The Pursuit Podcast: Recent Episodes
NATAS Chicago/Midwest
Welcome to The Pursuit, a podcast produced by the Junior Board of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, otherwise known as NATAS. We are a group of emerging media professionals seeking insight from leaders in our fields.
“The industry is changing and evolving so much. For the kind of broadcaster that I want to be, I want to understand the value of the other roles around me. That’s why it was important for me to learn how to do different things.”
Dionne Miller, a sportscaster on ABC-7’s Eyewitness Team, sits down with Kinsley Reliford to talk about how she handles the struggles of working in an ever-evolving broadcasting industry. Sharing her journey, work ethic, and personal faith, Dionne’s interview vividly displays the impact that ABC-7 has had upon her life.
Subscribe to your favorite podcast platform to stay up-to-date when we release episodes:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2vAs0mBgf0lDWQzha0fCpV
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pursuit-podcast/id1587413352?itsct=podcast_box_link&itscg=30200&ls=1
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/654201
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/EmmyChicago
Flowcode: https://www.flowcode.com/page/thepursuitpodcastnatas
Credits:
John Schippman, Executive Producer
Rebekah Cowing, Executive Producer
Aliyah Muhammad, Graphic Designer
Juliette Benjamin, Producer & Editor
Caroline Bennett, Producer & Editor
Sam Brief, Producer & Editor
Mikey Boyd, Producer & Editor
Maram Elnagheeb, Producer & Editor
Nihar Gagneia, Producer & Editor
Larry Larson, Producer & Editor
Hailey Lloyd, Producer & Editor
Kinsley Reliford, Producer & Editor
Abbas Tayebali, Producer & Editor
Jennie Weaver, Producer & Editor
Carmen Vincent, Producer & Editor
Josh Frydman, born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, has been reporting on Chicago sports for a decade now.
At WGN, Frydman is a co-anchor for GN Sports, a nightly half-hour sports show on WGN-TV, where he also reports on all Chicago sports. Frydman joined WGN-TV and CLTV in 2014 after more than two years as a sports anchor and reporter in Cape Girardeau, Missouri at the station KFVS-TV.
Jimmy Nicholas is an actor and podcast host (“Everything But The Kitchen Sink”) known for his role as Paramedic Chief Evan Hawkins on NBC’s Chicago Fire. He was a presenter at the Chicago/Midwest Emmys® in 2022 and is currently starring in a musical (“The Perfect Mate”). In this episode, he shared insights from his career journey so far, stories from set, and dug into how he defines success in a creative industry. NATAS Junior Board Co-chair Arden Kurhayez interviewed Jimmy ahead of his appearance at Epic Cons Chicago 2024.
Whitney Reynolds sits down with Haley Lloyd, to discuss how she went from a small-town Oklahoma girl to hosting her own nationally syndicated self-titled talk show. In this episode, we discuss how Reynolds has stayed grounded, working to not compare yourself to others, overcoming obstacles to achieve your dreams, and her passion for telling stories of hope.
Karen Lee Cohen is an 8-time Emmy award winning producer and executive producer, and current president of Crystal Pyramid Productions in Los Angeles, CA. Karen grew up in Chicago, attended Columbia College and won her first Emmy in the city. Cohen provides insight in her career journey and what she sees as most important for college students and young professionals in the television production and media fields.
Emily Reilly is a television news reporter for WBAY Channel 2 in Green Bay Wisconsin. Just over a year after graduating from DePaul University with a double major in journalism and film production, Emily provides insight into landing that elusive first job. From covering feature stories like the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh fly-in convention to harder news stories, Emily has a wide range of experiences from her first year as a tv reporter to impart on those entering the industry.
Sylvia L Jones is an independent producer, screenwriter, and journalist from Chicago, IL. Attending Stanford University with dual degrees in Communications and Psychology and a Master's in Broadcast Journalism from Northwestern University (DATE), Her career had begun by covering historic events such as the President Barack Obama’s election and the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. After her time in journalism she began writing for The Chi and Pearson. NATAS Junior Board member Abbas Tayebali interviews Sylvia L. Jones at a prime of the Writers Strike in September 2023 of the challenges she faced when elevating her career.
