by Jana Simovic

The world of journalism isn’t a stranger to algorithms; we encounter them every day whether it’s research results we receive from search engines or content we see on social media.  For me at least, it’s as if algorithms have become one of those friends that no matter how often I encounter, whenever someone asks me to explain exactly what it is they do for work, I’m at a loss for words.

For context, Britannica defines an algorithm as a “systematic procedure that produces—in a finite number of steps—the answer to a question or the solution of a problem.”

In terms of news dissemination, there has been an undeniable rise in concerns regarding the kind of influence these “systematic procedures” have on people’s initial receptions and perceptions of news as more than eight in ten adults in the United States get their news from digital devices — like smartphones, tablets and computers, according to the Pew Research Center.

These influences have been given numerous monikers, ranging from misinformation, echo chambers and filter bubbles (if your curiosity has peaked, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism has an interesting “Future of Journalism” podcast episode on their research into people’s attitudes towards news consumption).

I had the opportunity to talk with Elaina Plott, a national political reporter and current staff writer at the Atlantic, who is no stranger to reporting on topics and people who are directly tied to the increasing bouts of misinformation we see. Plott explains her concerns, “I think I see more issue now is that with a lot of these platforms, the ease with which one can just sort of curate their own reality. And the algorithm can sort of cater to them immediately with content that they know sort of already corresponds with what they’ve expressed interest in,” she said. “I see that now is more damaging than anything else.”

This plays directly into the rise of mistrust in media outlets, making it essential that reporters think about how to approach topics that will inevitably be found on distribution platforms, like social media — a space where content is distributed solely based on algorithms — to make sure that it has the ability to reach anyone, regardless of algorithmic influence.

When Plott and her colleagues attempt to perform an “autopsy” — which she describes as working backward on a piece of misinformation — on how a certain falsehood has spun out of control, it can be challenging to see how it was even given rise in the first place. An example of this is analyzing how the use of Ivermectin was endorsed by far-right groups during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was simply a result of a generic fact being spun out of context.

It’s a journalist’s responsibility to consume a variety of news sources, making efforts to read and see as many sides to a story or topic as possible and to acknowledge biases along the way. However, for anyone else this may not be a reality whether it’s due to lack of time, patience or simply lack of media literacy, “In a healthy democracy, I do think citizens would have a baseline level of trust in, you know, major media outlets, but that’s unfortunately not the case anymore,” said Plott.

For Chicago-based education reporter Sarah Karp, there has been a realization regarding the importance of journalists’ presence on social media in terms of reaching audiences as it has evolved into a space where news breaks and is discussed at length.

At the end of the day, reporters need to make efforts not only to cover daily events but also to step back and help people see these topics and events in context through a fuller picture, according to Karp.

“The real value of good reporting is when you can kind of help people see that what’s happening today, you know, happened before and what happens then,” said Karp. This is achieved by staying true to facts, data and history.

By using this mindset, Karp can bring audiences into the world of a special education aid within a school or into the kind of environment that is found in a Muslim day school that received a threat. In the same way, Plott can analyze the granular ways in which national politics manifests in people’s lives while trying to understand major trends through small communities, making both her and Karp renowned reporters no matter how an algorithm interacts with their work.

Algorithms are undoubtedly a significant factor in the way that news is perceived today, making it essential to understand and work with them. However, approaching anything with a starkly polarized view rarely yields positive results; perhaps the best method of approaching algorithms is with the impartial mindset that is ingrained within us; as neither friends nor foes. Instead working to provide true depictions, facts, analyses and nuances is our most powerful defense to fight the spread of misinformation, now and long into the future.

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By NADIA CAROLINA HERNANDEZ

It can be overwhelming checking the news some days. Headlines about an emerging war, endless political debate and situations beyond our immediate control make us feel more hopeless than empowered about information.

This isn’t a new phenomenon, a report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism revealed people are avoiding the news.

But the news doesn’t have to be like this.

Solutions Journalism offers a framework for journalists to focus on responses to issues rather than the issues themselves, according to the Solutions Journalism Network.

