Adame is an award-winning bilingual journalist with more than 17 years’ experience working in journalism as a reporter and editor. Prior to joining KUNR, she worked at MPR News in St. Paul, Minnesota as the station’s Latino community reporter and is fluent in Spanish.
She answered a few questions about her career in public radio, the direction she’s leading the newsroom, and why she decided to make the move out West.
You’ve worked in public radio for many years. What attracted you to the profession, and what motivates you to continue this work?
I’m a former print journalist and also worked for digital news sites. But I fell in love with radio when I was doing my master’s at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. I’ve been doing radio full-time now, for the past couple of years. Before coming here, I covered the Latino community for MPR. Radio allows you to hear a person’s voice, their emotions and it allows you to take the listener there through the natural sound. There are so many stories to tell. And we have the opportunity to tell them using this medium that is so portable. You can listen to public radio anywhere.
As KUNR’s news editor, you’ll be guiding our news team. What kind of coverage can our listeners expect in the months to come?
We’ll be focusing on more long form packages. Stories that are sound rich and allow our listeners to learn more about the different cultures that call Reno and Northern Nevada home. And we’re also looking to expand our bilingual coverage. We hope to have something new on that front in the fall. We’ve expanded our political coverage by adding the weekly show Purple Politics Nevada.
This is your first time living in Nevada — what are your initial impressions of the Biggest Little City?
I moved here from St. Paul, MN but I’m a California native. Reno is great. I’m constantly discovering new things. I love being so close to Sierra Nevada. Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming. And of course, I welcome recommendations on the best Mexican food and panaderias in town.
Is a hot dog a sandwich, why or why not?
HA! I’d say it depends on the country. Because in Mexico, for example, you can find hot dogs made with so many ingredients and the bun is not the traditional hot dog bun we’re used to here in the States.
