Journalism

Professionals, recent grads share advice at Career Day

March 26, 2014

Jouranlism Career Day speakersJournalism and public relations practitioners, both highly experienced and recently graduated, shared tips and insight on the profession during a Career Day event hosted by the CSUN Journalism Department in the Lake View Terrace Room on Thursday, March 20.

Olsen Ebright, digital executive producer for KTLA, began the event with a keynote speech focusing on tips for students entering the workforce. He spoke about the importance of strong writing, internships and going the extra mile in a job. He then joined the working professional panel, who shared their stories from years of personal experience working in television, radio, print and online. The panel spoke from an executive level and guided students through the “do’s and don’ts” of a career in broadcast news, print/online, photojournalism and public relations. 

Former sports editor of the Daily Sundial, Stuart Levine (‘86), who now heads up editorial and media relations for NBC Entertainment, talked about the importance of not burning bridges.

“Be nice to people,” Levine said. “The people you meet now, you might need them 10 years from now or they might need you 10 years from now.” 

Maria Colias, an Emmy Award-winning Spanish-language broadcast journalist with more than 17 years of radio and television experience, and Karen Grigsby Bates, lead correspondent for NPR’s Code Switch, said that producing well-written content is the key to success in the journalism field.

The second panel featured recent CSUN journalism graduates who have successfully transitioned to their professional careers. Christina Cocca ('13) is now a digital producer at NBC4. Paula Munoz serves as an assistant coordinator/editor at Invision, which is Associated Press¹ photo entertainment agency. Ruben Ochoa ('13), is a digital strategist with the prestigious public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, and entrepreneur Brit Sharon ('12) serves as co-founder and president of the public relations company, a Slice of PR. They talked about the importance of internships and networking while still in college.

“The success stories of CSUN alum are motivating and calming,” said Christina Madain, public relations emphasis. “As a graduating senior, it’s reassuring to hear advice from both employers and recent grads."

Journalism Career Day speakers

Both panels reiterated the importance of internships and making connections in the community.

“Know your worth,” said Munoz. “Should you work for free? Probably not. You are doing really hard work and you should get paid for it. That being said, I did about a year-and-a-half of free work. I got paid nothing. And then I got hired full time. So it pays off. You have to decide what is right for you.”

Career Day ended with a resume, portfolio and demo reel review and improvement workshop held in the Flintridge Room of the USU.

Journalism Career Day resume review session

The Journalism Alumni Association and Journalism Department helped organize the event.