Vestavia Hills native now morning voice at WBHM

Miranda Fulmore never had career aspirations in journalism and radio news broadcasting.

For a long time, Fulmore wanted to create a life of music, singing and theater. She performed with Red Mountain Theatre Company for many years while growing up in Vestavia Hills and even completed a semester at Middle Tennessee State University for commercial music, but ultimately decided it was not how she wanted to spend her career.

While contemplating a new major after transferring to the University of Alabama, Fulmore said she didn’t really know what she wanted to do, but knew she had always been comfortable talking to people.

“I really do believe that my gift from God is to be able to talk to people and get them to open up about things that they wouldn’t normally do with others,” she said.

Fulmore’s mom, who was the news director at WBHM, was thrilled when she eventually chose to study journalism.

Originally from Gainesville, Florida, her mom worked at the local station. She returned to work one week after giving birth and took Miranda with her.

“As long as I can remember I was in the studio; I basically grew up in the newsroom,” Fulmore said.

Now, Fulmore is helping lead that same newsroom. She was recently named, along with Richard Banks, the permanent host of the station’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered after four years working for the station and occasionally serving as a fill-in host for the programs.

During her last year of college at the University of Alabama, Fulmore accepted a job as a morning radio newscaster in Bloomington, Indiana.

“I would go to work, come home, do my undergraduate classes online, and head to work the next morning,” she said.

Coming back to Birmingham in 2018 was a no-brainer for Fulmore.

“Birmingham is one of those places where you can be of any background and stage of life and find something here. It’s familiar to me; it feels like home,” she said.

A major part of Fulmore’s support system still lives in the Birmingham area.

“My mom was a built-in mentor even before I wanted to do journalism, but especially now,” Fulmore said.

Though she had many preceding connections to the world of journalism, Fulmore enjoyed redeveloping these relationships as an adult and learning from these individuals from a new mentor-mentee perspective proved to be particularly helpful.

“I always joke that I still call my mom and ask, ‘Is this a good story to tell?’” she said.

Fulmore prefers to focus on breaking news rather than feature reporting, though she enjoys both. “Unfortunately with breaking news situations, it typically comes with not great circumstances, which is the hard part about it,” Fulmore said.

Her number one priority is being honest and transparent, reminding listeners that it is not just a story, but a human experience. She cherishes the ability to create a scene with the sounds of the radio rather than television reporting, as radio allows the listener to use their imagination.

Tapping into the world of radio newscasting has not always been easy for Fulmore. She was told she should not do radio because no one wanted to hear the sound of a woman with a high-pitched voice.

While radio has typically been dominated by male voices, Fulmore emphasized the importance of balancing sounding professional and authoritative on the air, while still utilizing her own voice to convey important local news.

To anyone who may be interested in pursuing a career path in journalism, Fulmore recommends gaining hands-on experience.

“If you think you want to do something, work in it; volunteer, apply for an internship; these experiences can really tell you if you like the field or not,” she said.

While interning for Alabama Public Radio during college, Fulmore recalled a time when she forgot to press record during her first interview experience. Though she completed the interview successfully, she believes learning experiences from making mistakes in a safe setting help you grow.

Throughout internships during college, she was able to attend city council meetings, speak and ride with local police, converse with individuals from the National Weather Service and more. After gaining more experience through these “exhilarating mini-adventures,” she transitioned from quick news elements to feature-long reporting.

Though Fulmore was not born in Alabama, she calls Birmingham home and believes that no matter where she goes she’ll “always feel a tug to come back to Vestavia.”

The majority of WBHM funding comes from listeners within the community, which is a unique and valuable feature of Fulmore’s occupation.

“Having the open line of connection to your local media,” Fulmore believes, “is so important because what we are ultimately doing is a service. We should be serving [the community] with the information we are providing, which should be factual, unbiased news.”