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Article by Kay-Lee Ebanks, January 19, 2016<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Article by Kay-Lee Ebanks, January 19, 2016<\/p>\n
When Ricardo Montero-Hernandez, 11, and his mother immigrated to the United States in 2006, they had hoped to find a college that they could afford and that would also provide a good education.<\/p>\n
Recalling that strategy in an interview, Montero-Hernandez, a fourth-year media studies major whose passion is journalism, described the steps that he has been taking to pursue a career in broadcast journalism. The 21 year old, who wore a red knitted sweater, a grey jacket, grey pants and red sneakers, cracked his knuckles while he spoke and said that he \u201cwrote articles for whatever publication I could get published at.\u201d<\/p>\n
This resident of Harlem, at the time of the interview, had a paid news reporting internship at the CNN News Bureau in New York City. He also said that he wrote for a student-run newspaper, the Envoy, and for the faculty-supervised the WORD<\/strong><\/em>, and that he also anchored a news program for Hunter’s student-run WHCS radio<\/a> and wrote scripts for the WHCS radio program, Hunter News at Noon. He also was a political analyst for a comedy show, \u201cEverything Sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJournalism should not be a career, it should be a passion,\u201d he said, as he moved away from the escalators on the seventh floor of the West Building to avoid a crowd of students who were just leaving a lecture. Montero-Hernandez described himself as someone who takes \u201cadvantage of every opportunity\u201d that he can. He said that he hoped to start his own online business that integrated journalism with multimedia.<\/p>\n Amina Talat, 24, also said that she hoped to pursue a career in journalism after graduating. \u201cI want to be like Terrence J and interview celebrities, whether it\u2019s in print or broadcasting,\u201d said Talat. Terrence J co-hosts BET’s 106 & Park in 2006 and E! News as well as Giuliana Rancic in 2012, according to the BET<\/a> official website. According to Wikipedia, he also is an American actor and television personality and model.<\/p>\n Talat, who was interviewed in the auditorium on the second floor of the North Building while she completed a class assignment, said that she was in the process of starting a new internship at the Wendy William\u2019s Show as a TV studio production intern. She also said that she believed that journalism internships can open doors al though the Wendy William’s show, according to Wikipedia, is an syndicated infotainment talk show<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI am taking the right journalism classes and I\u2019m aiming to do more internships to help gain experience,\u201d said the Bayonne resident who wore a long sleeved white sheer blouse, black jeans, and black boots at the time of her interview.<\/p>\n Talat, a senior, described the \u201cright journalism classes\u201d as the department-required introductory and production courses for all media studies majors with a journalism concentration. According to the website<\/a> for the Department of Film and Media, the journalism concentration requires students to take nine credits in the introductory courses which includes Media 150 and 160, a prerequisite to all video production courses, and six credits in the required production courses which includes Reporting and Writing 1 and 2, both writing intensive classes.<\/p>\n Talat said that her biggest challenges as a student who wants a journalism career are \u201cregistering for classes\u201d and \u201cgetting professors that genuinely care.\u201d She described her ideal journalism professors as instructors who have real world experiences in journalism and are “knowledgeable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSome professors are only here for a paycheck,\u201d she said as her eyebrows furrowed and she fixed her gaze straight ahead. \u201cI want a professor who assigns field work and edit our articles so that we can learn from our mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n Chello Cruz, 21, another media studies major whose focus is journalism, said he had a \u201cpassion for photo-journalism\u201d and was only taking courses for the media studies degree because \u201cit’s required.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI hope to graduate,\u201d said senior, who wore a blue graphic T-shirt under a green jacket, black jeans, black vans, and a black fedora. \u201cI didn’t really go to school to learn anything, I only went to get a degree.\u201d<\/p>\n Cruz, who was interviewed in the outdoor seating area just outside of the library, said that he owns a photography business<\/a> that focuses mainly on portraits and city life. He also said that the media studies major at Hunter should focus on active participation with up-to-date technology rather than theory.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be a great person in media, you have to have experience,\u201d said Cruz.<\/p>\n Carlos Miller, a multimedia Miami journalist and creator of the news site Photography Is Not a Crime<\/a>, and who graduated Florida International University with a degree in communications, said in an interview, \u201cMy goal was to become a writer for Rolling Stone Magazine, so I started writing for my high school newspaper, then wrote for my college newspaper.\u201d<\/p>\n The photojournalist also said in the email interview that he was a \u201cborn writer and truth teller\u201d so pursuing a career in journalism was a \u201cnatural choice.\u201d He took journalism classes at Miami-Dade College and Florida International University. Miller also said that he interned at the South Dade News Leader, a small newspaper in Homestead, Florida.<\/p>\n \u201cMy college professors taught me how to be a better writer by learning how to tell stories rather than just compose a pile of information,\u201d said the veteran journalist.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n