Earlier this fall, “St. Louis on the Air” online producer Kelly Moffitt got some great news: She’d just been awarded a fellowship recognizing digital journalists under 30 whose work “represents the best in new media.”

An online producer for St. Louis Public Radio until this past week, Kelly Moffitt was recently awarded a fellowship from the Online News Association. (Photo by Hany Hawasly)

One of just three 2017 MJ Bear Fellowship recipients in the world, Moffitt recently discussed the connections between the new honor, her investment in local storytelling and her work at St. Louis Public Radio | 90.7 KWMU, a service of the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

“Working here gave me space to learn how to produce audio,” said Moffitt, who last week departed the station to take on a new role as a producer for StoryCorps. “That would not have been possible without the grace and smarts of my colleagues Mary Edwards, Alex Heuer and Aaron Doerr, who took the time out of their packed schedules to train me.

“Daily talk show production also gave me the chance to dig deep into local communities to find stories that would resonate in conversation.”

Moffitt started a local chapter of the Online News Association, which awarded the fellowship, alongside St. Louis Post-Dispatch developer Andrew Nguyen. Each month the two organize monthly meetings for more than 80 St. Louis-based digital journalists.

For more information about Moffitt’s efforts at St. Louis Public Radio and beyond, see the story by Dawn Fels on the St. Louis Public Radio website.