Latest / The Starfish Storytellers / Season 4, Episode 3: Go Behind the Story - A Journalist’s Journey with Nerissa Lamison

Transcript

Season 4, Episode 3: Go Behind the Story - A Journalist’s Journey with Nerissa Lamison · The Starfish Storytellers

0:00
Welcome to the starfish storytellers the podcast
0:03
that makes a difference one story at a time by
0:05
bringing storytelling to life Well today I want
0:19
to share a story about resilience perseverance
0:22
and Moxie and going after your dreams I'm a broad,
0:29
I like to say I'm a retired news anchor on Reunion
0:32
Tour. I spent my career doing broadcast journalism
0:37
for over two decades. I think after 20 years,
0:40
I just stopped talking about it, stopped counting
0:43
the years. But I still do it. I still dabble.
0:46
I teach now, but it wasn't and I have 20 years
0:49
under my belt, but it wasn't easy and easy industry
0:52
to get into. I think it took a lot of moxie for
0:55
me to get in. It wasn't. I had a lot of people
0:59
tell me, a lot of people tell me, like, that's
1:01
a hard business to crack. Why do you want to
1:03
get into that? There's a lot of competition.
1:07
Why do you want to be on air? Because you look
1:10
more like an audio person or somebody that should
1:13
be in the background. And I could have easily
1:17
told myself, you know what, listen to other people.
1:19
But instead. I said, you know, if there are people
1:22
on TV that are doing it, why can't I do it? I
1:25
don't have the experience. I may not have the
1:27
look yet for it or the the speaking ability,
1:31
the public speaking skill that the professionals
1:34
have, but I'm going to just go for it. And that's
1:38
what I did. I despite people telling me along
1:41
the way, this is a tough business and, you know,
1:44
only so many people make it in. I didn't listen
1:47
to them. So I guess this is a story about. listening
1:50
to your gut instead of listening to outside voices
1:53
that may try to bring you down. I ended up going
1:57
to school and getting my undergrad degree in
1:59
radio TV and the first degree wasn't really a
2:03
learning journalism. It was supposed to be a
2:05
journalism program and a radio TV program, but
2:08
I didn't really learn what I needed to learn
2:10
to get into the business. I think I came out
2:14
of there with a music video and learning how
2:16
to do a music video and we did a lot of stuff
2:19
on paper, pretending like we were in TV. So where
2:23
I got my real experience was when I went to graduate
2:25
school and had New York City as my laboratory
2:32
to learn how to hone my skill. And that was also
2:35
very scary because I was around, it was New York
2:38
City, the biggest market. the most popular market
2:41
in the world, arguably, and probably one of the
2:45
best journalism schools in the world, arguably.
2:48
So I was very intimidated again. I found myself
2:50
intimidated again, surrounded by people that
2:53
I thought were better than me. But I think the
2:59
biggest thing that kept pushing me is having
3:01
no fear and just saying, OK, I'm here at school
3:04
and I'm going to learn. And if I fall, I fall.
3:06
But I have to get back up again and just keep
3:08
learning how. to soak everything in from my professors
3:13
and those who can teach me what I need to learn
3:17
so I can follow my dream. In grad school at Columbia
3:20
University, I was surrounded by people, brilliant
3:23
people, people that I thought were better than
3:25
me, that I knew were better than me. And I felt
3:29
like I was just the stupid person that I am in
3:33
over my head. But I just kept going, kept learning.
3:37
Realizing I'm in school and school is the place
3:40
to learn and I just dove in dove in and Learned
3:45
from the pros and just followed and watched followed
3:48
and watched until I got my own style Until I
3:51
felt more confident in each day each day Even
3:54
though I felt dumb dumb one day the next day
3:57
I'd feel a little less dumb and a little less
3:59
dumb and then I started getting some confidence
4:01
I kind of knew what I was doing so And then the
4:07
process just starts all over again. After I graduated,
4:10
I graduated and I was able to get my first job
4:13
right away, like probably a month after graduation.
4:16
And again, I found myself in the same place.
4:18
I was in a newsroom with people that were more
4:21
experienced than me. And again, I felt like the
4:25
dumb one in the room, the dumb one and everybody
4:27
could read the fear on my face and could read.
4:31
and figure out that I didn't know what I was
4:33
doing and I didn't know what I was doing but
4:36
that's okay not to know what you're doing as
4:38
I've learned now in my wise years I look back
4:41
it's okay not to know what you're doing because
4:43
whatever you don't know you can learn and you
4:46
and you learn and grow by just you keep trying
4:49
and you you keep trying and you keep working
4:52
at it and you get better eventually in time so
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you know I got through my first job I got through
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my second job, I got through my third job, and
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now I teach. So I guess the lesson here is you
5:08
always keep following your dreams and you don't
5:11
let people discourage you. And now those people
5:13
that discourage me, they are proud of me and
5:16
they like to drop my name sometimes. And who
5:19
would have thought that this was the person that
5:21
was so scared in the room and intimidated by
5:25
everybody. Had I not followed my gut instinct
