News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists

Narrate or write news stories, reviews, or commentary for print, broadcast, or other communications media such as newspapers, magazines, radio, or television. May collect and analyze information through interview, investigation, or observation.

Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Artistic

Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Social

Third Interest High-Point

Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Enterprising

Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Investigative

Second Interest High-Point

First Interest High-Point

Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Conventional

Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Realistic

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Reporters and Correspondents

News Analysts, Reporters and Correspondents

Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

Media and Communication Workers

Write commentaries, columns, or scripts, using computers.

Coordinate and serve as an anchor on news broadcast programs.

Examine news items of local, national, and international significance to determine topics to address, or obtain assignments from editorial staff members.

Analyze and interpret news and information received from various sources to broadcast the information.

Receive assignments or evaluate leads or tips to develop story ideas.

Research a story's background information to provide complete and accurate information.

Arrange interviews with people who can provide information about a story.

Gather information and develop perspectives about news subjects through research, interviews, observation, and experience.

Select material most pertinent to presentation, and organize this material into appropriate formats.

Present news stories, and introduce in-depth videotaped segments or live transmissions from on-the-scene reporters.

Establish and maintain relationships with individuals who are credible sources of information.

Report news stories for publication or broadcast, describing the background and details of events.

Revise work to meet editorial approval or to fit time or space requirements.

Review and evaluate notes taken about news events to isolate pertinent facts and details.

Investigate breaking news developments, such as disasters, crimes, or human-interest stories.

Review written, audio, or video copy and correct errors in content, grammar, or punctuation, following prescribed editorial style and formatting guidelines.

Report on specialized fields such as medicine, green technology, environmental issues, science, politics, sports, arts, consumer affairs, business, religion, crime, or education.

Determine a published or broadcasted story's emphasis, length, and format and organize material accordingly.

Transmit news stories or reporting information from remote locations, using equipment such as satellite phones, telephones, fax machines, or modems.

Check reference materials, such as books, news files, or public records, to obtain relevant facts.

Discuss issues with editors to establish priorities or positions.

Present live or recorded commentary via broadcast media.

Take pictures or video and process them for inclusion in a story.

Conduct taped or filmed interviews or narratives.

Develop ideas or material for columns or commentaries by analyzing and interpreting news, current issues, or personal experiences.

Communicate with readers, viewers, advertisers, or the general public via mail, email, or telephone.

Write online blog entries that address news developments or offer additional information, opinions, or commentary on news events.

Assign stories to other reporters or duties to production staff.

Write columns, editorials, commentaries, or reviews that interpret events or offer opinions.

Communication headphones

Compact digital cameras

Digital audio recorders

Editing consoles

Flash disks

Laptop computers

Audion Laboratories VoxPro

Desktop Technologies NewsBoss

Microsoft Access

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft Word

Nielsen Arianna

RCS NexGen Digital

Web browser software

Desktop computers

Digital audio workstations

High definition HD video cameras

Laser facsimile machines

Microphones

Mobile broadcast units

Multi-line telephone systems

Personal computers

Satellite phones

Video editing equipment

Adobe Systems Adobe AfterEffects

Adobe Systems Adobe InDesign

ESRI ArcView

Facebook

Hypertext markup language HTML

LexisNexis

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Visual FoxPro

Twitter

CNN Anchor/Special Correspondent

I started, uh, working at the NBC affiliate in San Francisco, where I made about a third of what everybody else made and I  worked four days a week, and it was great. I was a terrible reporter. I had no idea what I was doing. I had no experience on air. You know, I had to really work on a couple of-- I used to make a list of three things at a time. I'm just going to focus on three things. I'm gonna focus on not nodding my head this way. I'm gonna focus on not saying "Um", and I'm gonna focus on getting the three lines out, "Behind me is Santa Clara "Prison. Inside is one of the most "notorious serial killers. His trial begins later today." Whatever, like, three points. That was it. I literally had a list. "These are the things "I'm gonna work on today." And to this day, I think, "Strategy, strategy, strategy," all the time. 

