Diversity in the Newsroom
Five journalists discuss how they got started in the business and offer advice to aspiring reporters
‘A Series of Happy Accidents’
Joie Chen, Correspondent, CBS News
Instead of aiming for a career in broadcast journalism, CBS News correspondent Joie Chen set her sights on becoming a newspaper reporter, studying print journalism at Northwestern University. Not finding a newspaper job upon graduation, she returned to Northwestern to complete a master’s degree in journalism.
One of her advisers, noting the lack of Asian television news journalists, suggested Chen try the broadcast program. The Chicago native gave broadcasting a shot and eventually landed a producer/reporter job at a Charleston, S.C., television station.
As it turned out, Chen’s on-air reporting talent proved far stronger than her behind-the-scenes producing skills. And so, less than a decade after graduating from Northwestern, she found herself being beamed into millions of homes as an anchorwoman on CNN International.
