In Koury Auditorium on March 22, 2010 at 5:30 p.m., Alison Stewart spoke to the public about her ability to not procrastinate, finding your dream job, and the unknown future of commercial news.
Stewart's opening about how she never procrastinates, but her wanting her speech to be current made her wait until last minute to write her speech, made her audience laugh and revealed her relaxation and quirky attitude that undoubtedly has fueled her success in her career. As a numerous-time winner in journalism awards, Stewart has worked for many renowned news stations such as MTV news, NPR, CBS News, ABC News, and MSNBC.
With enormous amounts of experience in the new industry, Stewart suggests cable TV and online news are most successful as a "product," and in reality it always comes down to the money. She classified newspapers' current low as an "erosion" and not a collapse, implying the descent was inevitable natural, and not a sudden crash.
Good, trustworthy news is getting hard to find, Stewart also points out. "You need first-person reporting" Steward said. This can restore the trust in the media, which is important when people are sampling news from all different platforms these days. People are seeing different voices. Commercial news has become flexible and available, "but then you get Michael Jackson news," Stewart says. She has a focused, realistic view on media's current standing. She states simply how people are always going to be interested in information, and that news will always have the opportunity for storytelling and starting conversations.
Stewart kept the audience engaged by showing several youtube clips like "How to make a news report" and "The Blogs Must Be Crazy" from Jon Stewart. These clips were also humorous and highlighted Stewart's funny personality.
On a more serious note, Stewart advised businesses: "Create something people can and want to invest in." In business, Stewart seems to know the tricks of the trade. "It comes down to numbers," she says. "Some traditional media won't budge, but it comes down to money."
As for finding your dream job? "The job you want may not exist yet," she says. This might have been the most important piece of advice I've gotten all semester.
