Washington Business Journal Reporter Tristan Navera says Ohio University and WOUB opened up many career opportunities for him

Tristan Navera is working as a print journalist in Washington D.C. for the Washington Business Journal. Even though he is not a broadcaster, Navera says he uses the skills he learned working as a student for WOUB Public Media.

“The way that we tell stories is evolving, and the way we reach people is changing all the time,” said Navera. “I use my WOUB skills here all the time. I do a ton of podcasts now. TV news organizations bring me on their programs as an expert. I do a lot more public speaking than I thought I would have. Having those skills goes a long way. You don’t naturally have those skills, and they must be specifically honed. WOUB is where I started learning all those skills.”

Navera grew up in the Cincinnati area and chose Ohio University after visiting campus and feeling a connection along with its strong journalism program. Since his interest was in being a print journalist, Navera started working for The Post. But during his junior year, he decided to also spend some time working at WOUB.

“I wanted to broaden my skillset,” said Navera. “My first internship was at WHIO TV in Dayton and while I was there I learned the value in gaining TV journalism skills to diversify my career opportunities.”

Navera got involved doing AM radio newscasts at WOUB and spent a lot of time working with Fred Kight, WOUB’s former assistant news director.

“Fred was very passionate about his work and the mission and responsibility of public radio reporting,” said Navera. “Fred taught me a lot about journalism.”

After graduation, Navera worked for the Columbus Dispatch as part of a fellowship program covering statehouse politics. Eventually, he was hired by the Dayton Business Journal.

“I oversaw the health care beat, including health systems, Medicaid managed care plans and research,” said Navera. “My stories showed how health policy can impact larger business and social concerns alike.”

After nearly five years in Dayton, Navera moved to Columbus for a position at Columbus Business First where he covered real estate and development trends. Navera’s focus on real estate reporting led him to his current position at the Washington Business Journal where he covers the commercial real estate industry across the Washington D.C. metro area.

“In this role, I have been offered a $500 speaking fee to moderate panels,” said Navera. “If I hadn’t started developing those public speaking skills at WOUB, it is not something I would have been able to do well.”

Navera is still very involved with The Post, as the president of The Post Alumni Society. He says he shares the value of his WOUB experience with current students working at The Post.

“I encourage them to learn all kinds of multimedia skills because it’s really useful,” said Navera. “I tell them that they will find their journalism career will take them a lot of unexpected places. The more skills developed at the baseline, like you can get at WOUB, the more opportunities you can take.”

About WOUB Public Media

As a member station of both NPR and PBS, WOUB Public Media is a trusted source of news, local content and educational resources that have proven to be worthy of the time, effort and support of our users. WOUB, an experiential-learning unit of the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University, is a non-profit, community-supported multimedia organization which provides online and broadcast services, along with non-broadcast educational services and student professional development. WOUB serves 55 counties throughout southeastern Ohio, western West Virginia and eastern Kentucky with its broadcast signals. WOUB Radio’s FM Network has transmitters in Athens, Chillicothe, Ironton, Zanesville and Cambridge, while WOUB AM serves the immediate Athens area. WOUB TV is made up of seven television channels (WOUB HD, WOUB Classic, WOUB World, WOUB Create, WOUB Ohio, WOUB Kids and WOUB Voicecorps Reading Service) which are broadcast from two transmitters.

Through its support of public service, teaching, research and administrative missions, along with its high-quality local content and programming, WOUB enriches, enhances and expands the lives and horizons of the people in the communities it serves, as well as Ohio University faculty, staff and students.