Ana Myer poses in front of the Wetumpka Herald building. (photo courtesy of Ana Meyer)
By: Alexis Taylor
WETUMPKA, Ala. — Ana Meyer, a recent University of Texas graduate, got a fresh start in Wetumpka as she embarks on her journey as a sports reporter.
“Going to journalism school was really one of the best decisions that I ever made,” said Meyer.
The University of Texas shaped who Meyer is today in multiple ways. She emphasized how studying journalism allowed her to learn about how the world works. She said, “It was probably the best four years of my life. You just learn so many skills that are so important in today’s day and age, like communication skills, talking to people, like having the courage to go up and introduce yourself to someone.”
The young reporter said her education at UT Austin helped prepared her to go out on her own and try it. “It empowered me to be confident in myself to go try something,” she said.
Change can be daunting at first sight, but that didn’t stop Meyer from making the 10-hour move away from home just three weeks after she graduated from college. The young reporter said, “This is my dream, and I want to chase it, so I’m going to do whatever it takes to go after what I want. I think journalism school really gave me the confidence to make the final push and apply to journalism jobs and take a journalism job and give it a go.”
Meyer has been working at the Wetumpka Herald for about four months covering sports across six different high schools. She said, “Friday nights are a crazy time. Games are normally done between 9:30 and 10:15 p.m., and our print deadline is 11:15 p.m. with stories and photos having to be ready by then.”
“It’s a challenging endeavor, We write 10 to 15 stories a week, not including posting, and meetings with coaches and staff. But I love it so much it carries me through.”
Meyer said, “All of the journalism stuff that I did outside of school really helped me the most. I wrote for my school paper in high school all four years. I did other internships and did my own little freelance journalism stuff…and even though I didn’t really have any real journalism training at that point, it made me fall in love with journalism, and telling sports stories in particular.”
Meyer grew up surrounded by sports. She watched ESPN 30 for 30, sports documentaries with her dad, and played basketball herself. She said, “I think I was interested in sports storytelling before I was really interested in journalism.”
“I just love the way that sports can be applied to so many other things in life, and you can learn so much about a person through their sports journey,” she said.
Meyer tore her ACL twice in high school and had to quit playing basketball, but it was not the end of the road. She said, “It led me to journalism… I took a journalism class in my freshman year of high school, and I just fell in love with it.”
It is about much more than the game for her. The young reporter added, “There’s so many factors that contribute to how someone got somewhere, and the obstacles they overcame or the people that helped them get there. Those are what I think are the interesting parts about sports stories.”
Meyer has overcome her own challenges in life to be where she is now. She adds, “I can relate to people more. It’s also empowering being the only woman on the sidelines at a football game; in the weeds, in the dirt running up and down football fields trying to get photos.”
Moving halfway across the country isn’t without its challenges.
Meyer’s dog Gidget has been a comfort to her as she’s navigated the waters of her fresh start. In “Furry Stress Relievers: How Pets Help During Difficult Life Transitions,” Tranquility Veterinary Clinic reported in August this year, “When life feels chaotic, routines help ground us.” “They give their owners a reason to wake up, get moving, and stay engaged with life, even when times are tough.
Meyer said, “I’ve made small talk with people and met some of my neighbors just from walking her around. I see that there is a community around myself. It’s nice to have someone to take care of.”
Meyer details volleyball postseason for the various cities she covers in her recently published article, “Volleyball postseason begins with area tournaments.”
She tries to avoid utilizing every shortcut available. “Everything is so much easier than it used to be before the internet. If I didn’t have social interactions with coaches and my coworkers throughout the week, I’d feel alone having moved so far away from home,” she added.
“All are grappling thoughtfully with the technology’s power to shape their work, industry, and professional ethics,” said Mike Ananny and Matt Pearce in their recent Columbia Journalism Review article “How We’re Using AI”. AI is a shortcut Meyer treads carefully with. “I feel like it is kind of a double-edged sword. It can be used as a tool,” she said.
Big companies are actively using AI for public relations, communication and promotional activities,” said Patrick Coffee in his May 2025 Wall Street Journal article. In “Will AI Empower the PR Industry or Create Endless Seas of Spam?” Coffee reported, “AI has complicated the jobs of PR people as well.”
“Journalists now must take a lot of considerations with how they use AI. I’m a writer at heart; I don’t want to lose my ability to be a writer. I want to be constantly getting better at being a writer and if you fall back on AI too much, it can lessen your ability to think quickly, process information, and put it into words on a page,” said Meyer.
“The industry must grapple with the challenges of redefining roles and responsibilities,” said Camillia Dass in her PRovoke Media article from February this year. In “Could AI Eventually Replace Junior PR Executive Roles?” Dass reported that, “…AI is slowly but surely changing jobs, but it will likely not replace roles. Rather, it will simply change the way we work.”
The sky is the limit for Meyer and her career. She said, “Now that I’ve landed in sports, which is where I’ve wanted to be from the start, I’m not going to take anything outside of sports. My dream job would probably be to be a sports columnist. One of my special interests as far as sports is looking at the intersection between sports politics and culture.”
The young reporter hopes to continue working as a journalist and developing her skills for years to come proposing the possibility of going back to school for her master’s to teach journalism. Meyer said, “I love it so much and I want to share it with people. My professors made such a positive impact on me.”
When asked what advice Meyer had for anyone interested in sports reporting or reporting in general, she had a few awesome tips. “You must go out and do it, that’s really the only way to learn. You don’t need a degree to do journalism; you just have to want to do it.”
She added, “Don’t fall back on thinking you have to know what you’re doing. I’ve been doing journalism or journalism related things for eight years now… since I was 14 and I still feel like I have no idea what I’m doing. Find things you think are interesting… ask what you want to ask because you’re curious. Don’t be afraid to try new things, mess up, or say the wrong things.”
Meyer ended the interview by adding, “I think empathy is one of the biggest tools that a journalist can have and if you share empathy with others, they’re probably going to share it back.”
