Lights, Camera, Action! For news reportersthat’s a saying they hear daily at their news station. Getting the opportunity to tell so many different stories and learn about everything that is happening in the world is what interested KOLR 10 news reporter Linda Ong.

“Ever since I was little, I have always been the chatterbox, and I love storytelling,” she said. “I was always the child who actually enjoyed learning and watching the news.”

Ong grew up in the busy state of New York, then attended UC Riverside for her undergraduate’s degree and Columbia University for her graduate’s degree, majoring in journalism and doing different internships and extracurricular activities to help lengthen her resumé. To begin her career, she started out as a fellow at NBC’s Nightly News and worked as a researcher for Today Show’s Weekend Edition. Now, after about two and a half years, she is a news reporter for KOLR10 in Lake of the Ozarks but living in Springfield.

“My favorite part of my job is the field reporting,” she said. “I love getting to hear from the people themselves and hearing the story from them.”

Each day, she has to pitch story ideas, receive stories, cover stories and go to the occasional meeting. Ong explained there is not much competition with other journalists because it is really all about the viewers and what they seem to enjoy.

“For those who want to pursue this career, my main suggestion is just getting your feet wet,” she said.

When trying to make it as a broadcast journalist, Ong’s big tip is to get involved in as many internships as you can and learn everything about the media. Don’t just learn about being in front of the camera, learn about being behind the scenes and the public relations aspect of it all, as well.