Judy Finn

Producer, The Changing World

Judy Finn’s career in journalism dates back to the 1970’s, when she interned at The Brooklyn Phoenix while in high school. Her tasks ranged from cleaning the office fridge to interviewing New York City mayoral candidates. It was there that she was first exposed to life in a newsroom. One colleague, she remembers, clapped quietly at his typewriter each time he finished writing a story. “If you don’t give yourself a round of applause when you’ve done a good job, no one else will,” the seasoned reporter told Judy.

Her love of radio began in 1982 with a stint at KANZ, then in Pierceville, Kansas. “I was struck by how much reach public radio had on the High Plains, and the impact it had on people’s lives,” she says. “Folks would drive for miles just to gather ‘round and listen together.”

Judy’s reported for WBAI in New York, and worked as a newscaster at WADN in Concord, Massachusetts. In Boston, she was a producer and editor at Monitor Radio from 1990 to 1997; worked as a producer at WBUR’s Here and Now; and edited Morning Edition at WBUR. She also served as an alternate host of WGBH’s Jazz Gallery, and produced audio books, including Houghton Mifflin’s Best Selected Short Stories of the Century.

Since 2004, Judy has been the Producer of The Changing World, The World’s sister documentary series. “In this era of text messages and short Twitter posts, it’s especially important to take the time to really explore a topic in depth,” she says. Her goal, she states, is to draw U.S. radio listeners into long-form radio by personalizing the show and culling from the experiences of The Changing World’s hosts, Lisa Mullins and Marco Werman, whenever possible. “I love my job,” she says, “because my job is basically to learn. I get excited about the documentaries, and then get to pass that excitement on to our listeners.”

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