UT Alumni Sets Great Example for New Generation

Catherine Howell is the News Director for WIVK-FM 107.7, WOKI-FM 98.7, and WNML-AM 990. She is also the Program Director for 98.7, and she works regularly as a news reporter and anchor for the station. She has worked at Citadel Broadcasting for nearly six years. Howell graduated from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications Studies. It’s inspiring to see a female graduate from UTK work her way up and make a difference in the community. Howell works to keep Knoxville informed, and does a great job!

 
What is the difference in your duties as News Director and Program Director?
 
As news director my duties are focused on news coverage. I have a news team that consists of four full-time people, and we brainstorm and come up with ideas. I make the decision about what we are and are not going to cover. The difference with programming is that it’s a much wider spectrum. I’m in charge of production and the timing of commercials while also making sure that all the different programming elements work together. I’m also in charge of being a sort of liaison between departments.
 
Do you prefer being on the air or directing behind the scene?
 
I don’t have a preference whether I’m on the air or not, but I do have a preference whether I’m “doing” or not. I’m much more of a doer than a manager. I like the writing and the creativity and being on the scene.
 
Did you do any work with radio when you were UT?
 
I did not. In fact I didn’t even know that I wanted to do this. I had planned on law school. But, when it came time to graduate, I couldn’t take a year off work to go to law school. So I needed to go out and find a real job. I started out going to all of the different advertising agencies, news organizations, and production companies looking for something that I thought might interest me. I got hired to do part time reporting and within about two weeks I was full time.
 
Were you always interested in working in the news environment of media?
 
I have, but I will say that I am not a cutthroat person. I was really worried that I would not do well in news for that reason. When the opportunity presented itself it turned out to be something I really love, but I did think I was going to do more creative writing.
 
Do you enjoy the immediacy and surprises of news?
 
I think the adrenaline is addictive.  There have been many stories where I have to watch if I’m talking way faster than I should because I get so excited. And if you can be creative during the craziness, then you’re proud that you could write something clever in the middle of chaos.
 
Do you have to deal with hate mail directed toward News Talk 98.7 because it is dominantly conservative programming?
O yes… a lot. The worst was when the shooting happened at the Unitarian Church. I got hate mail blaming the station and right-wing radio. It was very difficult for me because I was very upset by the situation.
 
Do you meet people who are avid listeners of the station?
 
Yes! It’s funny because occasionally I meet people who act like I’m a big deal, and I don’t feel like a big deal at all. One thing about the listeners of talk radio is that they are very faithful. They don’t constantly flip through stations like people tend to when they listen to stations with a music format. There are not as many options when it comes to talk radio, and people like who they like.
 
Do you like the element of talk radio that allows people to be opinionated?
 
What’s beautiful about talk radio is that we give everyday people the opportunity to call in and have a voice and make their opinion heard. You can actually change things. You can implement change at a very grass roots level that you don’t have the ability to do with any other news format. I do wish there would be less finger pointing and more focus on really exploring issues, but talk radio is still entertainment so those elements are necessary.
 
Does the WOKI make an effort to have the local programs to address the different sides of issues instead of being one-sided?
 
We try to be even-handed in a lot of it. For certain talk topics sometimes you can’t. But we want the conversation and we want the opposing views to be a part of it because it’s more interesting and a more honest conversation. We always extend the invitation for parties on both sides of an issue to be a part of the conversation.
 
Do you have goals for the stations in the future?
 
There are always plans to be better, and if I could have 30 more people working here I would. We would be all over town getting scoops like crazy. We have so much creativity in this building, but people are working so hard that it’s difficult to reach their full potential. That’s frustrating because we have some of the best minds in radio.
 
Howell offered advice to UT students in their future career searches. She urged us to have communication skills, curiosity, creativity, courage, and compassion. She challenged our generation of media professionals to bring back attention to detail and work to be the most informative and entertaining wave of media professionals yet. Howell is a lovely person to meet and so much fun to talk to. She’s animated and very friendly. So collegiettes, if you ever get the chance to meet her, don’t pass it up!