My First Byline: Daylina Miller
Multimedia journalist, WUSF
What is your current job?
I’m a multimedia journalist for NPR member station WUSF 89.7 in Tampa, Florida.
What was your first byline?
My very first byline would have been for my high school newspaper, which I believe was a music review of a “Murderdolls” album in 2003 or 2004. I was a very cringey 14 year old. *laughs*
My first professional byline came at 16, when I was accepted onto the now-defunct Tampa Tribune’s First Board of Community Columnists, I don’t remember which of my columns came first and none of them exist online, but apparently the writing sample that caught the editors’ interest was an opinion column I did for my school paper on how the Sunday School kids I taught thought I was a vampire. I fancied myself a teenage Dave Barry.
I do remember that I got a lot of emails from readers concerned about my spiritual well being because my headshot for my column was all liberty-spiked hair and black lipstick. I’m pretty sure I wore a buckled trenchcoat for the photo that day, and not much has changed in 20 years. I’m still unapologetically me, blue hair, partially shaved head, visible tattoos and all.
Frankly, it’s helped me better connect with regular people, especially those in the queer community I’m a part of and frequently cover.
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What was your first real job in journalism?
My first full-time journalism job was for the Suncoast News in New Port Richey, Florida, which at the time was owned by the Tampa Tribune.
When I got hired, I had been out of college for ten months and working odd jobs and freelance gigs to pay the bills. It was in the midst of the slow death of the Tampa Tribune and a lot of very talented, more experienced journalists were applying for the same jobs I was. So I applied for grad school and started working on my masters when I got called for my interview.
I was ecstatic to be covering hyperlocal news in the western part of my county.
How did you get it?
I was very fortunate to figure out my career path early on. I knew from 14 onward, thanks to my high school newspaper advisor Sean Marcus, who’s now with the Poynter Institute, that covering the news was what I wanted to do.
I went on from the high school newspaper and Tampa Tribune columnist gig to the University of South Florida, where I got a bachelor’s degree in journalism while writing content for various media outlets both through multimedia classes and freelance opportunities. I was never able to afford an unpaid internship, despite having an NPR station right on campus, but I started the USF branch of Her Campus magazine, worked as a Collegiate Correspondent for USA Today, and eventually landed an internship with USF’s Communications & Marketing department thanks to my Tampa Tribune connections. I had the flexibility there for a couple years to develop my multimedia skills and get a paycheck.
I graduated into a rough economy and harsh media landscape and ended up freelancing for the Tampa Tribune, Tampa Bay Times, and several AOL Patch sites before landing my role at the Suncoast News. I also did my master’s degree in new media journalism through Full Sail University at the same time.
A year and a half later, I was laid off. I put in hundreds of applications around the country and eventually landed a reporter and assistant news editor role for the Marshall News Messenger in East Texas, where I won my first multimedia journalism award.
It was a short stint. I wasn’t happy being away from my friends, family and partner at the time, and kept looking for opportunities to come home. WUSF gave me a shot despite my lack of radio experience because of my multimedia skills.
What advice do you have for people looking to break into journalism?
That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? I obviously very firmly believe in the power of journalism and storytelling, and the importance of amplifying the voices of folks in the communities we cover.
But I’ve been in journalism in some capacity for 20 years, half of that spent at my current news station where I don’t qualify for a one-bedroom apartment anywhere in the region I live in on my own salary.
So here’s what I’d have to say:
1. There are journalism jobs out there for folks who want them badly enough. It won’t be easy. I learned more on the job than I ever learned in either of my two journalism degrees, and my portfolio has spoken volumes more than my education, as proud as I am of being a first-generation college student. Look for opportunities to freelance with tiny, local newspapers, news sites and community radio stations, take every news internship you can afford to take, and dabble in various mediums: newspapers, TV, radio. Learn video production and editing. Learn social media. Learn to scrape data and build infographics, Don’t hesitate to start a blog or a Substack newsletter where you can develop writing skills and have writing samples to provide if you don’t have more traditional articles to show off. Apply for student scholarships to attend professional journalism organizations' conferences and network, network, network.
2. Be prepared to have roommates or a spouse who makes more money than you, because, realistically, many journalism jobs don’t pay a living wage, let alone a thriving one. I feel very fortunate to have the health insurance and benefits I have, but I live paycheck-to-paycheck, even with my spouse’s income. It’s difficult to imagine doing anything else, but I understand why so many of my news colleagues have left for public relations and marketing. Our jobs are more important than ever, but you also have to tend to your bills and your health.