John Kendall is the assignment manager at WEEK-TV in Peoria and is on the INBA board. This is from a livestream that John did with Margaret Larkin. (Entire transcript at inba.net)

Margaret Larkin: the INBA...how did you get involved with that?

John Kendall: Tanya Koonce was a big part of why I became part of INBA. Also Mike Miletich and Jeff Burnett. I think I knew of INBA back in college, but I really never did much with it. But I kind of knew a lot of our newsroom was part of it, and I talked with Tanya a little bit about it. She was another one that I have learned a lot from, and when she was with us at WEEK. I'm glad to call her a comrade and a friend. But she and Mike were like "Hey, the meeting's in Bloomington. Why don't you come over for the day?" And I came over to the meeting and met a lot of people that I didn't know, but a few that I did.

I was able to learn and grow from there and was able to network. I was nominated for the board by Jeff out of the blue. And I'm like, "I'm not even a member yet. I'm here as a visitor." I lost out on the board, but I felt like I was learning a lot.

And during the group gatherings and just throughout it I was just speaking to people I was meeting with, yourself included, and H [Wilson] and Rachel [Lippmann] and Emily [Manley], who are all part of the board. And things kind of went by, kind of happened, and some people left the board, and Rachel called Tanya and said, "If John's still interested, we'd be more willing to have him on the board to fill out a term."

And Rachel, Tanya, and I spoke over the phone, and I felt more than honored to be part of the board to help fill a term. I was recently reelected to the board because I feel being on the INBA board and a member of the INBA itself helps the new generation and not just a new generation, but us journalists as a whole, to learn how to become better at our craft.

We always ask, how can I be better at my craft? INBA allows us to do that at the spring and fall meetings. Here we had Maggie [Vespa] speak, and we learned about opioid overdoses and why they're causing a major problem, not only here in Peoria but across the state. The meeting we were at in 2022 in Bloomington, we were talking about electric vehicles and the way electric vehicles are now part of every day life, not only here in Illinois, but the world.

That was just so helpful, being able to understand and ask questions, not only to professionals who work with you every day, but professionals who work at other stations. We're also asking the same questions. I've been able to become good friends with a lot of people through INBA, and that's just helped grow me as a better journalist and as a better person as well.

I've learned a lot from those people and how good journalists do their job. Emily Manley and Rachel Lippmann in Missouri, how you do your job nowadays up there in Chicago. And I can see my good friends Mike and Maggie, who are INBA members as well, and how they and others help college kids.

And it's not only just networking. You submit your stuff, in the spring meeting, not only for SIMBA awards, but you also can get your stuff looked at by a professional. Where else can you do that? You bring your stuff on a resume reel and they say, "Hey, that right there looks pretty good," or "I would maybe take that out." And that little 20-minute interaction with them can maybe be the difference of you waiting 6 to 8 months like I did to get a job, compared to, "Hey, I like your stuff; here's my business card; why don't we talk when you graduate."

Margaret Larkin: so obviously, you're saying that you think it's still beneficial for people to join.

John Kendall: I think it's beneficial to join 100%. You know, the conventions are very informative and you learn things, like at the recent convention when we did the Emiquon trip, how we learned about the watershed. I covered something like that 20-plus years ago up in Hennepin when they were doing the water life.

John Kendall on joining the INBA

Molly Jirasek was first interviewed six years ago at the Illinois News Broadcasters Association convention when she was Assistant News Director at Heart of Illinois ABC in Peoria. Now she is News Director at ABC57-TV in South Bend, Indiana. Molly says that she is hiring and explains what she looks for in an applicant. She also offers advice for recent college grads, including demo reels, necessary skills, attitude and passion, how to get experience, and more.

This interview is edited from a livestream that Molly did with Margaret Larkin.

Molly Jirasek: ABC57-TV News Director

Tom Petersen reported the news for several years at WGN Radio, where he worked with Bob Collins. Tom was an excellent radio broadcaster who started his long media career in Milwaukee as a disc jockey, and worked at WEMP in Milwaukee, WXYZ in Detroit, KWWL-TV in Waterloo/Cedar Rapids, and at a rock station in Duluth, Minnesota before he came to Chicago. Margaret Larkin interviewed him at Mitsuwa Marketplace in Arlington Heights 15 years ago. He talked about his news career, why he didn't like Detroit, how Chicago was less corrupt than Detroit, WGN Radio's popularity, compelling radio content, and more. Tom passed away on May 10, 2025. He was a wonderful person who will be missed.

Tom Petersen 1941-2025

Jordan Bernfield does news and sports at WGN Radio in Chicago, in addition to doing sports for ESPN and BTN. He gives advice for getting work, especially in a big market, and talks about dealing with competition, what it’s like to do sports and news, his writing, reporting, and anchoring the news, the importance of digital, why it’s important to have different skills and to be versatile, how doing TV and radio are different, and more. Jordan was interviewed by Margaret Larkin in the studio at WGN.

Jordan Bernfield: anchor and reporter at WGN Radio plus TV and radio sports

Illinois News Broadcasters Association

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