Regular KUNM listeners have likely noticed a new voice bringing news stories to our airwaves from across New Mexico. Megan Myscofski has joined the team as a reporter covering public health, poverty and equity. She spoke from her home in Santa Fe about where she’s been and what she’s bringing to her new role.
MEGAN MYSCOFSKI: I started in Missoula, Montana at Montana Public Radio. I was both a reporter and a Morning Edition host, but I did learn I'm maybe not suited to that schedule. I then went on to Arizona Public Media, where I reported on business and economics. I also did a water podcast there called Tapped that was a storytelling podcast with mostly economics kind of water stories.
JONES: And what brought you to New Mexico after all of that?
MYSCOFSKI: You know, my partner and I really like New Mexico. He lived here for a long time. And it's very pretty — there's a lot of interesting things to do and I really like the weather here.
JONES: The weather is hard to dislike — we have all four seasons, but it's fairly mild.
MYSCOFSKI: My dog definitely appreciates the weather change.
JONES: A lot of our listeners have already been hearing a number of your stories over the last few weeks since you joined our team at KUNM. But what would you say, as they're continuing to listen to your work, what your approach to your reporting is?
MYSCOFSKI: So, my background is in economics reporting, and I'm really interested in the money angle of most stories.
JONES: What does that actually end up looking like in the field?
MYSCOFSKI: I like to have an idea of how money affects people's lives. And I think, when you follow the money, a lot of the times, that's where you find a lot of the stories that are most important to people. I've done a lot of housing reporting, for example. I think following, you know, what's been going on with housing throughout the West over the last few years has been really interesting. And also just a question of how the bigger economic picture affects each of our lives in its own way.
JONES: And now, your position with us is in part funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. So, that focuses you on issues like public health and equity. How does that interplay with your background in economics?
MYSCOFSKI: I think the biggest answer is that there's a lot of money in public health, as well as equity or inequity. The first feature I have done here so far was about reproductive health and about a center that's already got $10 million from the state. That's a pretty decent chunk of cash. Who we give that money to demonstrates what our priorities are, right?
JONES: What attracts you to public radio as your medium as a journalist — or audio storytelling more broadly?
MYSCOFSKI: I mean, I've been a public radio listener since I was in high school. Even though I didn't start doing this until my late 20s, my first ever internship was in public radio. I was an exchange student in high school in Germany and they kind of just randomly put me in a community radio station. So, that was when I first learned how to, you know, do the equipment, and work the mic and walk around with the headphones on. And I think the reason that I prefer working in radio as a reporter is that, you know, it might sound kind of trite, but it is really intimate. In my experiences working in other media, it doesn't have that. There's still a little bit more distance. And I think when you actually hear somebody's voice on the radio, and maybe even hear the sounds happening around them — what their backyard sounds like or what a factory sounds like — it just moves you there a lot quicker than sometimes other media can.
