Like most of the School of Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS) faculty, Jason Rosenbaum works in the field he is teaching. As a St. Louis Public Radio’s political correspondent, he’s covered local, regional and state politics for Missouri’s largest NPR affiliate for more than six years. And he’s covered Missouri politics for nearly 14 years for publications like the Columbia Daily Tribune and Missouri Lawyers Media. A native of suburban Chicago, Rosenbaum graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism.
Along with Jo Mannies and Chris McDaniel, Rosenbaum helped launch and sustain St. Louis Public Radio’s Politically Speaking — the longest running episodic podcast about Missouri politics. As of early 2020, Rosenbaum and his St. Louis Public Radio colleagues have produced more than 400 shows with guests — including long form interviews with U.S. Senators, Missouri governors and state legislative leaders. In addition, he played a role in planning and executing a podcast series on Gov. Eric Greitens’ scandals and the 2018 election cycle.
We recently got a chance to interview Rosenbaum about the new podcast course he is teaching, and here’s what he had to say:
Describe what makes this course unique.
Audio reporting and podcasting is playing a vital role in the present and future state of journalism. This course will give you the tools and expertise on how to successfully approach the medium. And it will also provide insight on why journalism is more important than ever for the American public.
Why should students take your course at CAPS?
In an ever-changing and unstable journalism industry, reporters are embracing audio reporting and podcasting as a vital medium to inform the public. This course will give students the technical, ethical and creative expertise to successfully jump into this journalistic field. I am excited to use my experience as a public radio reporter to teach the next generation of journalists.
What valuable skills do they learn in this course?
I plan to teach students about everything that goes into successful audio reporting and podcasting. They’ll learn about how to interview sources, how to edit audio and how to structure a podcast to successfully tell a story. I’m also planning to give guidance on how to report authoritatively and emphatically during a crisis, pointing to my experience covering the aftermath of Michael Brown’s shooting death in Ferguson.
Learn more about his course: Audio Storytelling: From Podcasts to Newscasts.
Rosenbaum was a part of an award-winning reporting team at St. Louis Public Radio that covered the aftermath of Michael Brown’s shooting death in Ferguson. With the help of a number of his colleagues, he won a regional Edward R. Murrow Award in 2015 for Hard News. He’s also contributed to regional Murrow awards for covering flooding in St. Louis and the protests over Jason Stockley’s acquittal. And he’s won first place and honorable mentions in Missouri Broadcasters Awards for his coverage of football and soccer stadium controversies in St. Louis. Rosenbaum is married to Lauren Todd, who is the engineering librarian at Washington University. The two live in Richmond Heights with their two sons.