Former WFPL Southern Indiana reporter and editor John Boyle has been promoted to the role of news editor.
John spent two and a half years reporting on the news from Southern Indiana and the people who call it home. He jumped in to contribute to health coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic and first came to Louisville Public Media as a Report for America Corps Member. He previously worked for the News and Tribune, at the New Albany office.
He’ll manage a team of reporters across a range of beats.
Get to know John in the interview below. It’s been edited for brevity and clarity.
What will you miss most about your time as Southern Indiana reporter?
Southern Indiana’s population is growing, but the communities still have a small town vibe. I will miss running into the people I’ve built relationships with over the years. Many have worked with me since I got my start as a reporter in 2016. Others have known me since way back when I was just a kid.
Where did you grow up, and how has it shaped you?
I’ve spent my life all over the country, from my early childhood in Florida, to Danville, Ill., to my current home in the Ohio Valley. But Floyd County, Ind., is probably the closest thing I have to a hometown. The time I spent bouncing around exposed me to many different communities and cultures. Those experiences helped give me a more well-rounded understanding of the world around us. That’s made me a more empathetic person and reporter.
What’s your favorite fall activity in the region?
Put me around pumpkins and I’m happy. It doesn’t matter if they’re sitting in a pumpkin patch on a farm or if they’ve been carved at the Jack O’Lantern Spectacular.
What are you most excited about in your new position?
I can’t wait to get to work with our team of reporters. Breya Jones, Aprile Rickert and Jess Clark have already built up an extensive catalog of incredible stories, and it’s an honor to know I’ll have a hand in their future work. I’ll be similarly excited once we get my replacement on board to continue Louisville Public Media’s mission of bringing the news to communities on both sides of the river.
If someone’s new to the area, what should they do or see first?
It’s easy to fall back on the tourist businesses of bourbon and horse racing. But I think people take our history for granted, whether natural or human-made. What beats heading down to the Falls of the Ohio or taking a gander at the architecture in our historic districts?
What’s a good show to binge when it gets nasty outside?
Wellington Paranormal’s creators should start paying me for how much I talk up that show.
If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
A worker at the Louisville Zoo once told me a gorilla was staring me down because they like to size up people who look similar to them, so I guess a gorilla.
Is it true that you are actually noted actor David Harbour doing a deeply embedded method acting stint from Louisville?
Isn’t this an interview about my reporting career? It feels inappropriate to ask how I may or may not make money in my spare time. Anyway, here’s a photo of me on set during season 3.
