We were lucky to catch up with Katelynn Robinson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Katelynn, so great to have you with us today. There are so many topics we want to ask you about, but perhaps the one we can start with is burnout. How have you overcome or avoided burnout?
During my first year of college, I threw myself into the journalism field. I immediately joined my university’s paper, and began covering breaking news events. I became so invested that I rose to Assistant News Editor my sophomore year, and New Editor my junior year. I covered a variety of topics at the paper and did my best to produce interesting content each week. However, I did have to work through the quarantine period. Covid-19 hit during the end of my freshman year of college, so the bulk of time at the paper was chaotic. Although I was passionate about my work, by the end of my time as News Editor, I was burnt out. My work environment became toxic and draining. Reporting on news was depleting me of my creativity and motivation. Being in the pits of burnout, I felt very hopeless. I think what allowed me to overcome the burnout was changing my focus, completely. I had the opportunity to study abroad in Ireland for a summer. There, I found my love of photography. I had free time and an open mind which allowed me to take as many photos as I wanted of whatever I found interesting. Once I opened that window of opportunity, I felt like I could write stories to compliment my photos. I stated a travel blog. From there, I began freelancing for YR Media. Now, I focus on writing arts and culture related stories. Overcoming the burnout took time. It took a lot effort to discover what elements of journalism truly gave me joy. To anyone experiencing burnout I would recommend being patient with yourself and being open to trying new things.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m currently in the early stages of developing my brand. I recently changed all my social media handles to RedHead Reporter because I thought it would be an easier name for my followers to remember. I am most excited about furthering my photography skills, and getting started on larger writing projects. Ultimately, I want to tell people’s stories and let them feel seen. I find learning about people’s backgrounds fascinating, and attempting to capture a personality in a photograph is even more amazing. My past projects include my travel blog in which I documented my adventures in Ireland, and writing about the band KOCEAN and the artist Chris Perkins. In my freelancing work I’ve covered the medical affects of caffeine and Gen Z in the service industry. The next steps for the RedHead Reporter brand will be to offer my services to the public. I am willing to cover small business, growing artists and events in San Diego! Transparency and authenticity are top priorities for me and my writing. In addition to writing about people, another goal of mine is continue writing movie reviews. I had a few amazing opportunities at my university’s paper to review movies including Judas and the Black Messiah, Godzilla vs Kong, and Night Teeth. On my platforms I hope to continue writing about movies and getting opportunities to interview actors.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
If I had to choose just three areas of knowledge that I believe have helped me the most I would say learning about journalistic ethics, photojournalism practices, and perspective. Writers, especially journalists, have a huge responsibility. My college courses taught me a lot about the ways to ethically report on sensitive material and how to approach difficult interviews. I pride myself on having the ability to consider how questions, phrasing and approaches to conversations have an affect on the interviewee and the reader. No one has perfect execution when it comes to following ethical journalism, but having self awareness and being open minded is a good place to start. Since people are trusting journalists with their stories it is crucial to consider how the framing and order of the story is told.
My photojournalism class in college was one of the most beneficial and enlightening classes I took. It was taught by Professor Peggie Peattie at San Diego State University. She taught me about the importance of telling the story behind every photo and taking the time to know each individual who is photographed.
Perspective was the final area of knowledge I chose because I think it is extremely easy to lose sight of it. Reporting is very exciting and is often a fast-moving field to be in. I have noticed within my peers that it is easy to lose sight of why we tell people’s stories and how we should go about it. I also think viewing potential stories from multiple perspectives is vital in the journalism field.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I would love to collaborate with people in the San Diego whether you would like to have your story told or you would like to tell a story together! I am currently focused in the arts and culture fields! So, I would love to collaborate with anyone who has a small business, a love of the arts, or wants to share their passions! My Instagram messages are open, the username is @redhead_reporter and my email address is theredheadreporter@gmail.com. Please feel free to reach out! To look at my past work, please visit my Medium page medium.com/katelynnrobinson33 or by searching “Katelynn’s Blog” on Medium. Or you can visit my website, katelynnrobinson.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: katelynnrobinson.com
- Instagram: @redhead_reporter
- Linkedin: Katelynn Robinson
- Twitter: @redheadreports
- Other: medium.com/@katelynnrobinson33
Image Credits
Photos by: Katelynn Robinson Photos of myself taken by friends of Katelynn Robinson
