Joy Robertson

I'm approaching my twelve year anniversary at KOLR10, and truly feel like the Ozarks is home. It nearly is - I was born and raised in Russellville, Arkansas.

I am a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and earned my Master's
degree in Journalism at the University of Missouri. After graduating from U of A, I
worked for several years in television production in the Little Rock area.

When I realized what a news junkie I was, I decided to take a shot at journalism and
applied to the University of Missouri's graduate program. They turned me down the first time, but I made it in when I re-applied and WHAT A Deal!  I got a whole new career after a year and a half of grad school.

The best part of J-School was my semester in the Washington Reporting Program. As a Washington Fellow I spent my semester at ABC News' PrimeTime Live working on
investigation, and "Waste in Washington" stories with correspondent Sam Donaldson. He and the staff at ABC included me on everything from research and interviews to writing and editing. At that time, Sam's portion of PrimeTime came out of the Washington bureau, and Diane Sawyer did her part in New York. It was a very exciting experience for me.

I would have loved to continue to work behind the scenes at PrimeTime, but Sam encouraged me to look for an on-air position. I'm glad I took his advice - I've been working on air ever since, and truly enjoy my work!

For the last several years I've been shooting my own stories that I call "Personal Portraits."

I shoot these stories with a small camcorder, so they have a sort of intimate feel to them. (I don't do it because I have to, by the way ? I do it because I enjoy it!)  I'm amazed at how people relax and open up when it's just me, the subject and a tiny camera. It's as if they forget it's there. I capture so many off-the-cuff comments and nuances of the 'real' person this way, and I've met some of the most fascinating people shooting these stories!   From the operating room to the campaign trail to overseas - I carry the camcorder nearly everywhere I go just in case I find a story and we ALL know there's a
story anywhere we look.

Check out my work at:
www.ozarksfirst.com/content/personalportraits

When I'm not at the station, I enjoy spending time with my husband, two daughters and two cats, Chcolates and Rachael.  I enjoy reading, writing, digital photography and videography, channel-surfing for news and documentary programs, playing drums and hanging out with our friends on our giant backyard patio.
 
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