Jackie Spinner, former war correspondent of The Washington Post, felt she was doing solutions journalism throughout her career.

“I am glad we now have the language and the framework, you know, to make it better and to really, really embrace it,” she said. “But for me, it’s important for our audiences, not just to hear about the problems, but also to think about ways people are trying to resolve them.”

From reporting on the ground in Iraq to advising the Columbia College Chicago Chronicle, Spinner views solutions as a way to empower a community.

“We write about successes in our community,” she said. “Many of our communities of color in Chicago are rightfully angered by the fact that the news media only shows up when there’s a crime or there’s something horrible that happened.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean journalists have to view the world with a rose-colored lens. We know that people and systems need to be held accountable.

And what if there are conflicting viewpoints about what is the “right” solution? Is it always black and white?

Spinner says solutions frameworks don’t ignore the basics of reporting but encourage it.

“We have a responsibility to remind people that our agenda is the truth, our primary responsibility is to check every claim and to uncover,” she said. “People are not always going to like the answer to that.”

Amid a part-time faculty strike at Columbia College Chicago, the Chronicle isn’t only serving the needs of students.

“We keep having to remind people that our audience, as a student-run newspaper, is not just students, it’s also faculty, its administrators, its parents, its alumni, it’s the residents who live around our campus,” Spinner said.

Their diverse audiences are reminiscent of our school newspaper, The DePaulia. We’re thinking of DePaul, Lincoln Park and Chicago concurrently.

But there will always be objections to the solutions. Issues can quickly become politicized and take partisan sides. Presenting a solution doesn’t mean journalists are taking a stance.

“What benefit does it do for people to say, ‘look at everything that’s wrong,’ and not say, but ‘here’s something that’s right.’ I don’t think there’s a fundamental conflict between those two things,” Spinner said.

While the clock is ticking and my time as a student ends, I’m reflecting on how I’ll frame my stories to the public and the impact they have. I hope my stories don’t create a sense of anxiety for the audience but can give the necessary tools for them to feel informed.

“We’re supposed to give people information that they can make decisions that better impact their lives,” Spinner said.

That’s the purpose of journalism after all.

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By Hailey Bosek

Media distrust is at an all-time high. A new Gallup poll reveals that Americans’ trust in the media is nearing a record-breaking low. Only 7% of Americans report having “a great deal” of trust and confidence in the media, while 27% report having “a fair amount.” Journalists face a long and treacherous road to regain that trust, and the arguments on how to do so are abundant.

Retired NBC producer Susan LaSalla believes it all comes back to one thing: getting the facts right.

The Raleigh, North Carolina native knew from a young age that she wanted to see the world. After nine years answering phones and doing other newsroom jobs, LaSalla achieved her goal. She became the third woman at the network to become a producer. Her career is best explained by where she hasn’t been. Her career took her to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, the Middle East during the Gulf War, Russia, and Cuba. She also worked for NBC in Chicago and Miami, among other places. In 2009, she retired after a 43-year career at NBC. Her last 16 years were spent as the senior producer in Washington for The Today Show, earning her two Emmys.

LaSalla, like many, is disappointed in the state of journalism. The age of the internet and political discord have shifted the values that LaSalla feels journalists once heralded.

“I think it’s sort of come to the forefront with all the Trump stuff because of his outrageousness. You get back to FOX News, where FOX will 100% support anything Donald Trump says. But MSNBC will say he’s insane. He’s a liar. He’s a misogynist. And so that’s their blatant point of view,” said LaSalla. “I think most of this is because of social media. Journalism changed with the Internet because there were too many opinions out there.”

Despite the excess of opinions, LaSalla stands strong in her journalistic principles: Get your facts right and leave your opinion out of it.

“You have to have your facts. It’s all about facts,” said LaSalla. “A story you want and the story you come away with can be two different things.”

This is what LaSalla carried with her throughout her entire career. She navigated the political opinions of Washington with grace. Her parents came from different political parties, which might have armed LaSalla with the objectivity she feels is needed in journalism. Her track record of getting it right every time is credited to one process that she stressed always goes back to.

