New York City Travel Blog
January 6-11, 2019
My thoughts and experiences in the media and journalism hub of the United States.
Pre-Trip Planning
January 5th, 2019
On Sunday, I will fly into LaGuardia International Airport for my 2019 NYC Media Trip. Only being to New York City once, back when I was 10 years old, it would be fair to say I’m beyond excited. I’ve never experienced the city with the way I think now and I know that each detail of this experience will stay with me for years to come. I can’t believe I get to study for a week in the media and journalism hub of the United States.
I wonder if I will love the city so much I will consider immediately moving there post graduation. Growing up, I was always obsessed with the city, but saw it in a different light. Being a die-hard theatre kid all my life, I would always envision myself performing on Broadway or being an integral part in the infamous kickline of the Radio City Rockettes. But since that dream has shifted, I am now envisioning myself in the same city, still with a passion for the arts, but a better sense of how I would impact the world: through writing. And if I don’t end up in New York, I know I will still cherish this experience.
I’m the most excited, though, about hearing the stories of our different guests on the trip. I know that each of them have reached their career on completely different paths, and I feel as though I will be able to see myself in some of these people, or at least in their recollections. I know I would love to work in media and journalism, but I could either be working in NBC studios, or as a media and marketing consultant, or even as an investigative journalist for the Wall Street Journal. To be honest, I’ve been a little stressed out about all the uncertainty associated with this career path, but I’m relieved to get to catch a glimpse into how so many others have been successful. I’m looking forward to a more experiential learning experience.
We will be visiting numerous places including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, NBC, ABC 20/20, CNN, and we’re even going to be able to see a live taping of the Colbert Show! I’m very excited to go to Hearst Publications, though, because of all the media coverage they deal with, including their ownership of Cosmopolitan and Vogue! To see what brands they work with and their influence on the public will be very intriguing to me. I have prepared questions for the Senior VP of FleishmanHillard, Ephraim Cohen, and the Arts Production Manager for Hearst DIgital Media, Bridget Clegg. These people are both skilled in the digital sphere, and with my interest in social and digital media, I’m excited to see how these two reached their passion and how they inspire others to do the same.
But, I have to finish packing first! See you soon, New York City!
Day 1
January 6th, 2019
Day 1 in New York has been everything I could have hoped for! I met my roommate Sydney at the airport along with Maddie Toole who was also accompanying us on the trip and together we ventured through security and to our gate. Once on the ground in New York City (!), we got an Uber to our hotel and could not stop gasping at the views on the way. The hustle and bustle of the city was evident as we navigated through Midtown to our hotel.
After checking in, we were met with a couple of other girls who hadn’t gotten their rooms yet. They all sat with us in our room in the free minutes we had before traveling to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. The excitement and anxiousness to get to work was evident in the room. It also comforted me that there were so many others like me who were ready to learn and experience the media and journalism hub of the US. Eventually, we met up with the group to take the subway to the 9/11 museum. I’ve never ridden the subway before, but I had ridden the Tube in London, and found it to be similar to the fast paced, every-man-for-himself attitude, where you had to just jump on and jump off each car and hope you were still with the group. It was scary but fun, to be completely honest.
The 9/11 museum was unlike any museum I had been to before. It was hard not to get choked up by the artwork on display and the testimonials of survivors and family members of victims. My favorite exhibit had to be the biggest room, where you could clearly see the outline of where each of the twin towers stood and where a projector displayed different newspaper and broadcast agencies’ headlines dating from 2001 until today, where we are still on the hunt for the stop to terrorism. It really brought journalism into perspective for me, especially in the wake of an international tragedy. While journalists are not specifically “heroes” of 9/11, they play a pivotal role in spreading the word, and it brought a profound perspective to this career path. I can really make a difference in this field and it made me that much more excited to continue.
After the museum, we headed to dinner at Hell’s Kitchen, a local Mexican restaurant. And thank goodness! I had only had an apple and a Clif Bar before this meal, in the midst of the busy travel day I had. We then headed back to the hotel after an exhausting day, went to a local market to shop for some quick breakfast snacks to grab the next morning, and finished up some homework in preparation for the busy week ahead.
Day 2
January 7th, 2019
We started off our first full day in the Big Apple with a trip to the Committee to Protect Journalists. It was our very first visit and interview and I was a little nervous but also excited to get into it! We talked with Carlos Martinez de la Serna, program director, chief strategist of regional programs, and senior management team leader of CPJ. They help to conduct first-hand research and reporting as well as run a “hybrid” organization to advocate for the protection of journalists but also contribute to research. He touched on bringing justice to the Hashal Kashoggi Case and the fact that Trump’s rhetoric is one of the key reasons they are trying to encourage press freedom in all parts of the world in as many languages as we can.
