Riley Edenbeck during a demonstration for the Carolina News & Reporter photographers
By Greta Solsaa
Riley Edenbeck, a recent graduate at the University of South Carolina, spent nearly three months of her senior spring semester researching and writing about the highly addictive, yet unregulated kratom and kava-infused energy tonic, called Feel Free bottled by Broken Arrow, Oklahoma-based Biotonic Tonics.
Edenbeck spent months connecting with company representatives and speaking with people dealing with addiction to the tonic to bring public attention to the potential risks of the substance sold at convenience stores surrounding her campus and across the country. Edenbeck's article, completed through the journalism capstone experience at the University of South Carolina, was in April in The Carolina News and Reporter.
“It was a very rewarding project because I was dealing with something on a nationwide scale that a lot of people care very deeply about,” said Edenbeck. “Every single step of the process was a learning opportunity.”
After the article was published, Edenbeck was notified by the founder of Botanic Tonics that he decided to of the Feel Free from 18 to 21 years old.
While Edenbeck believes the dangerous impacts of the tonic should receive more coverage, her story reached a greater audience through a newly-formed news-academic partnership between South Carolina Public Radio and the journalism department at the University of South Carolina.
Along with being featured on South Carolina’s NPR affiliate, Edenbeck's story was published by the University of South Carolina’s journalism department’s online news outlet the . Upperclassmen enrolled in the University of South Carolina’s Multimedia journalism capstone program are expected to work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., five days a week producing written short-form and in-depth stories for the outlet.
“Our program is very rare on a nationwide scale [in] that we get this simulated newsroom experience,” said Edenbeck. “It was my first experience of what a newsroom setting is going to feel like, and what those deadlines are going to feel like and what the real expectations are when I go into [the journalism] field.”
Brandon Shulleeta, professor and editor of in-depth stories for the Carolina News & Reporter, said that while he welcomes questions with patience, students are held to the same standards as working journalists in a newsroom.
“At the end of the day, we are expecting the ultimate product to be professional level,” said Shulleeta. “I think having that expectation for them really helps to get them ready for becoming journalists and [be] in a good spot to start producing great work right out the gate when they get their first, full time job out of college.”
Eileen Waddell, instructor and editor of short-form stories for the Carolina News & Reporter, said that along with skills in written and broadcast journalism, students build lasting bonds with their peers.
"One of the things that I think is also important to the program is it has a good sense of community," said Waddell. “It's amazing how [students] will come together and help one another, rather than throw elbows and compete. They realize that they're working or working for the same team, and everyone wants everyone else to succeed.”
And, succeed they do. University of South Carolina students regularly win South Carolina Press Association awards, along with accruing several awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Another asset of the program is that the state capital city of Columbia is right out their front door, so students often are reporting on stories of widespread interest.
“[Students] get to touch national news that has happened in South Carolina,” said Waddell. “The joke among a lot of journalists in South Carolina is that South Carolina punches above its weight on the national stage news-wise, and I think it's really true, so that also gives students a unique experience.”
Shulleeta said that the program is valued by the University of South Carolina, and students are attracted to the school for the journalism learning opportunities it offers.
“Everything that [students] are learning early on is going to lead up to being able to have this true newsroom environment with professors who have a lot of professional experience and hopefully [they] have a chance to produce incredible work that could be award winning journalism,” said Shulleeta.
Edenbeck said that the mentorship offered by Shulleeta and Waddell as teachers with extensive journalism experience was invaluable.
“They were always willing to help and provide ideas for stories, ideas for sources, and an interesting angle,” said Edenbeck. “They just have a pulse on what's going on in the city and what needs to be talked about.”
Shulleeta and Waddell are working on offering podcasting training for students and are excited to see how the partnership between South Carolina Public Radio and potentially other outlets grow in coming semesters.
Waddell said that her ultimate goal of the capstone program is that students learn and have fun.
“It's immersive, and deadlines are unrelenting, so you get a feel for the job, but you also get a feel for what kind of fun you can have in the newsroom” said Waddell. “The best thing I think we can do is run [students] through the journalistic, the ethical, and the legal traps, teaching how to do good work, but also how to have a good time.”
In-text image caption: Waddell and student journalists in the Carolina News & Reporter Newsroom