“Fact check, fact check, fact check,” said LaSalla.

LaSalla is concerned that journalism now cares more about sharing opinions than sharing the facts. The Pew Research Center found that Americans have trouble identifying the difference between factual and opinion statements in the news. LaSalla feels that journalists have no place in the world of opinions and that the principles of journalism are straightforward.

“It just seems so simplistic to me that you, of course, have a point of view. But as a journalist, nobody cares about your point of view; you’re there to do a job and to get answers,” said LaSalla. “Why do I have to have my beliefs as a journalist? Why does it matter what my beliefs are?”

LaSalla traveled the world and brought breaking news to the people who needed it most. She paved the way for women to have a place in journalism and did so with strict adherence to her ethics.

“We had the best of it because we loved what we did. We were terrified of getting it wrong, and we built careers on that,” said LaSalla.

LaSalla is settled down back home in her home state of North Carolina. She is happily retired and says she doesn’t envy emerging journalists in this climate.

“But you’re in an uphill battle with the rest of the world thinking of what you do for your profession sucks. There’s no trust in journalism,” said LaSalla. “You’ve got to prove them wrong.”

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by Samantha Moilanen

When Heidi Stevens began her column-writing career at the Chicago Tribune, one of the first personal essays she wrote delved into the experience of her first Christmas after divorce in 2012.

Titled “Dreaming of a pink Christmas,” the column recounts a conversation with her daughter about who would put up the Christmas tree in her father’s absence. Stevens responded by suggesting they purchase a new tree.

To her surprise, her daughter requested a pink Christmas tree that year.

For Stevens, this moment served as an epiphany making her realize that her children do not have to live her childhood experiences, but should have the freedom to shape their own. Going forward, Stevens vowed to create new memories with her children instead of attempting to recreate old ones.

This essay was one of the first in Stevens’ nationally syndicated column called “Balancing Act.” Stevens said the column’s name was inspired by her struggle to balance her life in the midst of a divorce.

“I had been recently divorced, I had two young kids, they were two and six at the time and I was literally trying to balance it all, which felt like an act because I was acting,” Stevens said.

While the column initially began as a personal exploration of work-life balance inspired by Stevens’ experiences as a recently divorced mother, it quickly evolved to cover a broad range of topics including: politics, relationships, race, gender and culture, all while maintaining a focus on parenting and family.

Stevens said the idea “that your life is not going the way you expected it to go at whatever chapter you’re in,” resonated with readers who can relate to the unexpected challenges life often brings.

Stevens said column writing is about connecting with readers through personal subjects while simultaneously addressing larger societal concepts.

One of Stevens’ more recent columns was on her mixed feelings about her daughter turning 18. Growing up, everyone reminds you that time flies and to cherish each moment, which Stevens says is wonderful but impossible advice. She said no one prepared her for the moment her daughter would reach adulthood, but instead of dwelling on the past, she wrote about raising her daughter with the words, “be careful with me,” always in mind because while time flies, a parent’s impact on their children lasts forever.

Stevens explains her approach saying, “My feeling is we live in a time where the news and headlines are swirling around us so fast on so many platforms that if I can reach up into the swirl, and grab one thing, and just … talk about it for a few minutes with readers. That’s what I want the column to do.”

However, Stevens admits balancing personal journalism is a delicate art. While this type of journalism allows for greater emotional resonance, Stevens acknowledges the need for balance.

“Some of the best writing is the most personal,” Stevens said. “But you have to do it sparingly, because otherwise you’re just sort of writing a diary and then opening it up for people to read.”

Stevens hopes her column helps readers navigate the complexities of their own lives by sharing thoughtful accounts of her lived experiences.

As Stevens puts it, “If you can make people feel less alone, that’s your point.”

With her storytelling abilities and journalistic expertise, Stevens not only informs but also forges an emotional connection with her readers, addressing topics that touch the lives of her audience through a combination of reporting and personal narrative.