Soledad O'Brien Highlight

I always wanted to take jobs that stretched me and scared me a little bit. When I worked in San Francisco I remember talking to the news director about getting a chance to anchor, I was a reporter. They had a lot of female anchors they said no. Every six week I'd come in he'd be like oh yeah we should talk about it again in six weeks, and I'd say well I really want to be a producer. We'll talk about it I don't think right now but. And I realized right there that I was not going to grow, but they had a vision of what I was going to be and I thought I could do more than that. So I knew I had to leave. Just because somebody says you can't, doesn't necessarily really mean you can't and you have to remember that. You have to really decide well actually you can. You can. It may be really hard. It may be something you're not naturally good at. It may take ten times the amount of work for you than it does somebody around you. But you definitely can. So how bad do you want it? That's really the question? 

Choices

Courage

Perseverance

Values

You Can

Probably it was my first year of college. I had gone to pick up my mom from school. My mom was a high school teacher in my high school. And I went to a school that was majority white, 99.9998% white. And I picked up my mom, who's about 5'2 and a little Afro. And at one point we were walking out and the principal, and the assistant principal, and one of the head dean guys, three of these guys were in the hallway. And they had all stopped this 12 year old boy who was black who was running in the halls. And my mom stopped. And I remember being so impatient but of course my mom stops, I stopped. And it was a really weird dynamic cuz they said to my mom, Mrs. O'Brien we have it handled you can, you can go on. My mother said no actually I'm just going to stay here for a minute. And finally the principle and the assistant principle looked at the kid and said well young man do not run in the halls here. And he let him go. I remember thinking, wow! There was this incredible power in someone just not leaving. She didn't say a thing, she didn't do a thing, she didn't threaten that she was gonna do it. She just was translating, I'm just gonna watch what happens, and I'm going to be a faithful witness to what happens. And if I could think of a thing that made me want to become a journalist, or to have that power, it was moments like that. 

Experience

Family

Simplicity

Moments Like That

I ended up after that school, I went to Harvard undergrad. I left end of my junior year in order to start working in TV News and I loved it, my first day, I loved it. I loved it and just worked my way up from there. Started working, after I worked as a production assistant, went on to become a writer trainee and then went to NBC network. And then I got a job, NBC helped me get a job at the NBC affiliate in San Francisco, where I made about a third of what everybody else made and I worked four days a week. It was great, I was a terrible reporter, I had no idea what I was doing, I had no experience on air. I had to really work a couple of things, I used to make a list of three things at a time. I'm just gonna focus on three things. I'm gonna focus on not nodding my head this way, I'm gonna focus on not saying and I'm focus on getting the three lines out. Behind me is Santa Clara Prison, Inside is one of the most notorious serial killers. His trial begins later today, whatever. Three points, that was it. I literally had a list, these are the things I'm gonna work on today. 

Hard Work

Planning

These Three Things

During some of those turn downs, did you ever feel like maybe this isn't the right thing for me or? >> You know, I didn't, and here's why. Cuz I would look at the people who were doing it and I'd think, they're not all that. I know, nobody was like Einstein was sitting in the newsroom. I mean, it was people who are interesting and smart but I thought like well, I could do that. I could do that. It's not brain surgery and even then, Sanji's a brain surgeon. Okay, I give him a pass, you know, I couldn't do that. But for the most part, you'd sit and you'd watch people and you'd think, I could ask those kinds of questions, and I actually could ask better questions, or at least as dumb as those questions. >> [LAUGH] >> I mean no, that's, so there were tons of people who were doing that job that I thought, they were okay, but I could probably do that. 

Doubt

Not Brain Surgery

Many people would say, me being one of them, that you have overcome all these things and been able to find so much success in your life and I'm just curious how you define success? >> I think that's the $64,000 question, because I don't feel like I overcame a lot and I don't feel like I found tremendous success. I think for me, success is about having happy family at home, and getting work done well. And there was a time when I thought success was like so what are you getting paid, what's your title. That is so far from accurate, it's laughable. Has nothing to do with money. It has nothing to do with your title. It really doesn't, because if the people around you are miserable, it just is not. It's impossible to enjoy. 