Join documentary filmmaker Carmen Vincent as she interviews award-winning filmmaker Linh Tran about her prodigious career journey. Tran is a Vietnamese-born filmmaker and director now based in Chicago. Holding an MFA degree in film and TV from DePaul University, her talent and dedication culminated in her directorial debut, 'Waiting for the Light to Change,' a captivating film that earned her the prestigious Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance and was recently acquired by Freestyle Digital Media for an eagerly anticipated fall release. Learn more about the film on its IMDb page and catch screening announcements on Lihn’s Instagram, @Lnhtrnn. Let’s learn from her pursuit!
James Runde is an independent filmmaker, photographer, and musician from Madison, WI. While a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (B.A. 2015), he directed his first short film White and Lazy (2016), a slacker comedy shot on 16mm. His follow-up film Played Out (2019, 42 mins) won a Golden Badger Award at the 2019 Wisconsin Film Festival. NATAS Junior Board member Mikey Boyd interviews James Runde ahead of the premiere of his latest project The Last Milk, a short documentary about his aunt and uncle retiring from small-herd dairy farming after over 38 years.
Subscribe to your favorite podcast platform to stay up-to-date when we release episodes:
Anchor: https://anchor.fm/natas-thepursuitpodcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2vAs0mBgf0lDWQzha0fCpV
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pursuit-podcast/id1587413352?itsct=podcast_box_link&itscg=30200&ls=1
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/654201
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/EmmyChicago
Flowcode: https://www.flowcode.com/page/thepursuitpodcastnatas
Credits:
John Owens, Executive Producer
Rebekah Cowing, Executive Producer
Aliyah Muhammad, Graphic Designer, Producer & Editor
Carmen Vincent, Producer & Editor
Anthony Landahl, Producer & Editor
Melyssa Guzman, Producer & Editor
Tiyen Simmons, Producer & Editor
Nihar Gagneia, Producer & Editor
Larry Larson, Producer & Editor
Sam Brief, Producer & Editor
Mikey Boyd, Producer & Editor
Join host Anthony Landahl along with the NATAS Chicago/Midwest Chapter President John Owens as they discuss John’s presidential duties and how he found his way through his career to such a position. An early multimedia producer, John talks about a portfolio of work spanning print, radio and television, from his early day starting at the Chicago Tribune to working with WLS-TV in Chicago.
Sam Alex is a radio and television personality and producer, and is the Creator, Executive Producer and host of the nationally syndicated radio program “The Sam Alex Show.” In this episode, host Arden Kurhayez talks with Sam about his annual workshop, Camp Broadcast, and how he first started in the industry.
Sam’s Links:
Personal Website:https://samalexradio.com/
Personal Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/samalexradio/ (@samalexradio)
Personal Twitter:https://twitter.com/SamAlexRadio?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor (@samalexradio)
Camp Broadcast Website:https://campbroadcast.com/
Camp Broadcast Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/campbroadcast/ (@campbroadcast)
Camp Broadcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CampBroadcast (@campbroadcast)
Join video editor Carmen Vincent as she asks accomplished Marketing CEO Wade Breitzke about his incredible career journey. Wade is not only the CEO and Founder of WeCreate Media in Valparaiso, Indiana, but he’s also an active member of his community and an amazing role model for people interested in creative marketing. Let's learn from his pursuit!
NATAS Chicago/Midwest President John Owens announces The Pursuit Season One has come to an end, and folks can look forward to the Season Two premiere coming this September.
Join Anthony Landahl as he chats with lifestyle host Jane Clauss! From childhood aspirations to be the next Jane Pauley to 90s radio DJing to now being the host for WGN-TV’s “Living Healthy Chicago,” Jane touches on the magic of working with a good producer, how to connect with your audience, and the attitude it takes to have a fulfilling career in media–no matter what route you take!
Nihar Gagneja chats with Stephan Moore, a Chicago-based sound artist and composer about his roundabout journey to get to where he is today.
Geoffrey Baer has been hosting programs for over a quarter-century at WTTW. Host Anthony Landahl and Geoffrey talk about how these shows got started, from the Chicago boat tours to tours of Chicago in the air. The conversation also includes how Geoffrey got interested in television from a young age, why he went back to school for his love of theater, and the significance of public media.