Just as the pink Christmas tree marked Stevens’ departure from tradition, her column breaks away from the norm, delving into topics often left unexplored by the mainstream media with the hope of helping others find solace in shared experiences.

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By Stephania Rodriguez

The arrival of thousands of migrants in Chicago (most of them from Central and South America) in recent months has stirred up conversations about how journalists should cover their stories. Though it’s not a new phenomenon in our country’s (or humanity’s) history, it’s a topic that undergoes continuous transformations in discourse, and therefore, deserves to open discussion about how it should be covered.

Maria Inés Zamudio, an award-winning investigative journalist and current reporter for the Center for Public Integrity, has been covering immigration for over a decade. It’s a nuanced topic that she said takes time and effort to understand and must be approached cautiously.

It was Zamudio’s identity and cultural background that would help lead her to reporting on immigration.  A Mexican immigrant herself, her journalistic career began with an internship at the Springfield News-Leader in Southwest Missouri. There her editor looked to her for guidance on how to cover the area’s migrant community.

“I was in my early 20’s,” Zamudio said. “I didn’t really know what I was doing, and it was difficult. But it was the beginning [of my understanding] that because of who I am and my language and cultural skills, I have to cover this community.”

From there Zamudio dedicated time to enhancing her understanding of immigration policy and history. She said any journalist interested in immigration reporting should do the same.

“Immigration reporting, it doesn’t start, and it doesn’t stop at the border,” she said. “This new wave of immigrants – it’s just that, another wave of immigrants. So, I would argue that if you want to do immigration reporting, to really study history and to understand how those policies really influence the flow of migration, and why certain things are the way that they are.”

Knowing your facts and history can help you uncover more ideas for stories, she said.  The “hidden gems” of stories that are not being told.

Zamudio’s reporting has highlighted the consequences of miseducation of undocumented immigrants with U.S. law, U.S. military veterans deported under the Trump administration, and the dangers that Central American women face while traveling through Mexico as they try to reach the United States.

As she continued to learn and cover the beat, Zamudio said she was always concerned about the consequences her reporting might bring to the people she spoke to.  She said it’s important for journalists to give their sources “informed consent,” and take the time to explain what their participation in a story will look like and what they may be risking.

Today, some media organizations have begun to create and share guides online that outline standards of practice for immigration reporting, something Zamudio said she didn’t have when she began her career.  Some examples she referenced include the National Association for Hispanic Journalists’ Cultural Competence Handbook and the Dart Center.

“When I came into this business, we were still having conversations about whether or not to use the term ‘illegal immigrants’,” she said. “And back then, AP Style was very much [recommending the use of the term].”

Even after informing themselves with all the knowledge and the best standards of practice, reporting on immigration or any story that involves trauma can lead journalists to find themselves in situations that they’re not sure how to handle.  For young journalists, Zamudio said there is one tool they can always use as a guiding compass when encountering an ethical dilemma: themselves.

“What I tell young people is, try and figure out what you are comfortable living with,” she said. “Because at the end of the day, the editors, or whomever pressures you to do something that you may or may not want to do, it’s not their name or their story, it’s yours.”

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By Alyssa Gomez

My days are numbered before I am on air at my first news station and there is one daunting question that continues to remain unanswered, should I ever be in the situation that so many reporters have found themselves in. I have wondered how do we, as journalists, approach reporting on mass shootings in America that does justice to the people and brings them humanity? How do we respectfully report and differentiate each situation, so it does not flash across the screen to our audiences as “just another mass shooting?”

Ismael Estrada had just spent the last year in Uvalde, Texas when he graciously answered my phone call.

He explained to me how he covered many mass shootings prior to Uvalde; Newtown, Parkland, and Santa Fe. In the wake of a mass shooting, many news outlets spend weeks in town, seeing how they recover, and if the perpetrator is caught. And then they leave.  No more news coverage.

ABC Network wanted to take a different approach with Uvalde and Estrada decided to be one of the reporters who answered the call. He dedicated the past year to telling not just the story of the mass shooting, but what happened in the year that followed. How does a small town of only about 15,000 recover from losing the innocent lives of children? The first question I had for Ismael was: how do you get them to not only talk to you, but trust you with their stories?

