Communiqué
WOUB Employee Spotlight: Multimedia Reporter Kaitlin Thorne
< < Back toThorne started working at WOUB in 2021
ATHENS, OH – WOUB Multimedia Reporter Kaitlin Thorne grew up in Michigan but has a strong connection to the Ohio Valley.
“I was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia and lived in Coolville until age four,” said Thorne. “My family then moved to Michigan which is where I grew up and lived until I moved to Athens in 2020.”
Thorne graduated from Central Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism. She originally moved to the area for a job in print journalism but is excited to be doing online and broadcast work at WOUB.
“I had spent my career working in print exclusively, both as a reporter and editor. Transitioning from print to web and radio was an interesting experience, but print prepared me for covering the in-depth stories that WOUB is known for,” said Thorne. “I love getting to learn more about the radio side of journalism. Audio editing was new to me when I started, and I’ve enjoyed learning how the process works. I’m looking forward to developing that skill set further at WOUB.”
Thorne is WOUB’s reporter for the Ohio Valley ReSource (OVR). OVR is a regional journalism collaborative reporting on economic and social change in Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. With founding support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, seven media outlets, including WOUB, have partnered to strengthen news coverage of the area’s most important issues.
“I enjoy getting to work with Ohio Valley ReSource as a criminal and social justice reporter,” said Thorne. “The position allows me to take on important issues that impact the Ohio Valley region.”
For Thorne, being a reporter before the pandemic was dramatically different than being a reporter now. But she’s rolling with the punches.
“I think that face-to-face interviews aren’t as common as they once were. A lot of people want to do interviews over Zoom or on the phone these days, which is fine, and we can get solid interviews that way,” said Thorne. “But I do miss going out to meet people where they are.”
Thorne spends her days in the WOUB newsroom doing time-consuming research to put together in-depth news stories that provide detailed information and context. She knows how important that balanced, accurate information is to WOUB’s listeners and readers as well as to the future of journalism.
“People trust public media to bring essential information to their communities that is unbiased. I value that trust and reputation, and it’s something that I’m proud to be a part of and strive to uphold.”
Thorne enjoys the fact that she never knows what direction her job will take her on any given day. And she enjoys that in her personal life as well. Thorne’s photography skills take her on interesting adventures.
“I photographed a traditional wedding ceremony in Seoul, South Korea while wearing a hanbok, the traditional clothing of Korea,” said Thorne. “The ceremony included a processional of drummers, a gifted wooden duck and a tea ceremony between the bride and groom. The entire wedding party (myself included) wore bespoke hanboks, and I got to bring the hanbok home with me!”
You can read and listen to Thorne’s reporting for Ohio Valley ReSource here.