Success

$64,000 Question

But I was racked with self doubt. I didn't really know what I wanted to do, I didn't think I was particularly good. I knew I loved working in a news room, and I knew that well it has to be learnable. I'm not particularly good at it now, but I see a lot of people doing it and they're not that great so. How do they get there? What do I have to do? I mean, I could do that, I could do her job, I could do that, how do I get there? What do I do? What are the skills I need to learn? I really focused on that. I literally have a list. These are things I'm gonna work on today and as I get them, I cross them off the list and replace them with something else and I went at it very strategically until this day I think, strategy, strategy, strategy all the time 

Has To Be Learnable

To me, my real focus was to do whatever the thing I was doing really well. I knew I could outwork people. I could have no clue about what I was being assigned to do, and I could just really feel like I was in over my head, but I knew that I will outwork all of you. And I will stay here till midnight if I have to figure it out. And I would look at other people's scripts, and I would say, here's how I would write it. And then I'd look at somebody else, the actual reporter who did it and think, oh, wow they did it that way. And try to learn all the time from what other people were doing, and not worry so much about the end goal. 

Talent

Out Work

<p>It's the last week of the team's six-week Roadtrip-and also Hannah and Antoine's first time in New York City. While there, they meet up with MMA (Mixed Marital Arts) reporter Ariel Helwani who talks about his beginnings as a shy kid to becoming one of the most notable MMA sports reporters in the world. At the end of their conversation, he stresses to the team, "don't give up on your dreams." Antoine, Hannah, and Nika then move on to their last interview at the CNN headquarters where they meet with anchor Soledad O'Brien who talks about the hard work it takes to follow a dream. Afterward, the team reflects on the events of the trip and the people they met before signing the Green RV and saying their goodbyes.</p>

New York City

What made you wanna do stories of other people whose stories are untold, not represented or glossed over in the mainstream media? What made you interested in that? >> Well, a lot of reasons, you don't run into people. I've covered the JonBenet Ramsey story. You are elbow to elbow. I've covered Columbine. You are out there with 2,700 other people. Descending on a community, covering the story. It's not an interesting way to do a story, as a journalist. When we started doing stories like Black in America and Latino in America, there was such impact. It was, like, wow. We really did something that people hadn't done. Wow, these stories really mattered. It was really the sense of impact. I remember walking through after Hurricane Katrina. We were coming back through the airport and people saw our CNN caps and they started to stand up and clap for us. In the airport, it was unbelievable. It was unbelievable. I remember thinking like wow, we're getting a standing ovation because of the work we've done. No because we felt like, who gets a standing ovation because we're, and part of that was just you out work everybody. You land and you just tell those stories and tell those stories and the really good ones are not the ones where 18 satellite trucks are parked. They're the ones where you sorta drive a little extra distance and you ask a little extra question and you sort of dig a little bit harder and those are the rewarding ones. So some ways it was totally selfish. It wasn't a crowded field and I could identify with a lot of the stories. 

Exploration

Inspiration

The Little Extra Distance

So, you know? I feel really lucky. Cuz I feel like I've worked hard. And I've gotten to realize something that I thought I could do well. Mm-hm. And the reason I could do it well was not magic. It's because I sat down and said, okay. So, I know lots of people write scripts. So today, I'm going to learn how to write a script, and it's gonna be a crappy script. But guess what? It's gonna be a script. And then tomorrow, I'm gonna tackle it again. And I'm just gonna outwork people. And I'm just gonna figure it out, because it's not magic. I'm not sure what I would say, I think I want to be a physicist. And see, if I can build, never that wouldn't be. But creatively, I always thought I can do this, I think I can do this, and if I can't, I can certainly track down eight people who will give me 15 minutes of their time and just push me an inch closer to where I need to be. 

