Sarah Self-Walbrick: Hey, y’all. I’m Sarah Self-Walbrick, former news director here at Texas Tech Public Media. I’m returning to the studio today to talk with reporter Bishop Van Buren, who is sadly leaving the station for a new opportunity. We’re here to recap his time in public media.
Bishop, how are you doing today?
Bishop Van Buren: I’m doing good. I wish I had something a little bit more cheerful to talk about with you today.
SSW: Well, it’s OK. I’m good with reflecting, which is the point of today’s conversation.
You first joined Texas Tech Public Media as an intern exactly around the time that I was departing in 2023. Tell me a little bit about how you’ve seen the station evolve since you joined.
BVB: There’s been a lot of significant change — not only to KTTZ, but Texas Tech Public Media as a whole. I was grateful to join the organization at a time when there were a lot of media veterans who have since gone on to new ventures, and they were able to teach me a lot when I started. I’m very appreciative of that.
Now we’re at a point where this organization has a lot of fresh perspectives and youth, and still an outstanding level of commitment to serving the Lubbock community. With our interns now, I’ve enjoyed sort of passing on my knowledge and everything that was taught to me, and embracing a bit of a mentorship role of my own.
SSW: You were referred to work here by your former professor, Julia Sewing, who longtime listeners will remember as our former Morning Edition host and a producer. She’s also one of my dearest friends.
Now I am a teacher in the College of Media and Communication and frequently refer my students to come intern at Texas Tech Public Media. So tell us a little bit about that full-circle moment of getting to start here as an intern and now getting to inspire the current interns.
BVB: Yeah, to start off, thank you very much for hiring me in the first place and having such a good working relationship with Julia, in which she was able to sort of notice my skills and potential, refer me to work here, and I’ve been happy to be working with my co-reporters, Brad and Samantha since.
I also take a lot of pride in the fact that that networking circle that you and Julia had going on — I’m not the first or last reporter who is not only going to contribute to public media, but is going to have a pretty successful journalism career.
Off the top of my head, our former intern Toluwani Osibamawo is still doing great work for public media and KERA in Dallas. And then just another name, Jane Davenport, who I had so many classes with — she’s gone on to report for TV stations all over the country, namely Kentucky and, I think now, Las Vegas.
SSW: I actually got my start here as an intern as well, way back in, I believe it was 2017, before I came and joined the team full time to help build out the local newsroom. So I have that same kind of pipeline of going from student to professional in this newsroom — and what an opportunity that was for both of us and for so many other people, which is always really cool to see.
You are currently the only Texas Tech journalism graduate working full time in the newsroom. How would you say that your local school experience has helped you in this position?
BVB: You know, Julia referred me to work here. As a professor of mine, I thought Julia was tremendous in helping me refine my skills and become a better journalist. But I’d also attribute a lot of my, I’d say, qualifications upon working here, to my time I spent at The Daily Toreador, Texas Tech’s student newspaper — one of many organizations that the College of Media and Communication provides to help young students get more well-versed in media.
Because of that, I had covered multiple local stories. Also because of that, I had come into contact with Randy Rosetta of HubCityPreps, and I got to do a lot of freelance work here in Lubbock. Obviously, that was sports reporting, but I still like to think that it helped me get my finger on the pulse of the community, and what people cared about and sort of where their values lay.
And I think if not for all of these opportunities — to not only do journalism, but become familiar with Lubbock and the West Texas community and the pride we all have to live here — I do not think I’d be the same journalist.
SSW: You’ve seen a lot of unique challenges in your time in public media. Even though it’s been short, it has certainly been busy and tumultuous at times. Tell us a little bit about some of those more challenging periods and how they have affected your career here.
BVB: Yeah, I mean, public media as a whole has seen a lot of uncertainty, unfortunately, over the past few years. And during that period of uncertainty, we still had work to do.
