NextGenRadio

Florida Newsroom

Finding, coaching and training public media’s next generation.

“In the Time of COVID-19”

is a set of audio and digital stories highlighting the experiences of people whose lives have changed dramatically during the pandemic.

Natalia Polanco

Editorial Illustrator

Natalia Polanco is an Orlando based illustrator and animator. She is currently a student at Valencia College majoring in Graphic Design, with the aspiration to work on the animation industry as a storyboard artist. Natalia is working on expanding her art portfolio and experience in the industry, with the goal of taking part in animated films and television productions. Most of her art is inspired by her love for animals, people’s bonds, and storytelling. Beyond this, she is an animal lover, having two rescued cats. In her free time, she enjoys journaling, editing videos, playing video games, and illustrating for her mom’s small business.   

About NextGenRadio

The Next Generation Radio Project is a week-long digital journalism training project designed to give competitively selected participants, who are interested in radio and journalism, the skills and opportunity to report and produce their own multimedia story. Those chosen for the project are paired with a professional journalist who serves as their mentor.

This edition of the #NPRNextGenRadio project was produced in collaboration with WUSF Public Media in January 2021.

Acknowledgements

Audio engineers Selena Seay-Reynolds and Ellis Munoz
Visuals team lead Erica Lee,  New Jersey-based freelance journalist, with Kevin Beaty of The Denverite and Colorado Public Radio.
Illustration team lead Yunyi Dai with Emily Whang and Ard Su
Digital Editor Alexis Richardson, Chief Innovation Officer, and Digital Strategist, “The Mom Edit,” based in Philadelphia.
Robert Boos of Metropolitan State in Minneapolis is our Web Developer.

Our journalist/mentors for this project were:
Gabriela Saldivia, independent journalist based in Spain.
Mark Schreiner, Reporter/Host at WUSF Tampa
Jessica Meszaros, Reporter/Host at WUSF Tampa.
Leslie Ovalle, Producer at WLRN Miami.
Molly Samuel, Environmental Reporter for WABE Atlanta.
Our Managing Editor this week was Amy Tardif, Regional Manager for StoryCorps, based in Chicago

NPR’s Next Generation Radio program is directed by its founder, Doug Mitchell.