We headed back towards the subway to the Daily Beast. The building was exquisite and we had to go through a high security process before even going up in the elevator. The newsroom had big floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the Chelsea Harbor and it made the excitement to start the interview that much more pressing! We heard from Noah Shachtman, editor in-chief of the publication. It was really amazing to hear from Shachtman because his personality was immediately shown through as he talked to us about “doing journalism right”. He attributed this to reporting with speed and accuracy, and going at 100% every single moment. He went on to describe to us his experience as a writer and emphasizing that as a journalist, you need to play the facts straight. We do not have to be unbiased, but we have to be fair. It was very insightful to listen to and it made me really take a minute to think about the purpose behind what I’m doing and how I want to continue to base my writing.
Our last visit of the day consisted of another run through security as we prepared to enter CNN studios to talk with Brian Stelter, media correspondent of CNN. He was kind of a big deal and his personality definitely did not disappoint. I was already mesmerized before he started to talk, and he haven’t even sat down yet. CNN has been a station that I have always known, and to be in the studio talking to a main correspondent was surreal. His language was very figurative and he always seemed to tie together his ideas in a beautiful way. He touched on his job being comprised of four parts, much like 4 chairs at a square table. The first was his writing for CNN’s website and his blogging; the second is his coverage on television about these same stories; the third was his show, Reliable Sources, that airs on Sundays; and the fourth chair was his nightly newsletter that he writes six days a week. He’s an incredibly busy man, but he made sure to describe to us that anything we want to start writing about or anything we think needs to exist in the journalism world needs to exist! In order to be successful, we as young journalists need to find that passion and grow with it and learn from our mistakes. He dsecribed some of his most proud moments, from when he was a part of a positive breaking news broadcast or when he could find a contact from 6 years ago in his email to help break a story. His charisma truly inspired me and it was one of my favorite parts of the day.
After CNN, we had a few hours to ourselves before our next event, so a couple people from the group and I grabbed a New York Style pizza at a local restaurant. We had to hurry back to the hotel to change out of our business casual outfits to make it to the live taping of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Although we waited for over two hours for the show to start, we got to enjoy the comedic personality of Noah as well as his guest, Malala Yousafzai, young author and Nobel Peace Prize winner who promotes education especially for refugees like herself. After a spectacular show, we headed to Carlos Bakery in Times Square for cannolis and cheesecake as we strolled through Times Square. It was the perfect end to a busy day and celebrate a magnificent first day in the city.
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Day 3
January 8th, 2019
We kicked off Tuesday morning with a trip to New Jersey to talk to Courtney Reagan at CNBC. She was actually in the middle of a breaking news story about the Sears bankruptcy at the beginning of our visit. It turned out to be an incredibly lucky visit because we got to see her go on air and report on updates for the story. Reagan was very quick on her feet and knew exactly what she was talking about. She had once been a producer, but was now a full time reporter, a switch which was practically unheard of in CNBC and something she was very proud of. She talked about the necessity of constantly being connected in journalism and that in order to succeed you need to be adaptable but also accurate. She touched on the idea of uncomfort in a job, and that in order to truly do your job right, it needs to give you some kind of adrenaline rush. Learning from your mistakes is the most valuable lesson she’s learned in her career, and it was amazing to get to talk with her.
We took our two caravans of students to Columbia University next, to meet with Alex Neason of the Columbia Journalism Review. We walked through the campus and passed Pulitzer Hall on our way, basking in the glory of the university. After a rocky elevator ride up to the 8th floor of the journalism building, we spoke with Alex in a small conference room, which juxtaposed the ginormous ideals that Neason spoke with us about. An education and media journalist and recent graduate of the Columbia Journalism School, Neason was a seasoned journalist who focused mainly on race and education in her editorials. She spoke with us about the “crisis of trust” and touched on the fact that there is a skepticism that everyone has about the news and it is our job as journalists to report the news as accurately as possible to combat this idea. She had recently helped publish the Fall 2018 issue of the CJR Magazine focused mainly on race and diversity in journalism and how it is a huge concern in the news sector.
