Our interview last week was with DorMiya Vance, a North Carolina native and reporter for WABE-FM, the NPR affiliate in Atlanta. She’s also a part of Report for America, a non-profit that helps train and pay the salaries of reporters all across the country.
What makes DorMiya distinct is that she didn’t have any radio experience prior to starting at WABE. Her prior experience had been in print journalism. But she’s adapted, as journalists have to do in 2025. Now she’s done everything from host a local mayor’s roundtable to cover LGBTQ issues to reporting on important news stories within the city.
The answers below have been edited for length and clarity. Longer answers to those questions and others, as well as her salute to a prominent Black journalist in history, can be found within the episode itself. We’ll be spotlighting Black journalists several times during Black History Month, as we’ve done in previous years. Hope you’ll listen!
What kind of transition was it like for you to go from print to radio?
It was a little jarring because print with all the Details you get to include, you can write for days. But radio, it's about being more concise.
When I first started at WABE, I was nervous because I've got a southern accent and when people hear me on the radio, they might not think I'm as intelligent, with the stereotypes around southern folks. I was really nervous about that.
But WABE was such a welcoming space that the transition, though a little jarring, wasn't as uncomfortable as it could have been because they were really accepting. My initial boss was Susanna Capelouto. She's at NPR now, but she was really helpful when it came to getting comfortable with having an accent because she's Italian. And so it was like, I'm working with this lady that has a thick accent too.
Thanks for reading The Journalism Salute Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it.
What's the process of writing and and voicing pieces like for you?
Day to day it's gotten easier since the beginning. I'm getting better at editing because for me, the print (journalist) wants to come out sometimes and I may write a little bit longer than I need to, or include one too many details because I want to be as accurate as possible.
But now I know what is expected of me. I know how my stories may turn out. I can plan out and prioritize my bigger or longer stories a little bit better now in tracking them because I embrace my accent so much more now.
I have been told that I sound like a real person on the radio. I sound warm. I don't care anymore about whether or not my accent comes out because now, you know where I'm from. I'm from the south and you know what you're going to get.
What was the value of an HBCU education for you?
Going to Fayetteville State was an honor because I always wanted to go to an HBCU. I always wanted to go to a HBCU to be around folks that look like me and to have that opportunity to know how to navigate different spaces when it comes to being a black woman.
Going to an HBCU was very vital to like my journalism career and my skills, because I started out working at the school newspaper, gradually working my way up. Having that space of other people that are just as determined as I am, but they also look like me was really something I really needed to give me that push to enter the corporate space.
How's Report for America been helpful for you?
They've been really helpful through a lot of the training that they offer for things like open records request, how to look into court cases, how to cover trans policy.
My regional manager, Maria Elena Fernandez: She’s really supportive and makes sure she stays in contact with me. We have check-ins monthly.
She's very supportive when it comes down to making sure I get what I need from my newsroom.
How has being a journalist impacted you as a person and how you view the world?
I'm very skeptical of everything. Like, I'm always asking why about different things around me.
Being a journalist is a part of that but also it's innately in me, based off conversations I've had with my therapist and learning different things about how my brain works. Being a little bit different has helped me in how I approach the world. I'm always curious and I feel like there's more to something than what just meets the eye.
Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to [email protected]
Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org
Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)
Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social
Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com