faculty
melissa Hahn
The broadcast writing instructor for the PAR program is Adjunct Professor Melissa Hahn, the Statehouse bureau chief for the Illinois Radio Network. IRN provides political, governmental, and regional news to more than 50 radio stations in Illinois and the St. Louis, Missouri area. In this position, Hahn won an award from The Associated Press for an investigative series about a hiring scandal in state government. She anchors such live-broadcast events as the governor’s speeches, election night news, and appears on various radio and television public affairs analysis program. Last fall, she covered the Democrat and the Republican national conventions.
Before assuming her current position, Hahn was the Statehouse reporter for WICS-TV/WICD-TV in Springfield/Champaign, Illinois, where she initiated and was heavily involved in bringing Downstate’s only live, televised Republican gubernatorial debate to the airwaves. Other positions include stints at WMAY/WNNS/WQLZ, Springfield; WLBK/WDEK, DeKalb; WEBQ, Harrisburg; WHPI, Herrin, and WSIU-FM, Carbondale. Hahn also served as legislative correspondent for WGN-AM, Chicago. She also spent nearly 10 years in media relations or budget offices in state government.
Previous awards have highlighted Hahn’s skills in areas from government and political reporting, to feature reporting, to crime and courts writing. She’s earned awards from the Illinois Broadcasters Association, Midwest Family Broadcasting, SIU-Carbondale, and was part of teams that won Best Newscast and Best Downstate News Operation from the Associated Press. Hahn appears on several radio and television analysis programs that are aired throughout Illinois.
Hahn began her career with her college newspaper, where she worked her way up from reporter and photographer to photo- and sports-editor. At the same time, she was selected for a television news internship, and was bitten by the broadcasting bug. She earned a B.A. in Radio-Television from SIU-Carbondale, and an M.A. in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield. She lives in Springfield.