We took the subway to our last location of the day- Bloomberg News. It was a surreal experience walking into that ginormous building, complete with floor to ceiling windows, curved escalators, and modern architecture. We had the chance to talk with Andy Martin, his colleague David, and Molly Smith, a new financial journalist who covers bonds. The largest thing I took away from this visit was the importance of business in a journalism career. It did not hit me until we visited that business truly plays into each sector of journalism. It would be very valuable to have a business background if you want to start out in journalism, and in fact it’s encouraged to start out in business before you jump into the reporting pond. It made me rethink my plan a little, and thankfully I will be starting my entrepreneurship co-major soon and will have an opportunity to take some business classes.
We concluded our day with Stephen Colbert! Colbert interviewed Keegan Michael Kelly, star of Key and Pele, James Oliver, an English chef, and finally, Josh Hutcherson! I was most excited about him, mostly because I have been obsessed with the Hunger Games since 7th grade. After the show, we made our way to a local burger joint called Black Tap, famous for their spectacular milkshakes. I ordered a cotton candy one and was not disappointed. It was a delicious way to end the night as we prepared for day four in the Big Apple.
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Day 4
January 9th, 2019
Today was another glorious day in the city, and quite frankly our busiest! It was our earliest morning as we headed off to NBC to Morning Joe. We even got to watch the broadcast and Willie Geist even answered some questions for us! After a tour of the studio, we got to speak with Miami University alums, Lauren Schweitzer and Daniela Pierre-Bravo. Daniela was running a little late, so we got a chance to talk with Lauren solo for awhile. She explained her duties of line producer for the Morning Joe and that she has a very early schedule and routine, where she assigns stories and segments for each day and spends most of her time in the control room. It was very interesting to talk with her about her fast-paced work environment and how she developed her skills. She explained that she sometimes has to be on her toes with something to throw into the broadcast that is relevant in case something goes haywire. Daniela walked in at this point and started to explain the differences between the jobs that her and Lauren do. Daniela is the booking producer for the Morning Joe. Each of her days vary and although she has more of a 9-5 schedule, she still has to work on her feet. She quite literally has to book guests relevant to the broadcast less than 24 hours in advance and this can be a challenge, because some guests can’t be flexible and wouldn’t be able to be on the show. She was a part of the NBC Page Program- a program that has been mentioned a couple times during this trip and an opportunity I am now thinking about taking advantage of. I love the idea of working with producers, reporters, and writers and discovering each side of the broadcast industry, and I know that the program would grant me this and then some.
We had some time before we headed over to Fox News so two girls and I traveled to a local coffee shop to refuel before we met with news anchor Bill Hemmer!
After touring the studio, we got the chance to watch the live broadcast “straight from America’s Newsroom”, with Sandra and Bill. We got a chance to talk briefly with Bill in the studio. Being a Miami alum, he talked with us about his experience in the Luxembourg program and why he thinks it’s important that every journalist has a chance to go to Europe. What I found fascinating about Bill was not only his charming and witty personality, but his viewpoint on the industry. Throughout the week, much of the guests we’ve spoken with have said that the key to success in journalism is to find what you’re good at and focus on it, because that is what news stations look for. But Bill suggested that in order to succeed you have to know “a little about a lot”, and that the key to making it in news is exactly this idea. He was an extremely cool person to talk with and be in the presence of and I can’t wait to tell my dad all about it! He loves Bill!
Our next stop was at NPR to talk with media correspondent, David Folkenflik. Folkenflik has a very involved job, and he mentioned that he has to report about certain people in his career who sometimes don’t care for his coverage of them. He has had to deal with much criticism for what he does and emphasized how important it is to develop a thick skin in the industry. The most important thing is to try and be responsive to criticisms. As a journalist, he says “You can have any policy you want, but you have to tell your audience what this is. And make sure they understand it!” After this is known, then you can let them evaluate how credible you are. He concluded that having “clear transparency” is the best way to avoid your problems and is how we will gain success.
We were a little short for time, but we made it to the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones. We talked with four guests this visit: Gretchen Morgenson, Bowdeya Tweh, Lisa Bannon, and Dave Marino-Nachison. Morgenson is fairly new to the Wall Street Journal as an investigative reporter, and was most recently at the New York Times. She talked to us a lot about her transition and her creation of stories, which included her opinion that business reporting is a lot cleaner than political reporting. Bowdeya Tweh, who goes by Bo, explained that his job as spot news editor translates into being the “master of chaos”. Recently, a story broke about the CEO of Amazon recently divorcing his wife, and that the WSJ has to be careful about how they approach a story such as divorce, because it has a lot of implications that people will be curious about. He fascinated me with his input. Lisa Bannon, who is a Miami alum, along with Tweh and Marino-Nachison, described her inspiration as Life and Arts editor. She believes that business is the backbone to culture and life and that her story choices stem from what is going on in the business world. Lastly, Dave Marino-Nachison, editor of Barron’s publication shared with us his reason for creating Barron’s. He launched this new product in order to broaden the readership and to focus more on stock coverage. He believes that innovation in companies happens when something disrupts the industry, therefore driving change. It was in this visit that it became so evident to me that Miami truly has such a large and successful alumni network, and I am so excited to be able to connect with the numerous people I’ve had the privilege to meet this trip.
