Wednesday
This morning was a brisk one, and I thought about the thousands of people who live in this city where the air hurts my face. But those are the sacrifices that must be made for those with an empire state of mind. We trekked through harsh wind to our first stop, Departures magazine, where we met senior travel editor Jessica Flint. Although I have never really seen a copy of this magazine, I became very intrigued after seeing a few on the desk in front of us. Jessica told stories about her journeys to London and Cambodia, and it was inspiring to hear about her dedication to her job. While I never thought about the difference between print and digital, Jessica explained that that people on the print side don’t always see digital as “real” journalism. Print allows the luxury for intense reporting, while the web often demands content to fill twenty-four hours of the day, which can be scary.
After departing Departures (the worst pun ever), we traveled to Fox News and received a short tour of some of the studios. We met Miami alumnus Bill Hemmer, a co-anchor for "America's Newsroom." He was amazingly charismatic and knowledgeable, and I loved hearing about his opinion about Iran and Paris. After watching about twenty minutes of his live broadcast, we met with Gerri Willis, a spunky personal finance reporter who offered some useful advice for a college girl like myself. Prior to working at Fox, she wrote for daily newspapers, followed by Smart Money magazine, and then she went to CNN. She admitted to us that she made a lot of stupid mistakes and that we should never overlook small opportunities, even if we believe it is something we do not want to do. Everything is a learning experience, and it is hard to forecast how to exactly get your foot in the door: it all depends on our own personalities and how much we can handle.
Gerri Willis (center), talks to the group in a conference room at Fox News.
Next, we spoke to Bridgett Clegg, a photo editor at bestproducts.com. Besides being the queen of Pinterest worthy DIYs, she has created tons of content for every consumer to find exactly what they want and need. While the website doesn’t quite have a niche market yet, it reviews products in a more editorial and fun way than, say Amazon.com. While this website is not exactly where I imagine my own career settling, I cannot even imagine the opportunities it would lead to being under the Hearst umbrella. I do not particularly like the format of the website or even the content it provides, but the teams often get to collaborate with other Hearst media groups, which would be a fun and initeful learning experience.
Finally, I got to sit at a taping of the Late Show and see my favorite television personality, Stephen Colbert. He was hilariously funny and and witty, and I smiled the whole time. Actor Paul Giammati and feminist activists "The Guerilla Girls" were his guests. It was an experience that I will never forget, and I am so glad that I got to witness a performance in person.
Outside, waiting in line at "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