Estrada worked to gain the trust of eventually what would be five Uvalde families, following them in their day-to-day lives throughout the year.  “It took some patience, and it took some persistence to get them to crack the door open to me,” said Estrada. In the beginning stages, there was not always a camera and Estrada explained  that much of the time he spent with the families was just getting to know them, whether over family dinners or other gatherings. He gained their trust and got to know their stories before approaching them with a camera in that difficult time.

It was an act of patience, an act that is admirable in an industry where we rush to every story we produce. I have found that being prompt to release pertinent information is vital in this industry; but being factually correct is even more important. More than that, when dealing with a story that is so sensitive, respect should be the utmost priority. Estrada’s approach to the Uvalde families was a display of respect and humanity that every journalist should strive for when approaching stories of this kind.

“It’s not the kind of thing you can just check in on because you don’t build the trust with the families…there needs to be an investment made to really truly understand the families and get to know them because that is getting to the heart of what this gun violence is doing in America and unless you see it on an everyday basis – you see what a smell, or a song, or a laugh or a moment or anything, can do to a family – you don’t truly understand what this does to the fabric of the families.”

There is so much you can learn about journalism in school, yet I don’t think anyone can be prepared to cover something as tragic as Uvalde. I hope Ismael’s year in Uvalde opens peoples’ eyes in the same way it has mine. It is not only an excellent display of journalism, but a lesson in humanity, integrity, respect and how we can always change our approach to tell a story with justice.

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by Grace Vaughn

Feature reporter Roxanne Roberts has built a strong reputation in Washington, D.C. by prioritizing fairness in her work. It is her secret to building trust not only with her readers but also the high-profile people she coversfor The Washington Post.

“Sometimes people will joke, ‘Well I hope you’re going to write a good article’ and I say, ‘I promise you I will write a fair article’, or occasionally someone would say, ‘Well that was a very generous piece’ and I say, ‘but it’s factual,’ ” Roberts said.

Though, this does not mean it’s always an easy task. Roberts recalls covering speeches delivered on the floors of the House and Senate that were “reprehensible, and yet, she remained focused on the job at hand by having a clear sense of why she was doing the story.

“My general idea was that I was representing this esteemed institution with the objective of trying to do a fair story that my editors had entrusted in me. To ask the questions I think the readers want to know, to do it thoughtfully,” she said. “Your objective should be to illuminate that person, and their ideas and try to show why they matter at any given moment in time.”

She finds ease in sticking to presenting the facts and letting readers make their own decisions about how they feel about someone or something.

“Jeff Bezos is very interested in who is reading, how long they are reading, what they are reading. Part of his genius is collecting data on his customers, and that’s the business side of it. My side of it is always that you have an obligation to be as fair as you can be with every piece of information that is available to you,” she said.

The field has evolved in many ways since Roberts first started at the paper in 1988. Navigating issues of disinformation, propaganda and social media were not topics she dealt with in the newsroom prior to the last decade.

When considering how to cover more divisive issues or people, she leans on a lesson learned during a semester in college.

“I once had a great philosophy professor who said, ‘You’re never going to win a debate unless you have a general agreement on terms because you can’t argue someone out of a belief system,’” she said.

Roberts applies this way of thinking to her reporting by approaching differences of belief with curiosity and the goal of gaining a better sense of understanding.

“If the person is also approaching it with good faith, they should not be upset if you ask questions that challenge any of those beliefs because they should be able to say, ‘well I can understand you may not share this, but this is why I believe this,’” she said. “And that can be true whether you are talking about gun control or abortion or climate change or anything else, if there’s an understanding that you don’t have to share the belief to respect the person’s position.”

Despite changes in the industry, she remains hopeful about journalism’s future.

“If you work on the assumption that people will always try to make sense of their world,” she said, “then journalism is always going to be the first interpreter of that, no matter how it gets distorted or siloed on cable or in any other ways.”

