Once a TV reporter, she sings stories now

TV reporting gives way to singing her own stories

Singer-songwriter Nadia performs at Johnny D's Uptown in Somerville last winter, pursuing her career in music after hanging up her microphone as a broadcast journalist. (LAURA BARISONZI)

While working at television stations across the country, Nadia Salomon spent years reporting on other peoples' trials and tribulations. Now a singer-songwriter trying to make her mark in the local music scene, she's telling her own stories through song.

Growing up singing in church choirs in Boston, she was the girl in the back row, singing alto and harmonizing.

"I wasn't exactly the one who got the solos," said Nadia, who now lives in Framingham and uses only her first name when performing. "That's why it was a shock and surprise to everyone when I became a singer."

After graduating from Boston Latin Academy and Emerson College, she said, she didn't raise a single eyebrow with her first career choice: emulating childhood heroes Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer through a career in broadcast journalism.

She got her start at a small television station in Fairbanks, Alaska, and went on to jobs as a general assignment reporter, editor, producer, and anchor in Florence and Myrtle Beach, S.C.; the Mississippi Delta; and Jackson, Miss.

In those years, she reported on crime, politics, education, health, consumer issues, and breaking news. She still vividly remembers an incident in which a mother died while saving her son from drowning in a river in Alaska, and a teen who died in a boating accident in Jackson.

"You immerse yourself into these families who need to be given a voice and closure," she said. "It's a tremendous responsibility."

In 2005, Nadia returned to Massachusetts and took a television job in Springfield. She still loved sharing the stories of the people she met, but soon discovered she had outgrown her dream. An "atypical" broadcast journalist who eventually realized that she hated doing live shots in front of a television camera, she was yearning for a traditional work schedule.

"Everyone thinks it's easy to get all dolled up for the camera, but it's a tough business, especially when you're just starting out," said Nadia, who now works at a biotech company in Waltham.

"But I'm glad I can say I did what I always wanted to do."

Nadia had continued pursuing music throughout her career in journalism, particularly immersing herself in the blues tradition while living in the Mississippi Delta. While she didn't adopt the area's musical style, she said, it reinforced her practice of writing songs based on her emotions and personal experiences.

Her in-progress demo CD, "Blue," features one of the first songs she remembers writing, around age 15.

"Born to be Wild," which she calls a "break free" song, describes her efforts to find her voice and identity at home as the fourth of five children.

"Tears of Mine" was written years later, she said, as she sat in a bus station after her car broke down.

Other songs carry themes of love and longing, with inspiration from artists including U2, Madonna, the Eagles, Sarah McLachlan, and Dido.

Nadia's music can be heard on Exploit Boston Radio, a streaming Internet station featuring local musicians, and her website, nadiaworld.com.

Future performances include a concert, also featuring Jordan Clemens and Christa Renee, on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the All Asia Bar in Cambridge.

She will also perform as a member of Calliope, a Boston-based choral/orchestral ensemble, Sept. 6 in the Old West Church in Boston.

"I've worked hard to be where I am, but if you don't live the way you want, what's the point?" Nadia said.

"I believe people have the power to take the right steps toward making their dreams a reality. And a little luck helps, too."

Cindy Cantrell can be reached at cantrell@globe.com