Growing up, Logan Kreisberg of Stamford, Connecticut, listened to his father fondly recall how a month-long radio, film and television program at Northwestern University in 1988 led him to a career he loved.
This summer, Kreisberg got a similar chance while attending the four-week Medill-Northwestern Journalism Institute. Kreisberg said the program reinforced his love for journalism and gave him a “better understanding of the craft.”
When asked about what specific lectures were most helpful in showing him what journalism looks like as a career, Kreisberg said Erin Ailworth’s presentation “Natural Disasters & Other Breaking News.”
“She talked a lot about what it’s like to report on disasters and gave me an understanding of how serious and sometimes dangerous the work can be,” Kreisberg said. “It was the first lecture, so it was my first look into what journalism can look like as a profession.”
Ailworth said her goal with her presentation was to provide students with insights on what it is like to be a breaking news journalist.
“I just hope students take away from that my enthusiasm,” Ailworth said, “and maybe it sparks some of their own.”
Caroline Zeng of Beijing said this program showed her journalism is more than sitting at a desk and making calls, which she did at a previous reporting internship.
“I loved my time here,” Zeng said. “I think this strengthened my interest in journalism.”
From CBS to the Wall Street Journal to Fox News, cherubs got to go on tours of professional newsrooms. Maia Weissman of Glenview, Illinois, visited WBEZ and the Chicago Sun Times.
“I just really could picture myself sitting in those chairs,” Weissman said.
Both Kreisberg and Weissman said this program taught them skills they will take with them even if they do not end up as a journalist.
“It is so much fun, and even if ultimately you don’t decide that you want to go into journalism,” Weissman said, “this program still has so much value.”