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By Patrick Sloan-Turner

No class can prepare you to cover a potentially dangerous scenario like a mass shooting that includes hundreds of officers and first responders, lives lost and immeasurable trauma. Handling a delicate situation like this requires tools that are only gained through on-the-job experience.

A reporter must obtain the necessary information regarding a developing story, while also letting first responders do their jobs. Hearing first-hand accounts of what has transpired is crucial, but so is showing respect to bystanders who witnessed what happened.

Former Chicago Tribune reporter Annie Sweeney knows this challenge all too well.

In what she calls the “most consequential” pieces of reporting she’s ever done, Sweeney was on the ground immediately following the July 4, 2022, mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois.

“There is a sense of, you do not want to miss the opportunity to fully absorb what’s going on,” Sweeny said. “And, importantly, not miss an opportunity to know how to follow up or connect with someone later.”

While it’s nothing like what happened in Highland Park last year, in October, I covered a breaking news scenario on the ground for the first time. Last fall, I rushed to the scene when a DePaul University student barricaded themselves in their dorm room at McCabe Hall.

I was hearing rumors that the student was threatening self-harm and rumors that they had a weapon. Other residents of the hall were gathered outside, barred from entering as a SWAT team made its way inside. Students were visibly frightened, and I couldn’t help but wonder if and how I should approach them.

Sweeney said she’s learned that while a reporter may want to hear witnesses’ accounts right away, it’s often better to make contact and give them a chance to speak in the future.

“That’s the that’s a balancing you do,” Sweeney said. “You’re saying, ‘I don’t want to miss this, I can see that this person is here and was involved and therefore might be a good source later to talk to, but I’m not going to ask them to be interviewed unless I feel like it’s an okay thing to do.’”

With other Tribune reporters, Sweeney initially reported what happened on the day of the event. In following up the story, she shifted to the role of state gun laws and how they played a part in the shooting, publishing that piece the next day.

Not until weeks and months later did Sweeney focus on the stories of those who were there that day and were directly traumatized by what took place. Sweeney said that she tries to approach victims delicately and thoughtfully, giving them space to only be a part of the story if they choose to be.

“You’re a total stranger to them, right?” Sweeney said. “It’s tough to invade somebody’s space right then and there and say, I’d like to include you in this story.”

Over the years, Sweeney said she learned some nuance in handling these conversations that allow her to show respect, while also leaving things open telling these people’s stories if they’re comfortable sharing.

“The longer I did it, [I] came to understand better ways,” she said. “You tell them, ‘Can I tell you we’re doing a story about this, and I want to be sure you have an opportunity to be part of it with whatever you’re thinking and feeling right now because I want it to be accurate.’”

In my story at McCabe Hall, I elected not to speak to these students on the record right away. In all honesty, I only refrained from speaking to them because I felt unprepared to. Going forward, I’ll remember the Sweeney method, and give them my contact information and the option of speaking to me later.

There are two types of sources we speak to: those who are seasoned veterans at speaking with reporters – like elected officials and public figures – and those who aren’t. When we’re speaking with people who likely have never been interviewed before, it’s important to remember the power we have.

The story of those directly affected by a traumatic event is important, but it is not more important than respecting the pain they’re feeling.

Give them space, and maybe, they’ll give their story.

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By Grace Golembiewski

Are documentary and journalism two separate mediums? I think it’s a question many in the industry grapple with, including myself. But for veteran photojournalist and editor Michael DelGiudice, his work melded the two mediums and blurred the line many often see when it comes to documentary and journalism.

Since 2006, DelGiudice has worked for WNBC-TV in New York City. The native Long Islander is an eight-time winner of the “Photographer of the Year” award from the National Press Photographers Association. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the documentary “Long Island Lighthouses” in 2001.

However, the long-time photog is also a father of two, a die-hard Mets fan, and has a soft spot for reality TV. Before our interview, he had just returned from shooting a water main break in New Jersey and was making the long trek back home through Manhattan and Queens, a two-hour drive in standstill New York Traffic.

