Breen Uses Experience to Become Influential Journalist
Daniel Breen is heard on air with KUAR public radio frequency 89.1. Breen says that the most enjoyable part of his job includes speaking to to listeners across the state. “It’s pretty cool that people in Pine Bluff, Conway and really all over the world can listen to the news that we’ve all worked hard to write,” Breen said. “There’s also a really great feeling of satisfaction that comes with finishing a story after putting a lot of work into it and having double-checked everything.” (photo courtesy of Daniel Breen)
Once a school news editor on the Tiger, KUAR radio host and reporter Daniel Breen has turned his experience into a real journalism career.
After graduating from Central, Breen originally planned on studying classical guitar performance at the University of Memphis with a full ride. After remembering his love for writing and journalism, he transferred to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) to complete a Bachelor’s degree in mass communication with an emphasis on journalism.
“Working on the Tiger definitely gave me my first real taste of real-world journalism. It taught me how to be a good interviewer and really how to write in the style that’s expected of you in journalism,” Breen said. “We also learned a lot of the history behind it, which has definitely come in handy.”
Breen now works for KUAR, a public radio station licenced to UALR.
“I’m a reporter and a host, which means I write the news then read it live on the air during our afternoon newscasts. I’m also involved in Arkansas Public Media, a regional nonprofit journalism collaboration between all the public radio stations across the state,” Breen said. “At KUAR I also a produce a lot of our original programming, and I do a lot of freelance production work for podcasts and different media companies.”
Though Breen enjoys his job, every job comes with its downsides.
“I have something like 15,000 unread emails in my inbox, all press releases and spam,” he said.
Breen believes that with growing forms of social and online media journalism provides an essential part of today’s society.
“Journalism’s important because it really is a check and balance on certain aspects of our political system,” Breen said. “It’s really the only job outside of the political system itself where you’re tasked with explaining what’s happening in government and how it will affect all citizens.”
