Ever wonder why your local NPR station or PBS News sounds so different from your local TV news? It’s not just tone, it’s money, mission, and mindset.
In this episode of Laid Off and Looking, Domenic and Jenna talk with Stan Jastrzebski, longtime public radio news director for KBIA in Columbia Missouri. He's also a journalism researcher and breaks down why there is a divide between public media and commercial newsrooms. He covers how funding models can shape coverage, who journalists are actually serving, and why both systems are struggling to survive the digital age.
Stan also explains how public media’s civic mission of serving communities and uplifting marginalized voices often clashes with shrinking budgets and burnout, while in commercial newsrooms journalists find themselves chasing clicks, ratings, and advertisers just to stay alive.
He also dives into the “snowcap effect” inside news organizations, the diversity gap between leadership and staff, and what happens when communities stop trusting the people who tell their stories.
🎙️ In this episode, we get into:
00:00 - Start
04:08 - Public Media Shortcomings
05:33 - Stan Jastrzebski Interview
07:50 - What Makes Public Media Different
11:54 - Why Be In Public Media?
15:39 - But You Can’t Eat Awards
16:30 - Diversity In Public Media
22:03 - We Need More Stories from Member Stations
23:39 - Can Public Media Grow Your Career?
27:47 - What About the Fundraising Model
34:07 - Be In the Community
39:42 - Is The Most Trusted News Enough?
44:01 - State House Reporting
47:55 - The Public Media Sound
50:01 - Why Did You Become a Journalist?
If you care about who controls the story and what happens when the people disappear but the algorithms stay, this episode is for you.
👇 Tell us in the comments: Do you trust public media more than commercial news? Why or why not?
🎧 Subscribe to Laid Off and Looking for more honest conversations about the future of journalism, AI, and the people keeping truth alive.
All content for Laid Off and Looking is the property of News is changing. We're telling the story! and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Ever wonder why your local NPR station or PBS News sounds so different from your local TV news? It’s not just tone, it’s money, mission, and mindset.
In this episode of Laid Off and Looking, Domenic and Jenna talk with Stan Jastrzebski, longtime public radio news director for KBIA in Columbia Missouri. He's also a journalism researcher and breaks down why there is a divide between public media and commercial newsrooms. He covers how funding models can shape coverage, who journalists are actually serving, and why both systems are struggling to survive the digital age.
Stan also explains how public media’s civic mission of serving communities and uplifting marginalized voices often clashes with shrinking budgets and burnout, while in commercial newsrooms journalists find themselves chasing clicks, ratings, and advertisers just to stay alive.
He also dives into the “snowcap effect” inside news organizations, the diversity gap between leadership and staff, and what happens when communities stop trusting the people who tell their stories.
🎙️ In this episode, we get into:
00:00 - Start
04:08 - Public Media Shortcomings
05:33 - Stan Jastrzebski Interview
07:50 - What Makes Public Media Different
11:54 - Why Be In Public Media?
15:39 - But You Can’t Eat Awards
16:30 - Diversity In Public Media
22:03 - We Need More Stories from Member Stations
23:39 - Can Public Media Grow Your Career?
27:47 - What About the Fundraising Model
34:07 - Be In the Community
39:42 - Is The Most Trusted News Enough?
44:01 - State House Reporting
47:55 - The Public Media Sound
50:01 - Why Did You Become a Journalist?
If you care about who controls the story and what happens when the people disappear but the algorithms stay, this episode is for you.
👇 Tell us in the comments: Do you trust public media more than commercial news? Why or why not?
🎧 Subscribe to Laid Off and Looking for more honest conversations about the future of journalism, AI, and the people keeping truth alive.
What happens when a journalist interviews a comedian who might secretly understand the media better than most journalists?
In this episode, Paul Saylor, musician, comedian, and runner-up in the New York Queer Comedy Festival, joins Jenna Flanagan and Domenic Camia on Laid Off and Looking to unpack:
Why news and comedy are basically dating each other now:
How AI, algorithms, and outrage are reshaping both industries
What it means to “punch up” when everyone’s already fighting online
Why the “War on Christmas” might be the world’s longest inside joke
And yes how ChatGPT became the most emotionally available man on the internet
This is smart, funny, painfully honest and way too real for anyone who’s ever doomscrolled their way through the news.
00:00 Start
06:29 - How Ya Doing is a Hard Question
07:16 - What I Respect About Journalism
12:35 - Using Emotion to Sell the News
15:12 - What’s at the Heart of Funny
19:38 - Comedians Say What Everyone Is Thinking
24:12 - Punching Up vs Punching Down
33:29 - Cancel Culture
44:51 - If Everything Is Funny, What Is Serious?
49:20 - What About AI
1:08:36 - Why Did You Become a Comedian
🎙️ Subscribe to Laid Off and Looking for more conversations where journalism meets real life
Laid Off and Looking
Ever wonder why your local NPR station or PBS News sounds so different from your local TV news? It’s not just tone, it’s money, mission, and mindset.
In this episode of Laid Off and Looking, Domenic and Jenna talk with Stan Jastrzebski, longtime public radio news director for KBIA in Columbia Missouri. He's also a journalism researcher and breaks down why there is a divide between public media and commercial newsrooms. He covers how funding models can shape coverage, who journalists are actually serving, and why both systems are struggling to survive the digital age.
Stan also explains how public media’s civic mission of serving communities and uplifting marginalized voices often clashes with shrinking budgets and burnout, while in commercial newsrooms journalists find themselves chasing clicks, ratings, and advertisers just to stay alive.
He also dives into the “snowcap effect” inside news organizations, the diversity gap between leadership and staff, and what happens when communities stop trusting the people who tell their stories.
🎙️ In this episode, we get into:
00:00 - Start
04:08 - Public Media Shortcomings
05:33 - Stan Jastrzebski Interview
07:50 - What Makes Public Media Different
11:54 - Why Be In Public Media?
15:39 - But You Can’t Eat Awards
16:30 - Diversity In Public Media
22:03 - We Need More Stories from Member Stations
23:39 - Can Public Media Grow Your Career?
27:47 - What About the Fundraising Model
34:07 - Be In the Community
39:42 - Is The Most Trusted News Enough?
44:01 - State House Reporting
47:55 - The Public Media Sound
50:01 - Why Did You Become a Journalist?
If you care about who controls the story and what happens when the people disappear but the algorithms stay, this episode is for you.
👇 Tell us in the comments: Do you trust public media more than commercial news? Why or why not?
🎧 Subscribe to Laid Off and Looking for more honest conversations about the future of journalism, AI, and the people keeping truth alive.
