Chelsey Zhu

What I do at KUT

I’m all over the place. Most of the time, I focus on writing stories for our website, creating social media posts and putting together KUT’s daily newsletter. Occasionally, I edit digital stories, speak into a mic and play matchmaker for Austin singles. I’m always on the lookout for stories that are positive, local and restore people’s faith in humanity.

My background 

I’ve always wanted to work in public radio — as a kid, I fantasized about signing off a story with, “Chelsey Zhu, NPR News.” (Yes, that is an extremely weird thing for a 10-year-old to dream about.)

In pursuit of that goal, I took journalism classes in college, wrote for the student magazine, dabbled in podcast production and interned at places like Forbes, WXPN and FactCheck.org. My first job out of college was being a producer for HerMoney, a personal finance podcast that helps women gain confidence with money.

I’m originally from Murfreesboro, Tenn. I lived in Philadelphia for a few years before moving to Austin in 2022. My favorite thing about this city is that people thank bus drivers here.

Journalistic ethics

I used to think being a good journalist meant only reporting on Very Serious Things. But I’ve come to realize that people need to read and listen to happy stories, too, and those are the stories I love to chase! Examples: I’ve made people scream as a haunted house actor, investigated Austin’s love of nostalgia and interviewed a local reality TV star about finding love at any age.

There’s no better feeling than talking to someone who’s doing a really funny/heartwarming/quirky thing in their community — and who wants to share that joy with everyone else. If you know of anything like that, please reach out at czhu@kut.org.