This year is an especially exciting year for WBBM’s Lisa Fielding.
Not only is she celebrating making Barrett Media’s Top 20 in the News/Talk Radio Major Market Afternoon Show category.
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the first time she hit the WBBM airwaves.
“We have a wonderful organization,” Fielding said of WBBM. “It’s even better to be recognized and respected by your colleagues. So it was a wonderful ranking. And I was very happy to see that. I think last year I was 13, now I’m eight. So I’m moving up in the world.”
Growing up in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, Fielding recalled, “My mom used to force me to watch the news as a young girl. And she kind of encouraged me to go into journalism.”
That guidance, combined with her natural gift of gab, turned into a lengthy and legendary career in both TV and radio. “I spent about 15 years in television,” Fielding boasted. “I have television experience and radio experience. But as journalists now we’re all one man and one woman band.”
Meaning her experience in TV has helped her radio career and boosted her social media presence. “When we go out and report, we not only tell the story through audio. We take pictures, we take videos, we tell the story through social media.” She added, “We promote what we do every day.”
Fielding added it’s given her, and other journalists, a larger audience because “We’re not just one medium anymore.”
But going from one medium to another is not entirely seamless. Fielding learned some tricks along the way. “I think the biggest adjustment for me when I moved from TV to radio was I didn’t have the pictures anymore to tell the story. So it kind of forced me to write in a different way.”
Instead of a picture of a burger, she would need to hear the sizzle of a burger. “I did a story about a burger restaurant and I caught the natural sound of the burger sizzling on the stove,” she recalled, “and a listener told me that they could taste the burger by listening to my story, and I thought, that’s the ultimate compliment.”
Fielding believes, “When you can bring the sound and make it an image for your listeners, that’s really the difference I have in writing stories and telling stories.”
But flipping burgers is hardly her biggest story of all time. Fielding’s had a front row seat to history for 40 years — and you’d never know it looking or listening to her. From the Cubs’ 2016 World Series, to education, politics, and two executions, her favorite stories are still the ones that make a difference in ordinary people’s lives. “When that happens I walk away and think, this is why I do what I do.” Fielding beamed, “As journalists, we get a bad rap sometimes, but there are plenty of ways we can make a difference in this world as well.”
Roughly eight years ago she moved to the anchor desk, but her passion for the field and telling stories still lives on. “I still love being in the field during the morning, and then I turn around and I anchor three to six. It gives me the opportunity to know what’s going on in the field when I go into the studio.”
This is part of Fielding’s secret to a successful show. “I believe a good journalist should spend their time as a reporter in the field at some point in their career. If your goal is to be an anchor, you really need to be a reporter. You’ve got to know your community. You’ve got to know the people. And you’ve got to know what works and what doesn’t.”
For the WBBM team, it’s not just hard news that gets the listeners’ ear. “We have so much good news that we report and that’s my beat,” Fielding boasted. “I do arts and culture, human interest, health stories, and that’s been really a joy for me — to be able to incorporate not only at WBBM as a whole, but into my show in the afternoons as well.”
Praising her afternoon team, she noted that with all the major news happening in Chicago, it’s important to have a great team to ensure the proper tone. “Being a good news anchor is to know the tone of the story that you’re telling, and segue the right way.” She later surmised, “We can be reliable, but we also can be that warm blanket that you can tune into every day.”
For roughly 12 years, Fielding taught young journalists at the Medill School, and she would often tell her students, “You gotta learn how to do everything. You see, you hear, you write, you tell stories.”
But her advice for young aspiring journalists doesn’t stop there. “[Journalism] can be a little bit of a thankless business,” she said.
“It doesn’t pay a lot. You make a lot of sacrifices. You work nights, weekends, and holidays for many years, so you’ll know right away whether you love it or hate it, and it’s not always kind.”
Later adding, “But if you’re out to make a difference in the world and see the world, get the opportunities that not everyone else does, talk to regular people, even talk to celebrities, go to sporting events — you learn so much about not only people, but the world, good and bad. But in the end, if you can stick it out, it becomes really an important job, and if you continue to be passionate about it, it will pay off in other ways.”
Of her own career and accomplishments, she said, “It’s been a whirlwind ride, but I feel like I’ve made a difference and every day is different.” Fielding acknowledged, “I’m honored and blessed to still be part of the industry that’s changed so much over the decades.”
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Krystina Alarcon Carroll contributes features and columns for Barrett Media. She has experience in almost every facet of the industry including: digital and print news; live, streamed, and syndicated TV; documentary and film productions. Her prior employers have included NY1 and Fox News Digital and the Law & Crime Network. You can find Krystina on X (formerly twitter) @KrystinaAlaCarr.
Rockford is so proud to be along your trail of successes!! Congratulations!!