Kassidy Arena named Rising Star in Public Media
Photo: Grant Gerlock
COLUMBIA, Mo. (Aug. 1, 2023) — Kassidy Arena, BJ ’20, was named a Rising Star in Public Media by Current, a widely-read trade journal covering the public broadcasting industry, in an announcement this morning. Arena, the engagement producer at the Missouri School of Journalism’s NPR-member station, KBIA-FM, is one of 22 winners nationwide out of 238 nominees.
“Kassidy’s commitment to quality local news was evident during her time as a student, and her skills have only continued to develop since she became a staff member at KBIA,” said David Kurpius, dean of the School of Journalism. “Our community appreciates her great work, and this recognition is evidence that the wider industry is taking notice, too.”
The honor comes just over a year after Arena joined KBIA as a professional staff member, following a stint at Iowa Public Radio with Report for America post-graduation. She also served as a podcast producer at KBIA as a student, hosting and producing “Exam,” a weekly education show, and the talk show “Intersection.”
“I think a lot of people can relate to impostor syndrome, and this award really helps validate the work that I’m doing,” said Arena, who is also a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. “It’s nice to know that all the hard work I’ve put in has been noticed. We don’t go into journalism to be noticed or win awards, but that doesn’t take away the honor when you do win something.”
It’s nice to know that all the hard work I’ve put in has been noticed. We don’t go into journalism to be noticed or win awards, but that doesn’t take away the honor when you do win something.
Kassidy Arena
Arena, whose story on teenage ice skaters in mid-Missouri was featured on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” in June, credited colleagues and leadership at KBIA for giving her the support to create work that is meaningful not only to the community, but to herself as a journalist.
“I’ve really been given such a wide bandwidth to experiment and really go for the things I’m passionate about,” she said. “Whenever I bring an idea, it’s encouraged not just within my own newsroom, but in other newsrooms like the Missourian and Missouri Business Alert that also pick up the stories. There is this wider support platform that helps me feel like I can pitch these new, different ideas and be acknowledged for that work.”
Janet Saidi, the long-form audio producer at KBIA and an assistant professor, said that support goes both ways.
“Since her time as a Journalism student producer at KBIA, Kassidy has pushed us forward with her tremendous energy, dedication and ideas,” Saidi said. “She is all about listening to and serving our community and listeners, and that interaction — learning from the community and helping communities tell their own stories — is her motivation and her passion. It is exciting to know that the future of public radio media is in excellent hands with dedicated journalists like Kassidy.”
Updated: August 1, 2023