NPR

On a rainy Friday in April, our group took a trip to tour NPR’s headquarters off Capitol Hill. To no surprise, it was definitely one of my favorite study tours as a journalism nerd-- but also, a favorite of the group as well. Our tour, led (appropriately) by a former NPR intern, showed us a glimpse of a respected career space with an evident ‘millennial’ influence-- a possible view into the future of public service careers as well?

We began our tour with a view of the rooftop greenery, something that truly astonished our group. Despite being in the middle of D.C.’s  version of ‘skyscrapers’ on Capitol Hill, NPR hosts an urban green space on their fourth floor roof. The green space is home to year long plants, satellites, and honeybees. The soil system for the plants helps aid in storm water management, rainwater filtering, as well as contributing to the cooling of the general area around the building. Although D.C. isn’t quite the concrete jungle you see in New York City or Los Angeles, the green space is certainly refreshing living in a city of marble and stone.

After touring the newsroom from a balcony above the open-air office space, our guide led us around a corner full of pop-culture decorated cubicles. We walked quickly through a hallway, which looked a lot like a small-scale bookstore. Records, CDs, and books lined the walls on bleach-white shelves that stretched toward the ceiling. As we entered another room (still near a view of the office space down below), we quickly realized we were in the ‘audience’ space for the Tiny Desk Concert Series. An announcement confirmed our sentiment over the loudspeaker, “Dahka Brakha is starting in 5 minutes, you need to come upstairs, it’s gonna be awesome-- don’t miss it.” We had the opportunity to hear a traditional Ukrainian folk band up close and personal with the rest of the NPR staff. Not only was the performance phenomenal, but the opportunity to witness the Tiny Desk Concerts that many of us watch religiously from home was unbelievable as well.

Our tour ended with walk-throughs of the news and broadcast rooms, where we were even able to snap a few action shots in the seats! Our group thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in the gift shop afterwards-- probably the only study tour where every single one of us found something to buy at the end. The chance to see the inner workings of a media outlet most of us have followed for years was incredible, especially seeing the working environment and culture that they have created.

-Michelle K. Fugate