Aliyah Muhammad has a discussion with Pat McGann, a Chicago-based comedian who started his comedy career at the age of 31 and has performed as the house emcee at Zanies Chicago, on The Late Show with David Letterman, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Together they discuss McGann’s career so far, the craft of comedy, and the state of comedy in the modern age.
Sam Brief goes deep with Ryan Baker, a morning news anchor at CBS 2 Chicago. Baker details the winding road to his current post at his hometown TV station, philosophizes on the need for stories and offers his advice to the next generation of storytellers.
Broadcaster Larry Larson chats with former newspaper columnist, ESPN analyst and current director of Sports Journalism at Medill, JA Adande. Adande details his career journeys covering superstars such as Kobe Bryant, what makes ESPN’s Around the Horn special, and the state of journalism and sports storytelling today.
Walk with student director/ producer, Tiyen Simmons, as he converses with former professor, writer, and producer, Yevette Brown. Yevette talks to us about her experiences in the media industry as one of the first African- American female producers in Chicago. Let’s take a closer look at her pursuit!
A co-founder of Bitter Jester Studios, Nic DeGrazia is the creative director of the Emmy-winning studio. Producer Anthony Landahl talks with Nic about working on the company in his off-hours when it first started to now organizing the annual Bitter Jester Music Festival in Highland Park. The conversation touches on the impact of art, music and the concept of “just going for it.”
Join documentary filmmaker Carmen Vincent as she interviews filmmakers Matt Lauterbach and Reveca Torres about their career journeys and disability advocacy efforts. Matt Lauterbach is the founder of All Senses Go, and he is also a filmmaker, educator, and co-director of ReelAbilities Film Festival Chicago. Reveca Torres is the founder of BACKBONES, and she is also a filmmaker, artist, and co-director of ReelAbilities Film Festival Chicago. Let's learn from their pursuits!
In this episode, Melyssa and Pablo Alfaro had the pleasure of discussing what it means to be a Latino/a in the media space, his journey as an immigrant, and how he got to be a Creative Services Manager for Telemundo. Pablo is an alum of Columbia College Chicago where he received his Bachelor's in TV Production and Music and later received his IMC Integrated Marketing Communications Degree Master’s degree from Roosevelt University.
A Chicagoland native and lifelong sports nut, Mike Berman has finally returned home to report on sports in his hometown. After covering sports in cities like Austin and Indianapolis, the generous and thoughtful Berman reports on all of Chicago’s major athletics happenings and has covered events like the Super Bowl and World Series. Berman chats with producer Sam Brief about his journey to his dream job and what lessons he’s gleaned along the road.
Already an established actress in the Chicago film and theatre scene, Kelly O’Sullivan took the indie film world in 2019 by storm with the feature film Saint Frances, which she wrote and starred in. Join sound designer and fellow Northwestern University alum Nihar Gagneja as he asks Kelly about her transition from actress to writer-director.
Pablo Iglesias is a sports and news MMJ at WKOW in Madison, Wisconsin. A Bradley University graduate and Chicago native, Pablo worked for two years at WEEK in Peoria, Illinois before moving on to Madison. Sports Broadcaster Larry Larson chats with Pablo about the trials and tribulations of job searching, what makes a good story, networking, as well as the Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate movements.
A Chicago media legend, Joel Weisman is the former Week in Review host who worked with WTTW for 40 years before retiring in 2018. He is continuing to work as a media agent in Chicago. Producer Anthony Landahl talks with Joel about his early years as a newspaper journalist in the 60s, what drives him to excel and what the keys are to a half-century career in journalism.
Tiyen Simmons, student producer/director, takes a deeper look into Chicago’s vast media industry with one of the city’s most notable on-air personalities, co-hosts, and NATAS board members, Melissa Forman. Let's take a walk through her pursuit!
Join documentary filmmaker Carmen Vincent as she asks Emmy award-winning producer Thea Flaum about her incredible career journey. Thea is one of the most accomplished producers in Chicago, and in the TV industry at large, not to mention a former NATAS board member, a Silver Circle Honoree, and the founder and president of Facing Disability. Let's learn from her pursuit!