Sarah Fenske is among the notable media leaders of St. Louis. She’s served as the editor in chief of the Riverfront Times for the past four years, reporting on various topics such as breaking news, business, arts and culture. Starting Tuesday, she’ll be heard on the airwaves as the new official host of St. Louis on the Air.
Having passionately worked in newspapers most of her career, she didn’t expect to shift gears and media platforms so swiftly and quickly.
“Being in newspapers for 20 years, I had seen a lot and done a lot. And I think, inside, my soul must have been ready for a change – and I didn't even realize it until I saw this particular job posting,” she told St. Louis Public Radio’s Jonathan Ahl on Monday’s program.
With more than 20 years of journalism experience, Fenske aims to continue fostering in-depth conversations with those who reside near and far the St. Louis region.
Fenske said she intends on highlighting what’s going right in the city, but also vigilantly addressing the not-so-good news.
“I don't want to be a booster; I love St. Louis, and I want to talk about all the things that are great about St. Louis. But I have an innate distrust for when you sort of lapse into public relations speak where it’s, ‘I'm only going to talk about what's positive,’” she explained.
“And I think, frankly, the listener does, too. We know that life is more complicated. There's bad that comes with the good. And I think my job here is going to be to push and to challenge a little bit, in addition to talking about the things that are great.”
Listen to the full discussion to learn more about St. Louis on the Air’s new host:
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Alex Heuer, Emily Woodbury, Evie Hemphill, Lara Hamdan and Alexis Moore. The engineer is Aaron Doerr, and production assistance is provided by Charlie McDonald.
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