Support & Encouragement

Magic

(Roadtripper #3) There's a lot of wisdom that can be learned from hearing from other people who had those same struggles and still are able to, you know, kick off the covers every morning and enjoy what they're doing and out there making a difference. (Soledad) When you have four kids, actually, they kick the covers off for you. So there's no choice in the matter at all. [roadtrippers laughing] (Soledad) I grew up in Long Island. My dad was a professor at the local SUNY university, but I remember this thing when I was a teenager, little, probably of my first year of college. I'd gone to pick up my mom from school-- my mom was a high school teacher in my high school. And I went to a school that was majority white-- 99.9998% white. And I picked up my mom, who's about 5'2" and a little afro, and at one point we walked, we're walking out and the, uh, principal and the assistant principal and one of the head dean guys-- three of these guys-- were in the hallway. And they had all stopped this sort of 12-year-old boy who was black who was running in the halls. And my mom kinda stopped. And I remember being so impatient, but of course, my mom stops, you know, I stopped. And it was a really weird dynamic 'cause they said to my mom, "Mrs. O'Brien, "we have it handled. You can, you know, you can go on." And my mother said, "No, actually, I'm just gonna stay here for a minute." And finally, the principal and the assistant principal looked at the kid and say, "You know, uh, young man, do not run in the halls here", and he, you know, let him go. And I remember thinking like, "Wow." There was this incredible power in someone just not leaving. She didn't say a thing, she didn't do a thing, she didn't threaten that she was gonna do anything; she just was translating, "I'm just gonna watch what happens, and I'm going to be a faithful witness to what happens." You know, and if I could think of a thing that made me want to become a journalist or to have that power, it was moments like that. An-and that's, you know, I-I ended up, you know, after that school, I went to Harvard undergrad. I, uh, left my, end of my junior year in order to start working in TV news. And I loved it my first day. I loved it, I loved it. And just worked my way up from there. Started, um, working, after I worked as a production assistant, um, went on to become a writer trainee, and then went to NBC Network. And then I got a job, NBC helped me get a job at the NBC affiliate in San Francisco, where I made about a third of what everybody else made, and I worked four days a week, and it was great. I was a terrible reporter. I had no idea what I was doing. I had no experience on air. You know, I had to really work on a couple of-- I used to make a list of three things at a time. I'm just going to focus on three things. I'm gonna focus on not nodding my head this way. I'm gonna focus on not saying "Um", and I'm gonna focus on getting the three lines out, "Behind me is Santa Clara Prison. "Inside is one of the most notorious serial killers. His trial begins later today." Whatever, like, three points. That was it. I literally had a list. "These are the things I'm gonna work on today." And to this day, I think, "Strategy, strategy, strategy, all the time." (Roadtripper #3) I'm just curious. For me, sometimes, you see this place that you wanna get to, but you know how far you have to go before you actually get there. And sometimes, that drains on me a little bit, and I'm just curious, did that really work-- (Soledad)  It worked great. (Roadtripper #3) All the, all the way? (Soledad)  Always. For me, list was always the way to do it. And not so that you're worrying about the long-term, but really you're saying, "These three things right now." I used to work with a young man, terrible prompter operator, because he'd go out on Friday night, we did a Saturday morning show. And the prompter would be going along fine, lookin' at the prompter, lookin' at the prompter, and then it would slow down and then it would stop because he would fall asleep. And I'd be like, "What're you doing?" And he's like, "I'm sorry. "You know, I went out last night. "I'm really tired. "'Cause Soledad, truth is, "I really wanna be writing my own stuff. I don't really wanna be working the prompter." And I was like, "Great, you should do that, for someone else! You're fired!" Because, you know, he-he, why would you keep someone who cannot manage the really basic building blocks of helping this team get on the air fulfill his dream of writing his own stuff and living his dream-- which is good for him, I hope he's doing it to this day. But what I needed was a really good prompter operator. And I got one, once I fired that guy! You know, and that person went on when they were ready to do something else. I gave him a recommendation that was glowing. What you wanna do is be really good in the moment so you can move on to the next thing. Uh, and I think a lot of times, people are sort of looking at the big picture. "Oh I don't really wanna do this job because my job is really to help people and blah blah blah." Well that job's not available right now. You know, Katie Couric's anchoring the CBS evening news right now. That job's not open. You know, but that doesn't mean you can't have that job one day. It's just this moment, you need to do X, Y, and Z really well. And if you can hold yourself to that, you can do really well, and you can build to that other stuff. (Roadtripper #2) So in your pursuit of, um, you know, becoming a journalist, were there times where you had doubt or felt discouraged or-- (Soledad) Constantly, constantly, constantly! (Roadtripper #2) How did you overcome them? (Soledad) You know, I always wanted to take jobs that stretched me and scared me a little bit. When I worked in San Francisco, I-I remember talking to the news director about getting a chance to anchor. I was a reporter. They had a lot of female anchors, and they said no. You know, every six weeks, I'd come in, he'd be like, "Yeah, we should talk about it again in six weeks you know," and I'd say, "Well, I really wanna be a producer." "You know, we'll talk about it. I don't think right now." And I realized right there that I was not gonna grow. They had a vision of what it was gonna be, and I thought I could do, I could do more than that. So I knew that I had to leave. You know just because somebody says you can't, doesn't necessarily really mean you can't, and you have to remember that. You know, you have to really decide, "Well, actually, you can." You can! It may be really hard. It may be something you're not naturally good at. It may take 10 times the amount of work for you than it does somebody around you. But you definitely can, so how bad do you want it? That's really the question. 