We ended the day with a lovely dinner at a local Italian restaurant, Maria Pia, and a trip to Broadway to see the musical “A Band’s Visit”.
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Day 5
January 10th, 2019
Thursday started off with a trip to the New York Times! We spoke with Francesca Donner and her colleague Sharron Atia, and both women spoke towards their gender initiative they’ve helped start for the Times. I was unaware that there was a place at the newspaper for an employee like Atia, who is a social media editor. She showcased her first big piece she had created called “This Is 18”, consisting of a compilation of short biographies of 18 year old girls all around the world. As part of their gender initiative, they shared that the publication is imperative for the current time because we are in an era where the public is ready to talk about gender, especially women. It is our mission as journalists to report the news and report it truthfully. Both women struck me as very passionate about their work and incredibly capable women who are representing us as women in the journalism world.
We then took the subway to the Marshall Project to speak with Bill Keller. He is weeks away from stepping down as editor-in-chief after 5 years and had a lot of wisdom to share with us. The Marshall Project was unlike any other publication I’ve heard of before and it was evident that Keller was more than passionate about the subject of criminal justice in society. Keller touched on certain stories that he has told about incarcerated subjects and even stories he’s overseen that have won Pulitzer Prizes. One of the stories they told involved the absence of cameras in certain rooms in the facility and, after Keller’s story was published, the facility placed cameras in more of their rooms. This is just another example of journalism affecting the world, one way at a time.
We grabbed a quick bite to eat and made our way to ABC studios where we met with Greta Morris, who worked for 20/20 and her colleague Molly, who worked in public relations for Disney. This was one of my favorite stops because both women really gave us a feel for working in the entertainment industry, seeing as much of what these women do are working with guests and talent. Molly took us through the process of auditioning women for The Bachelor while also touching on her daily life working with publicists and social media. We talked with Greta about the crime trend for ABC 20/20 and her day to day life as a producer. Both women were extremely informative and I believe each student asked a question on this visit. Definitely one of my favorites!
We made our way uptown, where Bridget Clegg, the guest I was asking questions for, then welcomed us to an upstairs conference room for our visit with Hearst Digital Media. The building was everything I could have imagined- I felt like I was in a rom-com headed up the escalator to our visit Bridget, arts production manager of BestProducts.com, introduced us to her colleagues Beth Stebner, on the recruiting team, and Lauren Doyle, who works in public relations for journalism. Hearing these women talk was absolutely fascinating, and I really related to Lauren as she wasn’t an original journalism major, but she had fantastic writing skills. She was looking for a media career but also one that would allow her to be able to write. Seeing as she’s working in public relations for journalism, she seems to think she’s doing something right. I would give anything to be able to work at the same company that Cosmo and Elle Magazine are produced. All three women emphasized the power of connections and networking, and boy, am I feeling the pressure now!
We ended our day at FleishmanHillard, where we spoke with Ephraim Cohen, general manager of the New York Office, and the senior vice president, Tim Race. I was the main interviewer for Mr. Cohen, but he had to step out for a meeting and I did not get the chance to ask him the bulk of my questions. But Tim shared with us his gratefulness for being successful as a journalist before moving to the PR world, because he believes he is able to gauge an audience better for all brands they represent. He says, “Journalists have a way of knowing how to explain something to someone who doesn’t understand, and it is a very valuable asset for any company.” I’ll keep that in mind.
After meeting with our guests, Fleishman Hillard actually hosted an alumni mixer for any Miami grads who worked in news in New York to come to to mingle and speak with us and each other. It was another amazing opportunity to network with each guest and I got to meet some new people.
After a very long day, a few other students and I grabbed some pizza and then decided to go to the Top of the Rockefeller to celebrate our last night in the city. To say that the view was amazing would be an understatement. There is just nothing like seeing the New York City skyline at night, and it was the most spectacular end to an amazing week.
