About Andrew Phelps
Andrew Phelps covers the future of news for the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University. He is the inventor of Fuego, a magical app (and Twitter feed) for keeping up with the journalism world. Andrew’s background is in public radio, having reported for WBUR in Boston and KPBS in San Diego. Andrew earned a B.A. in political science from U.C. San Diego and an A.A. in journalism from Palomar College. He grew up in the foothills north of San Diego and lives in Cambridge, Mass.
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Staff Writer, Nieman Journalism Lab
Nieman Foundation for Journalism, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. (March 2011–Present)
Media reporter for the leading authority on news innovation, specializing in public broadcasting, media literacy, and disruptive technology. Co-manager of @NiemanLab. Inventor of Fuego, a robot that mines social media for the most interesting links in journalism. Citizen of the Internet. Spotter and creator of trends. Data journalist. Spanish speaker.
Developer & Co-Founder, Audiofiles
Cambridge, Mass. (November 2011–Present)
Designed, developed a website and purpose-built network for sharing great radio stories. (Read about it at Nieman Lab.)
Reporter/Senior Producer/Project Manager, WBUR
Boston (September 2008–March 2011)
Led the digital-first transition for a large public radio newsroom. Chief architect of wbur.org, the first website to integrate NPR’s API; managed a team of five and launched in five months. Developed standards, best practices for Web publishing. Trained and supported an 80-person news staff. Authored the station’s first style guide. Managed social media strategy. Founding host of Hubbub, a daily news blog about “what’s happening now in Boston.” Adapted original web stories for FM broadcast weekly.
Reporter/Anchor, KPBS
San Diego (July 2006–August 2008)
Radio journalist, local anchor of “Weekend Edition.” Fill-in host, producer of “Morning Edition.” Produced extensive national reporting on the 2007 Southern California wildfires for NPR. Founding fellow of The Jacobs Project for Reporting Excellence, a multiplatform training program. Helped develop standards, best practices for newsroom convergence. Contributed frequently to NPR newscasts and the national business program “Marketplace.”
Freelance Reporter, North County Times
Escondido, Calif. (January 2005–July 2006)
Business reporter. Author of a weekly series profiling innovative executives in the San Diego area.
What people are saying about Andrew Phelps
Andrew brings an authentic voice to radio, with a writer’s gift and a wide creative streak. His tech-savvy youth and abundant news experience make him a great long-term prospect.
–Michael Marcotte,
President, PRNDI (2006-7)
News Director, KPBS (1995-2007)
I’ve worked with countless traditional media outlets on the transition into a multi-platform arena and can say that Andrew is the rare example of someone with the clarity and focus to develop training ideals, guidelines and standards.
– Keri Buscaglia,
Consultant, Frank N. Magid Associates
Andrew is a versatile and talented reporter. His on air work–both as a reporter and as an anchor–is dependably good, and he is effective in live, on-the-spot situations as well as in the studio.
–Doug Myrland,
General Manager, KPBS (1991-2008)
Andrew Phelps is one of the most talented journalists I have worked with in a long time. He has a natural ability to tell a story. Andrew knows how to use his voice, he understands the rythm of language, and he knows how important good characters are in story telling.
–Joanne Faryon,
Producer, Reporter, CBC (1993-2001)
Andrew produced exemplary work at KPBS. Whether anchoring a newscast/airshift or producing a story, Andrew made information accessible to the listener. Where appropriate Andrew let his personality shine through and provided information using an entertaining approach.
–Kathryn Nelson,
Operations Manager, KPBS