Today we’d like to introduce you to Liane Morejon.
Liane, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am an Emmy-winning journalist who joined the on-air news team at WPLG Local 10 in March 2013, but if you count my time working behind the scenes, I’ve actually been a part of the WPLG family for nearly a decade.
During my time at WPLG, I’ve covered some of the biggest stories in South Florida over a wide range of topics: the death of Fidel Castro; presidential visits from Barack Obama, Donald Trump; the tragic mass shootings in Parkland, Las Vegas & Sutherland Springs, Texas; the huge March for our Lives in Washington, D.C.; hurricanes, crime, trials, exclusives, features and breaking news.
I earned a Suncoast Emmy in 2018 for my role in the Team Coverage of the Parkland Massacre. I also received an Emmy nomination in 2017 for my role in WPLG’s Continuing Coverage of the death of Fidel Castro.
Before becoming an on-air reporter, I started at WPLG as an intern. Later, I became a part of Local 10’s team of producers. I began as an associate producer for the Local 10 News Morning Show and was later promoted to the main producer of the 5 a.m. hour.
After about a year, I transitioned into working on the air, starting as a morning traffic reporter before moving on to full-time reporting in the field and anchoring on a fill-in basis.
I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Communications in 2008 from the University of Miami, finishing with a double major in broadcast journalism and theatre arts. I later pursued graduate studies at Barry University.
While in college, I worked at Coral Gables Television, where I worked as a reporter, host, editor, and producer. A real “jack of all trades”! There, I earned multiple Davey and Telly awards for excellence in public affairs programming. As a student at the University of Miami, I won a Society of Professional Journalists award for general assignment reporting. I was also an anchor on UM’s Emmy Award-winning weekly newscast “Newsvision.” I was also active in UM’s theatre department.
I’m a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Society of Professional Journalists.
On a personal note, I am expecting my first child in October and I couldn’t be more excited. I remember ringing in 2019 and thinking my life had been pretty consistent the last couple of years. I wished for some blessings, change & new challenges to spice things up, and I got it in spades!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When I graduated from the University of Miami in 2008 with a double major in broadcast journalism & theatre arts, I was ready and raring to find my first job as a TV news reporter.
With the help of my mom, I applied to dozens and dozens of reporting jobs around the country, in towns I had never even heard of. In fact, I still have about 90 job postings saved in my Gmail account from 2008 as proof.
When I told my friends about the places I was applying to, I heard so many answers like, “You applied where?! But why?”
And I explained to them every time that this is what wanna-be news reporters do. They move to small towns in “starter markets” to start their careers, and slowly work their way up by moving from market to market until they get to where and what they want to be.
I thought I was a great candidate because I had prior on-camera experience, a job at a cable access channel, and had wonderful feedback and recommendations from my college professors. I had a passion for news. I felt like I was fulfilling my destiny. I was excited to start a new chapter in my life.
But months went by, and no one would bite. I would get a couple of calls or emails back. I did get one in-person interview in Texas but was quickly let down when they called me back to say they picked someone else.
After a full year of rejection and pride swallowing, I was still treading water at the cable access channel I had been working at throughout college. I was depressed and dejected. I felt like I had squandered my education and the money and faith my parents invested in it by believing in my crazy dream.
I’m now 33 and on the older end of the millennial spectrum. I don’t think it’s news to any millennials that a diploma is no guarantee of a career in your chosen field after graduation. And In 2008, TV stations around the country were laying off workers, consolidating jobs, or not hiring at all.
I was also foolish enough not to take advantage of an internship opportunity as an undergrad, thinking that my job was experiencing enough. My lack of real newsroom experience became glaringly apparent when I had to tell news directors I had none. Knowing that was all on me made me even more depressed.
I wallowed for about a year until my parents and I made the joint decision that I would swallow my pride and go back to school. I completed a one-year program at Barry University so that I could be a student again, improve my education, and enroll in an internship. And that’s what led me to WPLG.
My internship turned into a part-time associate producer job working overnights & weekends, which later became full-time. After a couple of years, I became the producer for the 5 a.m.show (working from 11 pm to 9 am every weekday).
I loved news and developed a real liking to being off camera and making newscasts my own until a co-worker asked me if I would look back on my life and regret not going for my original dream. I knew in my heart that the answer was “yes.”
WPLG is a nurturing place. Nothing was handed to me, but they encouraged me to keep honing my skills. After working all night, I would stay behind, get dressed up, and record demos to show my bosses. I felt the familiar twinge of rejection whenever I heard them say, “Nice. Keep working on it.”
