We welcome a new host of the "Sound of Ideas" on the air Sept. 2. All of us at Ideastream are so excited to work with Stephanie Haney, who will put her stamp on our flagship public affairs news program.
When Stephanie arrived this week, it made me think about the experiences I have had working with top-notch hosts, at NPR and Ideastream.
The year is 2014. I’m sitting in a tiny dressing room in New York City with then-NPR "All Things Considered" Host Melissa Block and legendary comedian Larry David.
“Boom girl. Hey, boom girl. You always want to be a boom girl?” he says, looking directly at 24-year-old me.
The answer breaks the fourth wall of the interview, as David is supposed to be responding to a question from Block about his new play, which we’re there to feature, but it keeps derailing in very “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fashion. This time the off-the-rails moment involves David commenting on my sound engineering, the girl holding the boom microphone, the "boom girl." I lock eyes with Block as she expertly steers her guest back to the interview.
We fast forward a decade. The year is 2024. It’s 6 a.m. and I wake up to a video call from Jenny Hamel then the host of the “Sound of Ideas." It’s the morning of a show on a difficult topic, the Israel-Hamas war, and we will be featuring a panel of local Jewish and Palestinian leaders, one year since the conflict began.
Hamel says I need to look at her eye, which is puffy and swollen. She wants very badly to do the show, but is worried that it may be an unintended distraction for the guests. I have an idea, and run to CVS to get an eye patch. She plows ahead and moderates an emotional and intense conversation. Later that day, she goes to the doctor to treat her eye. The next year, that show wins a national Public Media Journalists Association award, in the category of News/Public Affairs program.
This month, it is my 10 year anniversary of working for Ideastream Public Media, and tenth year working for the “Sound of Ideas.” This week, we’re welcoming a new host to the team, following Jenny Hamel’s departure to Connecticut with her family.
In my decade-plus career as a show producer, I’ve worked with a multitude of hosts, and each one brings their own personality to the job, their own work ethic, their own journalistic ambitions.
I have dealt with departures before. When I arrived at Ideastream, Mike McIntyre was the "Sound of Ideas" host. When he became executive editor, Rick Jackson went from the Friday "Reporters Roundtable" once a week to the daily show and Mike took on the Roundtable. When Rick retired, Jenny was hired.
And now we welcome Stephanie, who has been a digital anchor and legal analyst with WKYC for the past six years. She’s the first host with a law degree that I’ve ever worked with. She’s from Canton, knows the region well, and is heavily involved in the community. Which makes her a perfect fit, as our show is all about informing, convening and sometimes entertaining the Northeast Ohio community.
A producer can help put the ingredients together for a great show by researching, lining up the right guests and writing an airtight script, but the host has to make it compelling enough so listeners don’t turn off the dial. We hand the car and the keys to the host. It's their job to bring the show home.
The year is 2025. I’m outside of the Ideacenter building, under the chandelier at Playhouse Square, watching Haney record a video, introducing herself to the public before she begins on air next week.
She says to listeners in the video, “Part of my job will be to talk about the issues you care about. So tell me: What isn’t getting covered enough?” I can feel her excitement to get started covering those issues. I can sense her genuine curiosity. I’m excited for listeners to experience it as well.
Catch Stephanie Haney Monday through Thursdays on the “Sound of Ideas” at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on 89.7 WKSU. Mike will still be in the chair for the Friday Roundtable.
You can also watch the show on our Ideastream Public Media channel on Youtube and on the Ohio Channel. And you can subscribe to the show as a podcast wherever you get yours, just search for "Sound of Ideas."
And if we ever book Larry David for the show, I'll make sure we don't have a boom mic.
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