Marissanne Lewis-Thompson mentors others in role at KRCU

Marissanne Lewis-Thompson was hired as KRCU Public Radio's features reporter earlier this semester and started her duties at the Southeast Missouri State University station Nov. 16.

Lewis-Thompson was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, and received her bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in May. While in Columbia, Missouri, she worked as a reporter, producer and supervising editor for the NPR station KBIA-FM.

How did you end up in public radio?

I came from Missouri's School of Journalism. I studied convergence radio reporting and producing, and I got my degree. ... With convergence you're doing everything, so video, photo, audio, print. You name it, I am able to do so. So I tried out different stations that we were assigned to. Did the TV station, which was KOMU 8 News, for a little bit, and we did this project with the [Columbia] Missourian. And that's when I did KBIA. That's when I knew I had hit the jackpot.

There is something about storytelling that public radio offers that a lot of the other news outlets didn't offer me. I went into Mizzou wanting to do documentaries. That was my absolute goal; however, they didn't have a program for that until recently, when they got a huge donation from the producer of "The Real World" [Jonathan Murray]. ... By then, I was well into what I was doing. I was like, "Really? Really, though?" but at the same time I found the in-depth storytelling that I wanted in radio.

I spent about 2 1/2 years at KBIA, and it was the best time in my life. There were great people there, and I got to try out how to tell different types of stories. In one of my capstone classes, we got to do this really cool project with NET, which is the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications, their NPR- and PBS-affiliated station in Nebraska. We did this huge multimedia mobile site for a documentary they did about veterans and their homecoming. It was the best experience of my life because I got to do something that I never in a million years imagined I'd be doing.

What is your new role at KRCU?

My job title is to be a features reporter, and what that means is I go out and do feature stories, long-form in-depth reporting. That can range from things like two ways, which is one-on-one interviews, or more in-depth pieces that focus on a lot of issues that go on in this particular area.

I post stories to the web, do social media stuff and different miscellaneous things. I'll be in charge of interns, which will be exciting. I love molding little minds, but more or less just helping them grow and giving them confidence. I feel like it's my duty to give people that opportunity to grow and feel confident in themselves and their abilities. So that's something that I'm really passionate about.

Who were some of your role models?

I can't pick just one because there were many ways in which they influenced me. I had three teachers who became more like mentors or what we called "convergence parents." Because that's what they essentially were. When they were pissed, they were pissed, but when they were happy, they were happy, and they were proud of you. They genuinely cared, and they gave me an opportunity that I didn't think was possible.

When you are in the barracks of learning the craft of journalism, it's one of those things where you think, "This sucks; I don't want to do it." Your mind starts playing these games with you, and what I loved about them is that they somehow snatched your mind away from your fears and started molding you into this person that they know you can be, but your fears are not allowing you to be. For that I am forever grateful.

And then as far as my KBIA mentors at the radio station there, which was also an NPR member station, they taught me the essence of storytelling when it comes to radio. I knew little to nothing about NPR going into college. I was very familiar with PBS ... grew up with no cable at home, so it was PBS everything.

But they taught me a way of how to tell a story in which you have to be extremely descriptive in order to put people in a place where they have never been before. I have to give credit to those other three teachers of mine, because they did the exact same thing. ...

My mentors challenged me in ways that I could have never challenged myself alone. I didn't know how to challenge myself appropriately, because I was constantly trying to mimic what everyone else was doing because they were more advanced than I was, and I was constantly competing with them. The reality is simply that life is not a competition. We all have our own journeys, and what my mentors allowed me to do was to form my own.

What is your leadership style, and what do you think is your role as a leader?

The misconception is that when you are in charge, that means that you run the show, and you're the boss, and you can crack the whip. But that's missing the point. Every one of my mentors or teachers allowed me to grow, but they went along on that journey with me.

One of my favorite stories is that I mentored this girl, and she was not confident in her abilities. And the girl was good; she was already set. I could teach her nothing, but her confidence was not there. Next thing you know, she had an internship with NPR and had a story run on Morning Edition. And I was like, "See, girl? See?"

My theory is simply this: I don't have to be mean to get my point across to people. My goal is to simply help you in the areas where you don't feel confident. That is my goal -- to help you grow. That's it. And if we become friends after that, cool. If we don't, that's fine.

But the reality is that if I can help you be something that you weren't before, then I think I've accomplished my goal. Because radio is fun; radio is great, and public radio is everything that I've ever wanted when it comes to storytelling.