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Day 6
January 11th, 2019
We started our last full day in New York with a trip to Meredith Publications to speak with Amanda Wolfe, the chief digital editor for all the magazines they have ownership over. Wolfe was very laid back and she truly knew the ins and out of the company, and she originally interned for them and had a lot to say about her process. Since Meredith has acquired Time Inc., many changes have come to the brand including more avenues for women, and lots of consolidation happening for many brands, which also means many jobs lost when a certain publication folds through. She shared that most of her job requires flexibility, and that one day she is telling an employee to write specifically for one magazine’s articles and the next week this same person is writing completely for 4 different publications. She concluded with the idea that, “We need brand ambassadors that are loyal to our brand and what it stands for, but since the industry is constantly evolving we can’t form too much of an attachment. It is a cycle of constant learning that each individual goes through, and knowing how to have a dialogue with your critics is the key to success.
For the next guest, we traveled to Soho to meet with Global Citizen and spoke with senior editor in chief Cassie Carothers and senior growth editor Ryan Kincaid. It was very cool to talk with Cassie who seemed very passionate about her activism and wasn’t willing to deflect away from that with her journalism. The overall goal of the Global Citizen was to end extreme global poverty, which was described as living on “$2 a day”. Every year, the company hosts a music festival in NYC to benefit different organizations they are aiding. They have partnered with HUGE names in the industry including, Beyonce, Jay Z, Ed Sheeran, Demi Lovato, among others and they give out free tickets to anyone willing to donate to these causes. Cassie was called in to really make a change to their content, and she enjoys it so much because she gets to partner with others who also want to change these global social issues and gets to fund very cool projects, like traveling with Rihanna to places in Africa that are directly affected by global poverty. Although the room we were meeting in was a little warm, it was so evident that what Global Citizen is doing is enacting change and truly getting their word out there.
Although there was still one more scheduled stop to Group Nine Media, a majority of us had to cut the trip early in order to make our flights. A couple of students and I split a cab to LaGuardia before heading in our different directions home. Sitting at the gate for my 5:00 flight, I’m in a state of euphoria. I’ll explain further on my next entry, but for now, I’m beyond excited to apply all I have learned this week to my goals. Goodbye (for now) NYC ! <3
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Post-Trip Reflection
January 17th, 2019
It has been almost a week since I took off for New York City. I’m sitting in a little coffee shop in Cincinnati putting together the last few tidbits of my assignments for this class and feeling nostalgic. I can’t help but thank God for how fortunate I am to experience interactions with such inspiring writers, reporters, and creators. This past few weeks has truly taught me that journalism and media are constantly growing and changing fields, and I could eventually land a job in a few years that doesn’t even exist at the current moment. Discovering this facet of my experience with a group of students that share my mindset on this industry made it all the more inspiring. I learned so much not just from our guests, but from the curious minds of my peers as well. It is very humbling to be surrounded by such intelligent counterparts and I only hope that my career will lead me to even more of these humans.
I want to do everything! This might be a flaw in my curiosity, but last week truly gave me that push to not only create more content, but to create more quality content. To truly put my whole self in to my work and to master my skills so that in the future I can become an important aspect to my employer. The pressure is certainly on, as I’ve also been inspired to explore more opportunities around Miami’s campus. I feel like I’ve been very cautious, and I want to put my curiosity to the test and get involved more in either broadcast journalism or audio production while also improving my writing skills. I want to continue to write for the paper and the fashion magazine on campus to further collect a portfolio and I’m also diving more into my entrepreneur side this semester and this might encourage me to hop on the process of creating a blog or a YouTube channel: two things I’ve been dreaming of doing for awhile but have been too scared.
But at the same time, I have learned that I shouldn’t rush to the next thing too quickly. Through talking with the guests, I’ve gathered that because of the constantly changing media world, these people did not start where they ended up. There is a path for everyone and in this field, it is never straight! I’m going to try to immerse myself in each step of my journey no matter where it leads me. I want to try to only be encouraged when I’m rejected or I fail and to know that as long as I love what I’m creating, the path will form itself.
New York has truly mesmerized me. The fast-paced city life is addicting, while at the same time, terrifying. I’m not sure that living in the city is for me, but I guess that just means I need to experience it more. (*furiously books flight back to NYC in the background*)
Although I haven’t decided where I will end up, I’m still very excited for the future. I don’t think I will ever be able to see it too clearly, but I know that following my gut and my heart will lead me to success.
