As a teenager in Detroit, Tonya Mosley dreamed of being a journalist. After participating in a high school journalism program and earning a journalism degree from Mizzou, Mosley eventually became a local television reporter covering courts and crime in Detroit. Part of the beat was knocking on doors to interview people during the most traumatic moments of their lives.
She could relate to their pain because she had seen one of her friends lying murdered on the pavement after a shooting at her high school.
In 2024, as a co-host of NPR and WHYY’s “Fresh Air” program, Mosley says her lived experience has helped her claim the role of master storyteller, a journey that began when a mentor urged her to write about her high school friend’s murder.
“That planted a seed for me, my understanding that in certain instances, it’s really a major benefit to be a part of the story if you have lived experience, if you can find a way to be able to offer that context and understanding,” Mosley told NPF Widening the Pipeline journalists.
The theme for Mosley’s conversation was ‘The Power of Our Voices,” and she detailed the central role of lived experience in the pursuit of journalism — especially when reporting on the impact of trauma in communities. Mosley centers her humanity in her reporting, co-hosting and podcasting duties, and is willing to go to the mat for her audiences about diverse communities.
“I think that understanding that pushing back against editors and producers who might have sort of a template for what stories like that should be, you as someone who is out in the field, you’re interacting with these people, you’re seeing what’s happening with the story, you are the one who guides that story. You are the one to let your editors know, ‘This is not what it is,’ or ‘This is what I’m going to be doing. This is how I’m going to be interacting with community members.’”
Mosley’s career trajectory rose steadily, including stints as Silicon Valley editor for KQED, then host of “Here and Now,” a mid-day radio program co-produced by NPR and WBUR. She launched her own production company and created the award-winning “Truth Be Told” podcast. But it was a phone call out of the blue in 2004 that really caused a profound shift in Mosley’s life. A young man named Antonio Wiley told her that he was her nephew — and that she’d had an older sister who’d been murdered in 1987.
The journey to find out what happened to Anita Wiley created a deep bond between Mosley and her nephew. It also led to the creation of the “She Has a Name” podcast detailing her family’s story. Because so much time had passed, Mosley said the biggest challenge was locating documents needed to confirm details and finding the people who could help connect the pieces of the puzzle.
“When you have a story that you have the bones for the story, you have the deep desire to tell it, and you have in your heart and soul like it needs to be told in that moment, oftentimes it does come together.”
On Sept. 17, Mosley was one of several journalists who interviewed Vice President Kamala Harris about her historic presidential candidacy during a panel sponsored by NABJ. She told Widening the Pipeline fellows that at this point in her career, she sees herself as a master storyteller who’s continuing to grow and learn.
“I think that I’m at this point where I’m just following my internal compass and my voice, and so five years from now, I hope to be doing fulfilling work and serving the people who want to hear from me, and I don’t know – that could look a myriad of ways. It’s not one place, and there is no destination.”
Access the full transcript here.
The Widening the Pipeline Fellowship is sponsored by the Evelyn Y. Davis Foundation and Lenovo. NPF is solely responsible for the content.
