”Good journalism relies on good judgment and strong story-telling skills.”
Tune into WBUR, 90.9 FM, between 4 and 6:30 p.m. weekdays, and you hear a throaty, distinctive voice delivering the latest news. As the local host of “All Things Considered,” Lisa Mullins brings a personal connection to the mayhem or majesty she is privileged to report: She lives in Arlington.
As the show’s anchor, Mullins covers local, national and international news on this insightful, popular program.
Her soft-spoken, soothing words entice listeners as she conducts interviews and reports from the field.
Asking intelligent and perceptive questions, Mullins is responsive and shows true concern when discussing everything from a community’s battle against opioid abuse to “citizen scientists” fighting climate change, to offbeat feature stories. Her journalistic path over the years has taken her to South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, Cuba, Hong Kong and the Korean peninsula.
Before broadcast each day, Mullins meets with the show’s producers and news director. Together, they discuss what the reporters are covering, and what interviews Mullins will conduct. She then “devours any and all research on each subject to prep for the stories.”
Why journalism?
Mullins was initially drawn to reporting by an “insatiable curiosity about people, what they do, how they act and – most important – how things work.” “Good journalism relies on good judgment and strong story-telling skills. It’s a combination of using your head and your heart on the job every day. How lucky am I to get to do that!”
Award winner
Mullins’s work has received several prestigious awards:
Gracie Award, from The Alliance of Women in Media, for outstanding individual achievement as anchor of a news magazine, 2012.
Journalism Fellow, from the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, and Templeton Fellow, Cambridge University in England, academic year 2009-10; studying diplomacy, religion, science and the arts.
Clarion Award, from Women in Communications, for a story she wrote and produced about her 24-hour stay in North Korea, 2009. Lisa says this was her most rewarding project ever. “It was a surreal and mind-blowing trip, seeing the stunning natural beauty contrasted with the suffocating oppression.”
Reporting from North Korea
“My journalist colleagues and I were forbidden to bring into the country any cell phones, video cameras, or reading material about North Korea. What North Korean guards didn’t realize was that many of our small cameras could shoot video and record audio – lucky for me, since I’m a radio reporter.”
Mullins’s hotel was a joint North-South “experiment,” located near a pristine lake and a mountain that she and her colleagues hiked. At several points along the path, North Koreans had nailed plaques to the mountainside honoring the “Eternal Leader” Kim Il-sung and his son, Kim Jong-il – grandfather and father of the current president.
While hiking, everyone had to move rapidly; guides along the way made sure no one lagged behind. (A few months after her visit, one of the many South Koreans allowed to hike the mountain ran off the path, ignored the shouts of North Korean security and was shot dead. The resort was then closed and now resembles a ghost town.)
“Outside our hotel, several North Koreans were working in the fields, but they knew not to approach us, as much as we wanted to make contact. Soldiers were omnipresent, standing sentry everywhere, to ensure zero interaction.”
Extensive experience
Mullins comes to “All Things Considered” after a myriad of reporting jobs. She got her start in public radio more than 30 years ago, when she interned at WGBH while a student at Simmons College in Boston.
She’s since served as chief anchor of “The World,” PRI/WGBH’s daily international news program; hosted a PBS-TV series on science and technology; and produced documentaries for Humankind Public Radio, in Belmont.
Mullins is proud to serve the community, keeping the public informed on stories of vital interest.
Any on-air goofs?
She admits that back in her early reporting days, “the afternoon DJ enjoyed setting my script on fire as I was broadcasting. If you can get through that, you can get through anything. Come to think of it, I haven’t had the hiccups on the air. Yet.”
Journalism today
Journalism has changed dramatically in Mullins’s years of working. Most significantly, with the advent of computers, it has become more technical. Digital access to records and reports makes it easier and faster to obtain and share information.
“In international news, before computers were in every newsroom, to get audio from someone you’re interviewing say, in Pakistan, it would be sent by DHL and take several days. Now we get the audio news report in milliseconds.”
“One of the great things about my job is the adrenaline rush, especially on days with breaking news. It leaves you feeling depleted at the end of the day, but you sleep well!”
This news feature was published Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017.
