Behind The Mic: Morning Edition host Kimberly Schofield sees being on-air as a theatrical performance

Each weekday morning, thousands wake up to the news from Illinois Public Media Morning Edition host Kimberly Schofield. The alum from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Media intially joined as a part-time All Things Considered host, before stepping into her current role. 

When Kimberly isn’t live over the airways, she reports and produces arts and entertainment stories in central Illinois. And she quite often stars in those productions. 

What got you into journalism?

“Initially, I wanted to go into the performing arts. There was some lack of encouragement from people who had doubts about the success that could come with that. I thought that journalism would be something similar, where there is a performative aspect, but also I appreciate that it delivers information for people in and around the community."

What continues to draw you to journalism?

“I think that it is a very important resource for everyone. Working in it directly, I have a much greater appreciation for the work that goes into finding the news and information that people enjoy. Trying to find a balance between news that is difficult to digest versus the information that people need to know, or sometimes just want to know for fun."

What do you love most about your job? 

“I love knowing that people are listening and learning from what I am telling them, whether that is the news in the morning or the arts interviews that I conduct. It is really nice going into the world and having people recognize my voice or see me at a performance and say, I listen to you every morning. I realize that even if they are stories that might not have a national impact or not be of interest to every single person, there are parts of people's days that require me to give them information, and that's a very rewarding feeling for me.”

Why do you think journalism is important? 

“Journalism is important because I'm not sure how people would get accurate information otherwise. I think that to be a person who exists in the world, it is important to be knowledgeable about events that are happening.

Public media is free and available to everyone, no matter who you are or where you are, and without journalism, you're not going to know what's happening and you're not going to be able to respond accordingly."

Why does public media matter?

“With public media, there is something for everyone. Even if you're watching television, listening to the radio, or streaming online, we have a variety of shows that are targeting a variety of different types of people, whether it's age, gender, race, or where you live.

It doesn't matter why you listen. The more support we have, the more variety of things we can give to our listeners. That is something not everywhere can offer. We have coworkers who are able to support each other so that we can give authentic, fact-based information to everybody that's unbiased.”

Why is journalism important in Central Illinois, specifically?

“Illinois Public Media is a staple in the very direct Urbana community, but also the county and beyond. We have a very broad reach, and we cover a lot of topics, politics, education, of course, the arts that I keep mentioning. There is a huge availability for people, students, reporters, hosts, and the community to learn, and it’s also a free resource to people, which means that they're never going to be without that information.

They're never going to be wondering. And if they are wondering, they can go to our website, listen to us on the radio, or stream us on the app, and figure out what information they need.”

Is there a moment that you had with a listener that reminded you of why public media matters?

“During pledge drives, I definitely am reminded of why public media matters. It is during those pledge drives that we get comments, calls, or letters from people who say why public media is so important to them.

I received an email from a woman once that said that her family had been in the farming business for a very long time, but because of that, she is sometimes out working physically in the wee small hours, when I'm hosting Morning Edition and talking to some of the agricultural people. 

She requested that we continue keeping those reports on the website so she can stream them later. Having that person very kindly, reaching out and saying how much they appreciate something that to me was completely unfamiliar with how it could impact somebody's daily life."

Do you have a favorite public media story that you have reported on?

“This year, I interviewed Robert Cray, who has been a musician worldwide for over five decades. The number of people who messaged me or saw me in person and said, ‘This was amazing. I went and saw Robert Cray perform,’ which was really cool. 

I also really enjoy two-ways with reporters. I will ask questions that can give more details than what they might have access to in a restricted timeline or by email. I think that it's great to get as many details as possible for transparency and for clarity when people are listening, because if you're listening on the radio to a newscast, there's a very limited amount of time that we're able to tell stories.”

What does a day in your life look like? 

“In the morning, I wake up at 3 AM and run, feed my cat, then I either bike or drive to work.

I come into the studio, and I make sure that everything is set up for me to function. I'm the only person in the studio. I don't have a producer who's pressing all of the buttons, starting up the computers, or giving me an outline of which stories I should read in order.

If we need more content based on something happening that's timely, I will search different sites or press releases to make sure that I have as much content as needed and also that it is quality content for our listeners."

I also do WILL CALL the weekly art show, which is a list of arts, culture, and entertainment that are happening in the central Illinois area every week."

If you aren't at the station, where can listeners most likely find you? 

“Listeners can find me on a stage. I am usually in two productions at one time. I'm currently in one in Monticello and one in Danville, somewhere in the central Illinois-ish area. I will be performing either a play or a musical. 

I also volunteer at the Champaign County Humane Society. I love animals, especially dogs, so I also walk many people's pets and take care of them. Or I'm baking cookies in the kitchen."

If you could only bring one album to a desert island, what would it be? 

“If it were a musical album, it would be Next to Normal, which is a very dark musical, but is probably my favorite musical ever.

For non-musical, it would probably be Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor, the original release. There are just a lot of songs on it that are really feel-good, and the orchestration within the album is beautiful.”

What's your favorite hobby? 

“Probably dogs. I love running with dogs. I love dogs who have quirky behaviors that I can work with. I love just cuddling with dogs. They truly are an incredible species and companionate to human beings. Anytime I see a dog, no matter what the size or breed, I get very excited."

Is there a public radio show you have been into lately?

“I just have our radio station on, which sounds kind of silly. I do the news in the morning, but then the news doesn't happen again until the afternoon for our local news. I do like knowing what's going on statewide and nationally. So I just keep ours on.”

Who is your greatest inspiration? 

“My greatest inspiration would be my grandmother, who has passed, but she was very into singing. She was one of the few people in my immediate family who appreciated the fact that I liked singing and acting.

I know from other people in my family that when she was happiest, she would be singing, and when she was happy, she would be baking. It was fine to just enjoy every day, even in the small things. So continuing to kind of live that way is something that I catch myself doing when answering questions like this.”