How An Award Winning Journalist Reinvents Herself Through Podcasting with Deborah Kobylt

Send us Fan MailSomeone once told Deborah Kobylt, “You look too ethnic. Go dye your hair.” That moment didn’t end her career, but it did reveal the quiet rules women were expected to follow in local broadcasting. We sit down with Deborah, an award-winning journalist whose path runs through CNN, KCAL9, Fox 11, and decades of high-pressure reporting, to talk about what it really takes to last in a male-dominated media world without losing your voice.We dig into the craft behind her interviews: why curiosity is the most underrated journalism skill, how print reporting trained her to hear the story underneath the headlines,  and the practical strategy she uses with powerful guests. Her Atlantic City coverage of Donald Trump becomes a sharp lesson in power and performance, and she explains how she built trust, stayed professional, and still got the answers she needed on the record.From there, we zoom out to the changing media landscape: shrinking local news audiences, younger listeners choosing on-demand audio, and why she believes “opinion” is not the same thing as journalism. We also talk about instinct and safety on dangerous assignments, the emotional toll of hard news, and how podcasting opened a new lane where she can follow real curiosity, spotlight voices that matter, and keep storytelling human. If you care about broadcast journalism, media trust, women in media, and the future of podcasting, this conversation will stick with you.Subscribe to The Heart of Show Business, share this with a friend who needs a boost, and leave a rating and review so more listeners can find the show.Deborah on the PodSupport the showThanks for listening! Follow us on X, Instagram and Facebook and on the podcast's official site www.theheartofshowbusiness.com