship ended with my mother. As sick as he was, he was still on the internet, communicating with people and cranking out his book “Life Itself.” Along with great attention to detail, he worked hard and never stopped trying, which is particularly important in freelancing. Even if it doesn’t always feel comfortable, you need to be your own best advocate and learn how to do things like speak in front of people and/or the TV camera. By stretching all your muscles, you become strong.