Interview

When I was growing up, my mom used to tell us a story of how she and my dad when they started dating, when they met. My mom came from Cuba, my dad's Australian, and they used to have daily mass together. My dad used to have a little car and he'd drive, my mom would walk. And he'd wind down the window, and I'd tell his [INAUDIBLE]. You know how hard it is to wind down the window, because you guys have power windows now. But at the time, you had lean over and wind down the window, it was hard. >> [LAUGH] >> And everyday he would wind down the window, and everyday I'm listening. No thank you, cuz you don't accept a ride from a man you don't know. And then one day she said yes, but they were at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. And Maryland is one of the states where interracial marriage was illegal when they were dating. And they couldn't get served anywhere together because no one would serve an interracial couple. Navigate around the obstacles, just navigate around, they got married. To get married they had to drive to Washington, DC. Cuz interracial marriage was illegal in the state where they lived. They just drove out the closest place they could find, got married, drove back to their home and lived illegally as a wedded couple. If you think about it, the law of the land said you can't get married. What they do? They got in my dad's car drove where they go, got there, and then came back. Just so [SOUND] ] I'm just gonna work around this obstacle. And so when I think about my obstacles, I think, this is nothing compared to what they dealt with. 

Conflict

Opportunity

Obstacles

I'm just curious, for me sometimes, you see this place that you wanna get to, but you know how far you have to go before you actually get there. And sometimes that drains on me a little bit and I'm just curious did that really work- >> It worked great. >> All the way- >> Always. For me, list was always the way to do it, and not so you're worrying about the long term, but really you're saying these three things right now. I used to work with a young man, terrible prompter operator, because he'd go out on Friday night. We did a Saturday morning show and the prompter would be going along fine, looking at the prompter, looking at the prompter, and then it would slow down and then it would stop because he fell asleep. >> [LAUGH] >> And I'd be like, what are you doing? And he's say, I'm sorry, I went out last night, I'm really tired. Cuz, Soledad, the truth is, I really wanna be writing my own stuff, I don't wanna work at the prompter. And I was like, great, you should do that for someone else. You're fired. >> [LAUGH] >> Because why would you keep someone who cannot manage the really basic building blocks of helping this team get on the air, fulfill his dream of writing his own stuff and living his dream? Which is good for him, I hope he's doing it to this day. But what I needed was a really good prompter operator. And I got one, once I fired that guy. And that person went on, when they were ready to do something else. I gave them a recommendation that was glowing. What you wanna do is be really good in the moment so you can move on to the next thing. And I think a lot of times people are sorta looking at the big picture. Oh I don't really wanna do this job because my job is really to help people and blah blah blah well that job's not available right now. Katie Couric's anchoring the CBS evening news right now. >> [LAUGH] >> That job's not open. But that doesn't mean you can't have that job one day. It's just, this moment, you need to do X, Y, and Z really well, and if you can hold yourself to that, you can do really well, and you can build to that other stuff. 

Soledad O'Brien

CNN Anchor / Special Correspondent

Videos

Soledad O'Brien

Milestones

Education

Career

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

My work combines:

Journalism

Television

Communicating / Sharing Stories

Interviewed By

New York City

Soledad O'Brien

CNN Anchor / Special Correspondent

Videos

Soledad O'Brien

Milestones

Education

Career

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

My work combines:

Journalism

Television

Communicating / Sharing Stories

Interviewed By

New York City

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