Annie Shreffler

About

In my nearly 15 years at GBH, I have enjoyed the mentorship of many talented people, acquired much experience as a live-streaming, video and engagement event producer, and I have developed my storytelling skills through the lens of digital-first video and photography. I was a young mom raising two children in New York City when the (now named) Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism opened. I became a student again in the CUNY system and learned interactive journalism. Although the school was still developing much of its curriculum, the time I spent there transformed me into a mobile reporter and gave me the foundation to become a media producer. As an intern I learned crowdsource reporting with reporters at The Huffington Post, where I curated stories about the 2008 election for “Off The Bus,” and at my first job for WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show. There I developed a digital-first project to take a deep look at the 2008 economic crisis and how it was affecting people’s daily lives. We called it “Your Uncommon Economic Indicators” and it quickly became one of the most trusted series in New York City reporting on the unfolding financial meltdown. Those experiences expanded my reporter's toolbox and my belief that news organizations can conduct reporting as co-creators with an audience and deliver a more comprehensive story with a powerful impact. With today's online and mobile resources, there are so many ways to gather stories--and more opportunities to surface new voices.Most of my years at GBH have been spent at The Forum Network. It's a dynamic video library of the public speaking events we document around Boston, covering the issues on people’s minds, from climate change to housing to new discoveries in science and technology. I have also produced video interviews for GBH News and covered events such as the Boston Marathon as a photographer.Briefly, I had the privilege of leading our newsroom in collaborative journalism projects, such as "Have Your Say: Gov. Healey's First 100 Days" and "Politics IRL," where reporters were willing to involve the public in the storytelling process. Most recently, I have helped develop a community host program called GBH Amplifies, where we identify hyperlocal media makers and features them and their work by creating an opportunity for them to conduct interviews on a GBH stage, in front of a studio audience. Follow me and my public media adventures with @annieshreff on social platforms.