Sonoma native returns to Bay Area, KQED

It’s a good thing for National Public Radio listeners that aspiring stand-up comic Devin Katayama wasn’t so funny after all.

Had his career as a comedian worked as planned, his path likely wouldn’t have led to a job as an engaging NPR reporter, soon to be heard on KQED in San Francisco.

Katayama, 31, spent weekends throughout his undergraduate years in New York City at open mic nights and gigs he hoped would propel his career as a stand-up, all while securing the safety net of a college education.

Fast forward a decade, and the Sonoma native is an award-winning journalist for NPR who earned the prestigious Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize for 2014. Some 40 public radio journalists age 35 and younger were contenders for the award that honors innovative work from rising young NPR journalists across the country.

Katayama’s winning entry, “At Risk,” is an hour-long documentary exploring the fragile prospects for children living among poverty, drug use and dysfunction in Louisville, Ky. It looks at the area’s schools, social services and family justice programs that struggle to support the at-risk children featured in his report.

It also exposes the day-to-day challenges for children and teens with much to overcome. As Katayama profiles one ?family with a drug-addicted mother, he gently asks a kindergartner what he likes about his mother.

“Nothing,” the boy responds.

Katayama said the documentary received an “overwhelming” response from the Louisville community after it aired in May. Satisfied with raising awareness and making an impact, Katayama was stunned when “At Risk” earned the Schorr Prize.

“Just the comments that folks who judged it were saying just amazed me,” Katayama said during a phone conversation from WFPL in Louisville.

“As a reporter, it’s nice to hear that.”

Katayama credits his radio station with providing him an opportunity to pursue the three-month project.

“It’s a small enough station where you get to do things that are innovative,” he said.

He started at WFPL as a general assignment reporter nearly four years ago and now has a midday anchor position, primarily covering education and reports on global issues.

Katayama recently accepted a job with KQED and will soon return to the Bay Area, a move that especially pleases his parents, Vicky and David Katayama of Sonoma.

The 2001 Sonoma Valley High School grad has a varied resume outside of journalism.

“My game plan was to do stand-up comedy,” he said. “I wasn’t that good.”

He spent about five years pursuing that ambition while attending CUNY Hunter College in New York City.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in English, Katayama spent time as an emergency medical technician in Oakland, was a case assistant at a San Francisco law firm and then headed to Portland, Ore., where he worked as an after-school teacher and planned to attend Portland State to become an educator.

At the time, he was listening to a lot of NPR and writing short stories set to music. He volunteered at a Portland radio station and was drawn to the art of sound clips, storytelling and sharing news without the benefit of visual aids.

“You have to work hard to paint a picture with sound,” he said.

Katayama moved to Chicago, where he talked his way into a radio station and ultimately was accepted to Columbia College Chicago to earn a master’s degree in journalism.

While there, he received the Follett Fellowship, a merit scholarship, and the Studs Terkel Community Media Workshop Scholarship award for his thesis on Chicago’s homeless and street youth.

His coursework also took him to Peru for a two-week immersion program that included reporting on human trafficking in Lima.

Katayama’s resume also includes working for KQED’s “The California Report.”

While the journalist has presented numerous hard-hitting reports, several memorable stories are a bit lighter.

The devoted “Seinfeld” fan did a live interview with Jonathan Wolff, a Louisville native who composed the signature theme music for the hit 1990s sitcom.

Katayama has made the most of his experience in Louisville, reporting from the Kentucky Derby and attending as a spectator with friends.

“It’s probably my favorite American experience,” he said. “It’s unlike anything else.”

Also a musician who plays guitar, ukulele and keyboard, Katayama said he has enjoyed reporting from Louisville but is always looking ahead to the next chapter in his life. “I think a lot about the future,” he said. “I have a 10 year plan.”

The immediate future just might include a trip to Thailand, funded with money from the Schorr’s $5,000 cash award.

Katayama already has invested in his career, though, spending some of the funds for new speakers. “I would love to stay in radio,” he said.

Find Devin Katayama’s award-winning documentary, “At Risk,” at atrisk.wfpl.org.

Contact Sonoma Valley ?Towns Correspondent Dianne Reber Hart at SonomaTowns@gmail.com.