One day, I finally got the chance I had worked so hard for. Fill-in opportunities became a full-time contract, and eight years later I am still at WPLG, working in my hometown that I absolutely adore, surrounded by my family & friends. When days are long, I remind myself how lucky I am & how none of this would be possible without a strong support system and the strength to overcome & adapt to changing circumstances.
Please tell us more about what you do, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am a general assignment reporter, which basically means I cover anything and everything that goes on in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. (Even Palm Beach & Monroe counties sometimes, and beyond!) The types of stories I’ve covered run the gamut.
The stories I do are sometimes stories I pitch, sometimes they’re follow-ups of stories we’ve done before, sometimes we get ideas from social media & things people are talking about (social media is the new “water cooler”), sometimes we get official notice from police departments or other official agencies, sometimes it’s police/fire/first responder radio transmissions that tip us off to something, sometimes it’s from viewers themselves, and sometimes it comes from the sources & relationships that we cultivate.
It’s really an incredible thing to be part of WPLG. “Channel 10” has been referred to by many names over the years, but the station’s stellar reputation remains the same. Our “My Future, My Choice” initiative focuses on empowering young people to take control of their lives for the better. After Hurricane Irma, we instituted an incredible CareForce that mobilized donations for those in the most desperate need.
In the wake of the recent death of our colleague Todd Tongen by suicide, our station spent an entire week creating stories & special reports focused on ending the stigma of mental illness. The goal was to “save one life”, and the feedback has been so positive.
Local 10’s commitment to the community really stands out to me, from the efforts I just mentioned, to our consumer reports & investigations; these are things we do for the betterment of our community – a community that all of our reporters and anchors and photojournalists and all of us that work at Local 10 are a part of as well!
Local 10 also makes it a point to hire lots of reporters with connections to South Florida. I’ve lived and worked in South Florida my entire life. For others, South Florida is their hometown. It’s amazing to also work with people who come in with different perspectives & points of view, but it’s also valuable to have people who know the area they’re covering inside and out because they’ve lived it. I consider it an asset. And incredibly, I still find myself learning new things about this amazing place every day.
Lastly, I would say that after almost 10 years at Local 10, this really feels like a “home away from home”. The relationships I’ve built and the friendships I’ve made I will keep for a lifetime. Some friends who have already left to pursue bigger and better things are still people I talk to on a daily basis. I am blessed.
What’s your outlook for the industry over the next 5-10 years?
For a long time, the industry has been shifting more and more towards the web, and that continues to be the case. It’s why so many of our resources are spent focusing coverage online, on Local10.com, on social media & beyond.
It’s why our anchors and meteorologists record Alexa & Google Home news updates multiple times a day. It’s why you can find our newscasts on apps like NewsOn which allow you to stream them live on your cell phone, or watch them later like you would on DVR. It’s why we have extended coverage on Election Days that you can only find online.
It’s not about “appointment television” anymore. In the 90s, you knew you had to be in front of the TV at 6 p.m. to watch the news, and if you missed it (or forgot to record it on your VCR) then you just had to wait for the 11 p.m. news. Now, it’s about watching what you want, when you want it, and the options are endless.
It’s about immediacy and interactivity. It’s what makes Facebook Live such a popular tool.
Aside from the continued shift to digital, the industry also will continue to streamline. You no longer need large satellite trucks to transmit a live signal (although most stations still use them). For example, we have something called a LiveU that you can plug your camera into which allows you to transmit an HD signal from anywhere and they’re tiny! Most of ours are the size of a small backpack, but even those are outdated now. They’re getting smaller and smaller all the time.
Lastly, the growth of large media companies and the slow death of the traditional newspaper (largely in part because of the digital boom) is resulting in more and more towns in America losing local news.
It’s a sad fact that trust in the press has been declining over the decades, BUT a Poynter Institute survey from last year shows the great majority of Americans DO trust local news. (Here’s the survey I’m referencing: https://www.poynter.org/ethics-trust/2018/finally-some-good-news-trust-in-news-is-up-especially-for-local-media/)
Local news helps keeps officials accountable. Local news helps people know to see and understand their communities. Local news helps document our history. Local news, at it’s best, can be a voice for the voiceless. The future in many aspects is uncertain, but it’s crucial that local journalism find the best way to stay alive, for all of our sakes.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @LianeWPLG & @Local10News
- Twitter: @LianeWPLG, @
WPLGLocal10 - Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LianeWPLG http://www.facebook.com/WPLGLocal10
- Website: https://www.local10.com/author/lianemorejon
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Roman Lloyd
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