On a new Teachers' Lounge, it's Jason Piscia! He's the director of the Public Affairs Reporting program at the University of Illinois Springfield.
It's a 10-month master's degree program for up-and-coming journalists — a sort of apprenticeship in which students spend much of their time in internships doing real journalism covering the Illinois Statehouse.
Piscia is also a professor teaching communication and media law at UIS.
We talk about what it's like for students entering an industry constantly in flux, especially in a time when government is more openly hostile to journalism.
What motivates students to want to become journalists in 2026? Piscia said some of it is the same as it ever was: government dysfunction and watching powerful people avoid accountability.
"Journalism is one way to address that, to question it, to maybe contribute to some solutions for that," he said. "I think students feel a real sense of power and duty to be a part of a solution."
We also dove into why he became a journalist and what it was like as a newspaper reporter when the internet blew up the business model and layoffs ripped through newsrooms like his.
SHOW NOTES
Educator in this episode:
Jason Piscia
Stories featured in this episode:
In Illinois, everyone wants higher education reform but disagrees on what reform looks like
Music: Our show's theme music is from the northern Illinois-based band Kindoves, featuring the songs "Popn," "Origins" and "Quiche." You can find more of their music on their SoundCloud page. You can also listen to the episode of WNIJ's Sessions from Studio A where they were featured.
Teachers! People who know teachers! People with stories about teachers! Send us an email and be part of the show!
Copy Edited by Eryn Lent
