MSNBC’S Kat McCullough Braun

By: Nes Charif

Doing what you love for a living sounds like the perfect story, especially when it’s centered around producing stories. They say every ‘good’ story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. If you couldn’t already tell this blog is coming to you straight from a student journalist. This is my perspective before I hit the field of journalism but what better way to prepare myself than to get some advice directly from one who’s been here first, Kat McCullough Braun.

Braun is a fellow Blue Demon and protege of my current mentors Carol Marin and Don Moseley. Once Upon a Time, she was in my shoes as I hope to one day be in hers. Earning her MBA at Northwestern University, Braun continues her work now as an investigative producer for MSNBC in New York City.  She gave me a little insight about what to expect, how to react, and to keep moving forward.

One thing is for sure, being in the journalism industry will always keep you on your toes. I could tell you that just trying to keep up as a student reporter. It’s hard to get bored. Whether it be out there reporting or behind the scenes as a field producer there are always opportunities to grow and change. When asked about how she decided on being a producer versus an on-air reporter Braun said, “Well the short answer is I haven’t made that decision yet. It always changes, there are always things — opportunities that come up or different types of shows that are starting. There’s always things changing and when we were in school we all had to do all of it. You had to be on camera, had to be in front of the tele-prompter, you had to do the behind the scenes one-man band stuff.”

The beauty of it is that it is always changing, and you don’t have to make one decision and it’s true—they do train us for it all. I can tell you that firsthand. It’s always rewarding knowing you’re doing important work that can really impact change to society. But as we all have learned, that reward comes with a price. As much as it’s a privilege to be able to ask questions and challenge those in power, times prove it’s also a risk.

Just last week Kat McCullough Braun was in the subway just under CNN’s New York headquarters as the cable network received pipe bomb packages in the mail and the emergency sirens went off. Braun said, “I think the biggest challenge right now is how polarized everybody is, and how nasty people can be towards each other and having to endure nasty tweets, comments–when reporters are getting mailed bombs, that’s a scary time. “

That incident hit home to everyone in the industry: to be deliberately attacked because you are doing your job diligently yet being hated to the point of violence because of negative rhetoric by a powerful figure and to realize that journalists upset powerful people and may become targets and that is the biggest downside.

Kat sometimes avoids telling people what she does for a living because it might spark a conversation she just does not want to have, so instead she tells people she’s an “assistant.”

These attacks only motivate Braun and other journalists more. We know we are poking at something important and that why the hate is so strong, something we are doing is right. Braun said,“It’s needed more right now than ever in my life time. To be a real journalist- not somebody who’s typing whatever crazy thing comes to their head on a blog or saying whatever untrue thing they want to say on television, you know, to actually have standards and integrity is really important right now.”

Now I ask myself does loving your job really mean loving it? Just to break it down–Is reporting on sad stories, shootings, corruption and, let’s be real, a lot of negative things lovable? I mean, as a reporter you must take all of it in, research and deliver the news all while keeping your composure and showing no sign of how you’re really feeling inside. In case some people forgot—yes, reporters are human beings –we do cry too.  Not to mention having your credibility attacked by the most powerful leader in the nation and attempts to blow up your work place and everyone in it. So, why do we do it?

You might not get it now, but it’s damn important. Someone needs to tell the world what’s really happening and it’s a hell of a job that’s a Hell worth keeping. I love the importance of it.

I asked Braun if she loved her job after being in the business for 10-plus years. She said,“Yeah… you know not every day is you know sunshine and rainbows and it’s hard, I mean last week was hard. But I think it’s important. And I believe in the working condition at work and people you work with. I’m glad to have had the opportunities that I’ve had.”

There is good is journalism and there is bad journalism and most certainly there are risks. Knowing all these truths will not end my journey before it begins. It only makes me want to go out and tackle the world even more.