CNA journalism graduate has made his mark in the news world and is hosting a brand new radio show which covers most of the province.
Kicker
Cameron Kilfoy
Being a great listener, always being credible and unwavering dedication is how he worked his way off the Kicker homepage and into the host’s chair of a brand-new CBC Radio 1 show.
Martin Jones, a former student of College of the North Atlantic’s journalism program, has began a new chapter in his career.
Jones gained a love for the craft in high school, deciding journalism was the path he wanted to take. But it wasn’t until years later, after life had taken him down a different route, that Jones decided to do the post-diploma program on campus at the college.
“I was always really curious about people, about stories and about finding answers to the thing’s that’s were going on,” said Jones. “There are many reasons why journalism is the suit for me.”
Learning to go back to school he said was hard after 17 years, but the challenge intrigued him. Jones relearned how to write notes and how to study for exams.
Jones was facing the challenges of becoming a new student, but picking where he was going to receive his education was not one of those challenges. Jones wanted to become a reporter here in Newfoundland, and with the college’s reputation and their training, they gave him the foundation he needed in the province that he planned to work in.
“It’s honestly one of the best things I’ve ever done,” said Jones.
Jones did the one-year accelerated post-diploma program on campus starting in September 2016 and graduating the following year in 2017. He said the program wasn’t easy, teaching him about unforgiving deadlines among other things. He said the program helped him lay down the skill set he needed for the profession.
“It was the best training I could possibly have at that point to do the job that I am doing now,” said Jones.
He says the experience at the college helped him develop a great sense of his strengths and weaknesses. Becoming close with one of his instructors, Jonathon Crowe, Jones considers him a bit of a mentor with helping him get to where he is today.
Crowe, along with the other journalism instructors, gave Jones the tools he needed and let him take it from there.
“He just had all the raw material to be a broadcaster,” said Crowe. “He just could listen to people and be interested in stories, and had a great on-air persona.”
Being hired right out of your internship is virtually unheard of said Crowe. Stating that months after Martin graduated he was already filling in for long-established broadcasters. Crowe says it is a gratifying feeling to see how far he has come and it is a significant milestone for the CNA journalism program.
“It’s amazing to see how far he has come, he only graduated in 2017, and it is gratifying to see how well he is doing, this a big job and a big deal for Martin,” said Crowe.
Jones knew he wanted a career where he didn’t have to pick between print, video or audio. He wanted to do it all, and since the third day of his training, he has been doing all three almost every day.
Since beginning his career, he says it is everything the job is made out to be and still challenges him every day to learn more about the craft.
“It is something that I have wanted to do for many, many decades,” says Jones.
CBC Newfoundland Morning will cover the entire province off the Avalon Peninsula and some parts of southern Labrador. The show will be co-hosted by CBC’s Bernice Hillier, the current host of the Corner Brook morning show. The new show will cover current affairs, important community stories and breaking news – along with, sports, weather, traffic, and music.
Jones doesn’t want people to look at this as the loss of two shows, but the beginning of a new and improved radio show.
“We’re combing shows to make one show, now we have twice the amount of team, we can cover twice the amount of ground when it comes to getting out from behind our desks and going into the communities and meeting people face to face,” said Jones.
As his career continues, Jones doesn’t want to fade too far from the reporting side of things and says with being a host he gets to do both, which is a real luxury in his eyes. As a reporter he wants to continue to tell the stories of the listeners in the community. He believes those stories are the ones that connect with people on a profound level.
Jones advice to new reporters is to really listen when you’re meeting with subjects, and to always be credible. He believes those are traits any new reporter should carry.
“Really listen, anyone can just write down what someone says but it’s their body language or how they say it and that’s what you have to look out for, a good reporter really listens and not only hears,” said Jones.
CBC’s Newfoundland Morning Show has its first broadcast Oct. 29.
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