We had the good fortune of connecting with Alexa Liacko and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Alexa, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
When I was little, my sister and I used to grab the old family video camera and record our own newscasts. I wore my dad’s blazers and was the main news anchor, and my sister did our weather and sports report. We found it so fun to tell stories that we made up in our heads back then, but little did I know, moments like those would be the seed for a lifelong passion for storytelling and journalism. All those years later when it came time to decide on a college major, I chose journalism and fell in love from day one. I pursued a creative career because I enjoy the challenge and the freedom of figuring out an interesting way to tell a story. I wanted a job that constantly challenged me, where I constantly learned, and where I met new people all the time. For two and a half years, I traveled the country reporting for Scripps News on the issues that mattered most to voters. I visited small towns, one with a population of 16 people, to the nation’s largest city. I checked off 46 states and met hundreds of people I would have never met if it weren’t for my career. They opened my eyes to life through a different lens. In my mind, conversation with people who have different views or experiences from you only opens the door for understanding and compassion. It feels like magic to me when a family opens their home to me and my team and shares their most intimate challenges. There is such a power for good that the media can have, a power of connection, and I cling to the good it can do on the days that challenge me. Journalism is a chance to have a front row seat to history, and it’s been an incredibly challenging journey to get where I am today, but I would never trade it.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What’s unique about my career is the range of reporting I’ve been able to do. I am proudest of the stories I’ve told that no one would otherwise have covered. We traveled, in the dead of winter, to Fairbanks, Alaska as the first COVID shots were being delivered to remote American Indian villages. It was a moment of hope, and we saw village elders get emotional talking about the devastation the virus had caused and the people and traditions it had already taken. They were proud to share their way of life, hopeful that the darkest days were over for them, and grateful that we came to share their loss and triumph. It’s those stories, but also the stories in the heart of America—like the challenges convicted felons, released from prison had to overcome to vote in the 2020 election. We profiled one man who was legally supposed to be able to vote after he served his time, but because of paperwork errors, he couldn’t register. As we covered his story, we reached out to ask questions to local officials and hold them accountable on his behalf. Because of our digging, the clerical errors keeping him from registering were cleared up, and he was able to vote. It is moments like those that you feel the positive power that journalism has. I’ve covered just about everything from hurricanes, traveling with forest rangers to track and clean illegal drug grow sites in the California forests, to the coronation of the King, and the trials of Former President Donald Trump.
It’s certainly been a tough road filled with sacrifice. I moved away from my family and hometown, and for the last decade, I have moved every two years to a new state. Working in news requires resilience. It means starting over, making new friends, adjusting to a new community and culture all while learning your craft. I don’t think that’s talked about enough. There really is a mental toll this job can take if you don’t lean on your support system (wherever they may live) to carry you on the tough days and the mental coping skills to be your own cheerleader and best friend. That’s certainly been one of the biggest challenges for me: moving to a completely new place, knowing no one. I realized that being happy alone is possible, but with effort. I found joy through cooking and exploring coffee shops and being a tourist in my own city. Sounds cheesy, but it works! And through it all, my family and friends kept checking in, visiting and reminding me of the joy that I find in this career, and I have always come back to knowing I am doing what I’m meant to do in this life.
The hardest challenge I’ve faced in pursing my career is something I still struggle with today. At my first job, reporting in Tucson, Arizona, a man stalked me and broke into my home. He stole my clothes, my laptop and hard drive with every detail from my life from the previous five years stored on it. The material items were nothing, but taking my sense of peace and security was another. We had never spoken, but he watched me on the news and started following me physically around town. It lasted for months, and I only realized this after he was arrested and confessed to police all he had done. He served time in prison, but he is now out. When I began traveling and reporting across the country, I had panic attacks going into hotel rooms by myself. I constantly looked over my shoulder, had nightmares and was anxious to be alone at all. It took me three years to finally get into therapy, and it’s helped immensely to lighten my hyper vigilance. I also have my husband to thank, who, during our two years of long-distance dating, would set his alarm every night to wake up at 3 a.m. so he could be on the phone with me and ‘walk me to my car’ for my early morning reporting shift each day. He helped me rebuild my peace and sense of safety. On the days I struggled most, I focused hardest on finding a good interview, writing a compelling story, or doing a story on a topic that needed to be talked about more. It helped. What I experienced is a risk that so many women have endured because of our love for the job. So many female journalists receive messages, gifts and attention from viewers that we don’t invite or accept. It is an unfortunate reality of a career that can otherwise be so joyful and fulfilling. Because I’ve seen the impact journalists can have, I will never let my fear take away the joy that reporting brings me. And I hope, knowing there is another side of the fear and negativity, that anyone experiencing similar circumstances keeps fighting to feel good again.
What I’d want people to know about me is the care I’ve taken with every story I’ve told. So many times, people complain the media is heartless and rushes from one story to the next. There are times when that is true of certain stations and reports, but I pride myself on being the person to break that stereotype in any small way that I can. I spend extra time at interviews because I want to chit-chat with families. I ask extra questions because I’m genuinely curious about people. It’s a true gift in life to connect with others, and that’s the magic this career gives us. It’s set up to let us build a connection with those around us, and I invite that in because it feeds my heart. When we share our struggles, our triumphs and what drives us, it allows people to learn what’s similar in us, not what is different.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am a self-proclaimed foodie, and I love the playground Atlanta’s food scene has become. When our friends come to visit, we tailor the weekend around showing off all the great spots we love! BBQ at Fox Bros, Fat Matt’s Rib Shack or hot chicken sandwiches at Hattie B’s are a must for a southern fix. We enjoy walking the Beltline and stopping at breweries, eating in Inman Park or doing a self-guided bar hop through the Virginia Highlands. We love Del Bar for Middle Eastern, La Grotta and Amore e Amore for Italian. Both are classics, but they’re popular because they are truly worth the hype!
As far as things to do, we love going to the north Georgia wineries, walking trails with our dog Bailey, and in the summer, we have enjoyed the Jazz Fest and going to Atlanta United games and concerts downtown.
Atlanta is so much fun because there are so many very different things to do, and we’ve really jumped in to enjoy it all.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Anyone in the news industry will tell you that it takes a village to survive in news. It’s a very network driven industry, so who you know is just as valuable as what you know. I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to my family for supporting me, and to the friends I made in my very first job at KGUN9-TV in Tucson, Arizona. We all worked crazy hours, missed holidays with our families and made less an hour than my younger sister did babysitting, but our love for our work bonded us and drove us all to work so hard. We all knew this was the foundation for the dreams we held close, and now, so many years later, it’s special to see so many of our dreams come to fruition. It’s also where I met my husband, my biggest cheerleader, and for that, I’ll always be grateful.
Instagram: @AlexaLiacko
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexa-liacko-9b78213a
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/alexamliacko
Other: https://www.scrippsnews.com/alexa-liacko
Image Credits
First photo credit with blue puffer coat: Justin McCray