Jennifer Rooks
Host and Executive Producer, Maine CallingJennifer walked into her college radio station as a 17-year-old freshman and never looked back. Even though she was terrified of the microphone back then — and spoke into it as little as possible — she loved the studio, the atmosphere and, most of all, the people who work in broadcasting. She was hooked. Decades later, she’s back behind the radio microphone hosting Maine Public Radio’s flagship talk program, Maine Calling. She’s not afraid of the mic anymore, but still loves the bright, eclectic people she gets to work with every day.
Jennifer joined MPBN in June 2007 after spending more than 13 years at WCSH-TV in Portland as a general assignment reporter and weekend news anchor. She has twice won a regional Edward R. Murrow award: in 1998, for coverage of Maine National Guard and Reserve soldiers deployed in Bosnia and Hungary, and in 2003, for the documentary Citizen King, about then-governor and former Maine Watch host Angus King.
For six years, Jennifer served as host, reporter and executive producer of Maine Watch with Jennifer Rooks. She has moderated more than 20 broadcast debates for Maine Public Television and has produced three television documentaries: Broken Trust: Elder Abuse in Maine and Winds of Change, both Maine Watch Special Reports, and A Matter of Duty: The Continuing War Against PTSD. Co-produced with Charlie Stuart, A Matter of Duty has been shown on PBS television stations throughout the U.S. and in multiple screenings, including at the National Sheriff’s Association national conference.
Jennifer grew up outside Atlanta, Georgia. She earned her BA from the University of Virginia and her master’s in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley. She worked at television stations in San Francisco and Monterey, California, before coming to Maine. She and her husband Mike have two teenagers.
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The multi-faceted ways that Maine's strong network of land trusts work with property owners to manage land and offer programs to the public -
How some Maine towns are using outdoor recreation and eco-tourism to re-energize their economies -
Social media content creator Katie Zarrilli portrays the stereotypes of Maine counties through humorous videos. What makes your county different? -
An 8 pm rebroadcast of our earlier show about the beliefs and values that Americans have in common, rooted in the Declaration of Independence -
Maine author Richard Russo discusses his new collection of essays, Life and Art, and how he reflects on his personal life through his writing -
As Head Start marks its 60th anniversary, we examine how the program meets its aims in Maine, and where it's headed -
A new guidebook explores the Allagash Wilderness Waterway—more than a million acres of undeveloped watershed -
The author of a new book discusses how mothering and nurturing life is part of our natural world -
The history and traditions of Shakers, and how Maine's Shaker Village is the only active community practicing the religious sect's beliefs -
The psychedlelic drug psilocybin is on the rise, for recreation use and in medical research as a potential treatment