“Literally, I got there, and within two hours, we were live on the air, and that’s adrenaline pumping, exciting, and whatever. But if I’m being completely honest, it’s not my favorite thing. My favorite thing is to work on projects.”

Throughout his career, between the hard news, DelGiudice shot four other documentaries, including one in Guatemala and another in Mexico. As someone who has shot for hard news and documentaries, I couldn’t help but wonder what he thought about the differences between the mediums; however, the photographer sees them as almost the same, including their ethical standards.

“I think because I have such a lengthy news background, I treat my time as when I was shooting documentaries as if I was doing news… Whether I’m telling someone’s story or telling the audience about something, whether it’s an event or someone’s life, or any of those things, I feel like I need to have the same ethical feel,” said DelGiudice. “So that line where it’s documentary as opposed to telling or giving the news to a viewer, to me, there’s no difference.”

Additionally, for the photojournalist, there are other similarities the two mediums share. He believes that documentary is art, yet journalism can also be art, just as a documentary can be as truthful and accurate as journalism.

“I truly feel like documentary is an art form, but there certainly are news elements to it, there’s no doubt. I think that’s honestly the best kind of documentary is that mixture of art and news,” DelGiudice said. He concludes that news and documentary are different forms of storytelling. I want to go one step further and say that since news and documentaries are different forms of telling a story, they are both art in their own ways.

The editor sees his work outside of the documentary framework, such as news features, as still being documentaries. He states these news features are almost mini documentaries. Because of the editing process and thoughtfulness it takes to create short news pieces; I can understand why he thinks this way.

The work I have done in my classes leads me to agree. Documentary and journalism go hand in hand. While some may see the two as separate mediums, I agree with DelGiudice that some of the work is the same. We both want to create an accurate representation with thoughtful sources and excellent imagery and, most importantly, tell an audience a captivating story.

At the end of the day, documentarians and reporters are storytellers who, like DelGiudice, use their viewfinders to capture the most beautiful imagery to bring a narrative to life.

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by Juliana Pelaez

If you watch big news stations like NBC 5 or ABC News, you’ll notice that a lot of reporters have been there for quite some time. None of them are your fresh-out-of-college reporter. With this it leaves the question of where they can go to get that first job.

John Quinones, an ABC news correspondent, whose name today is one that will spark the eyes of many, had trouble finding a place in the field after he graduated. He still holds many of those letters of rejection.

“Fifty letters of rejection that I got when I wanted to be a local reporter in Texas. When I was getting started. I had to go back to graduate school. I went to Columbia University,” Quinones said. “I couldn’t get a job in television, even though I wanted it so desperately. And I was applying everywhere.”

But even after graduating from Columbia and getting his foot into the door, some still pushed him away.

Quinones career went from starting out as a radio news editor at KTRH in Houston, Texas from 1975 to 1978 and he also worked as an anchor and reporter for KPRC-TV in Houston. He later reported for WBBM-TV in Chicago. Then in 1982, Quiñones started as a general assignment correspondent with ABC News based in Miami.

“Oftentimes, when I was getting started, I would be out in the field for weeks reporting on a story. And then as the story got bigger, they would send a more seasoned reporter to take the story basically away from me,” Quinones said.

Even though his passion lies within broadcast journalism, the lack of experience compared to a seasoned reporter apparently lacked credibility for the bosses in his news outlet. And his move from place to place to New York created a reluctance from others to allow him to initially gain that trust.

“So, when you’re young, you have more of a hesitancy in New York, people who don’t know you. You don’t have a proven track record…So, you wind up having to prove yourself more often. When as you gain experience and your stories continue to ring true,” Quinones said.

As a current graduate student, I had some struggles right off the bat after I finished my undergraduate degree. I was ignored and rejected from some positions, so I went to DePaul to advance my education. But among my peers here they said that people only hire if you have the experience from student media rather than the work you put in the classroom.

While that may be true for most, Quinones shared that what matters most is that your curiosity trumps experience. You want to find the truth and share it from your own experience. It may take some time to gain that credibility but what matters is that you can and want to do the job.

Or as Quinones said, “you will get big footed until you become a bigfoot.”