We still had stories to cover. We still had voices that we wanted to help get out there. We wanted to fulfill our mission of serving our community to the best of our ability.
And sure enough, our community returned that favor in kind with one of our best fund drive turnouts in recent memory last year, after we sort of promoted that the funding cuts had happened.
I knew when I got into journalism that it’s not for the weak. It’s not the most financially rewarding career path, but it is one that I took a lot of pride in. The work I did helped people.
Seeing reporters in public media, especially, overcome so much stress and uncertainty — not only because of the work they do, but because of the future of public media being a bit at risk — just made me appreciate the work that they, and we, do so much more.
While I’ll no longer be committing my time and energy to working as a journalist in public media, I’ll always be a supporter — and hopefully one day a donor.
SSW: You’ve been in Lubbock since 2020. Tell us a little bit about how your journalistic voice has been shaped during your time here.
BVB: Yeah, so during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I packed up all my things and decided to move eight hours away from my hometown of Tomball, Texas — just outside of Houston — to come to Texas Tech.
At first, what drew me in was the energy around sports. Texas Tech had just made the Final Four run in basketball in 2019. I know not a lot of Texas Tech or Lubbock guides are proud of the way that Texas Tech fans sort of celebrated that, but it definitely caught my attention — especially being an Eagles fan myself. That energy is one I resonate with a little bit.
Just the way this city rallies around its teams and the sense of shared identity helped me soon realize that it’s not as much about sports as it is just a pride in the area that we’re from.
West Texas — just like I said, journalism isn’t for the weak — I think West Texas requires strong wills. It demands a certain level of toughness from you. And that toughness, I think, shows a lot in the stories that I’ve had the privilege to tell.
Whether it be communities responding to severe weather, the tornadoes that happened last summer, how a tough year for agriculture proved the strength of the community and dedication that I saw through last year’s livestock show, and a lot of economic hardships that people had to overcome just to continue.
And when I spoke with Lubbock’s Native Voices about the Indigenous history across the South Plains and the resilience of their community, I just identified a common theme: if you live here, you’re a pretty tough person.
And I’m very proud to believe that since I’ve lived here, it’s made me tougher as well — and I think my voice kind of reflects that.
SSW: You just shared several favorite moments and interviews. Do you have any others that you would like to highlight from your time here in Lubbock?
BVB: I’ll never forget the opportunity I had to cover one of my personal favorite bands, actually — Flatland Cavalry. I reached out to them after they had published the song “Lubbock,” a staple in most of my playlists now. It was a nervous experience because I was on TV for that interview, but I had a lot of fun. That’s right at the top of my portfolio now.
I think the favorite person I’ve ever interviewed here in Lubbock — just a person, not a band — was Aaliyah Chavez, the women’s basketball player from Monterey who now goes to Oklahoma.
I first had a chance to cover her games while working for HubCityPreps. Then, when I worked here, I got to cover her commitment to OU. And while I was pretty sad that she didn’t choose Texas Tech — because she is an incredible talent — I still had a lot of pride that a Lubbock product was getting as much national attention as she was.
Because I think the name Aaliyah Chavez belongs right next to names like Marsha Sharp and Sheryl Swoopes when discussing the decorated history of women’s hoops in Lubbock.
SSW: You may be moving on, but the newsroom here will keep going. What are some final thoughts that you have before your departure on the future of this newsroom?
BVB: As I mentioned earlier, it makes me happy to know that I won’t be the last student to grow their career by contributing to the work here at KTTZ.
And first and foremost, I would tell any new interns or any new reporters that if you truly attack your work, there’s no telling the limits of growth and learning that you can do just while working here.
And I do believe that we here at KTTZ have done incredible journalism and will continue to do so. I’ve seen firsthand how our community appreciates its major players being held accountable, and I know that’s what this news team strives for — and will continue to do.
SSW: Bishop, we all wish you the best of luck in your next endeavors. I’m Sarah Self-Walbrick. Thanks for listening.