5:28
and just gave myself a chance to try to learn
5:31
and grow, I wouldn't be where I am today. Now
5:33
I am teaching the next great generation of journalists
5:36
and I use that in my teaching. I see students
5:39
who are intimidated and they're worried and there's
5:43
like, there's no way I can be on camera. Yes,
5:46
you can. You are the managing director of your
5:49
dreams and your goals and you just manage it
5:51
and you make it happen. No fear, have moxie and
5:53
make it happen. That's my story. It's just, you
5:58
know, that's my story and I hope I tell my story
6:01
in many different ways in the classroom and I
6:04
hope that, you know, I will pass down the torch
6:07
to others so they can follow their dreams and
6:10
not be afraid. You can do whatever you want,
6:13
but you're the managing director of your dreams.
6:34
Hello, my name is Liana Henry and welcome to
6:36
the Starfish Storytellers. I'm the CEO of the
6:39
Black Dog Group, a MarCom and project management
6:42
firm headquartered on the east coast of the U
6:44
.S. in quaint colonial Bedford, Massachusetts.
6:47
I'm your host and passionate about storytelling.
6:50
I'm actually on a mission to raise up the next
6:52
generation of storytellers. We've named ourselves
6:55
the Starfish Storytellers after the Starfish
6:57
Story. The moral of the Starfish Story is based
7:00
on the power of one. No matter how big the challenge,
7:03
each action we take makes a difference and has
7:05
an impact. One step, one starfish, or one story
7:09
at a time. Every episode, we welcome a new storyteller
7:12
who will share their story meant to inspire and
7:15
connect with you. Then we'll break it down and
7:17
offer tips for any listeners who are ready to
7:19
tell their own stories. So thanks for tuning
7:21
in. Now let's get started. Today's episode is
7:25
the story behind the story, a journalist's journey.
7:27
And with me today is Nerissa Nlamisen. Narisa
7:31
has been an evening news anchor for ABC 7 News
7:34
in Tampa, Florida, and a member of the faculty
7:37
of Hillsborough Community College's radio, television,
7:40
and broadcast program, also in Tampa. Narisa,
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we're very excited that you're here, and I just
7:47
thank you so much for hopping on. Yes, thank
7:50
you, Leanna, for having me. So you've done a
7:54
great job with your story of introducing yourself,
7:56
but was there anything else you'd like to add
7:58
about yourself? Well, I'm also not, I'm not just
8:03
a broadcaster and a storyteller. I think my most
8:08
important role is that I'm a mother. I'd like
8:10
to say I'm a tiger mom of three. So yeah, I have
8:13
three daughters age 25. I've got two that are
8:16
adulting 25, 22 and a 16 year old. So that's
8:20
my most important role, I think. My most important
8:24
job. So I had seen somewhere, I read something
8:27
about you said you were a tiger mom. What does
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that mean? Why did you choose tiger? I don't
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know. It was a term that was coined probably
8:34
like in the mid 2000s. I think Tiger mom and
8:39
my girls will I'm just very I don't want to say
8:41
aggressive I guess I can be aggressive sometimes
8:43
but assertive and it's all stems around kind
8:47
of like the starfish I want my girls to follow
8:49
their dreams and I want them to max out life
8:51
I want them to take every opportunity that is
8:54
there out there and grab it and not be have no
8:57
fear you know because our life we're here life
9:01
is so temporary and and I've always taught my
9:04
girls they have to make their mark and with that
9:06
that's always been, you know, being on top of
9:08
them, being the tiger mom is just being pouncing
9:11
on them, I guess, on their schoolwork, on, you
9:14
know, whatever their goals are, coming up with
9:16
goals and making sure they follow through. So,
9:19
and then it can also go with, you know, I pounce
9:21
on them to get their chores done and clean their
9:23
room, which isn't always a success, but. I have
9:27
three, so I can appreciate that. Yeah, you know
9:30
what I mean. Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing
9:33
your story. I loved listening to the journey
9:37
as you went along. I think so often, I don't
9:42
know if it's just as a woman and as a leader,
9:47
I know that I've suffered from imposter syndrome
9:49
and had that feeling of, do I belong here? Am
9:54
I enough? I just loved how you talked about how
9:57
you had those feelings, but you still pushed
9:59
through. which I thought was wonderful. Thank
10:03
you. I mean, yeah, I have imposter syndrome all
10:08
the time. In fact, I may be having it right now
10:11
as we speak. Am I gonna be able to pull this
10:13
interview off? And people always say, how are
10:16
you like, you're so confident when you speak,
10:19
you're so confident. I mean, a lot of it is just,
10:22
you know. being a wreck and you got to get yourself
10:25
together. I have learned over the years to collect
10:29
myself. I can't just cry in the corner. And this
10:32
is sink or swim time. So I just kind of trained
10:36
myself that, okay, I can either sink and make
10:38
it worse or I could try to swim. And if I have
10:41
to apologize in the end, I just apologize. Nobody's
10:45
getting killed. I'm not trying to hurt anyone.
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So yeah, imposter syndrome is a tricky thing.
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And I don't think for women, I don't think it
10:53
does go away, whether it's, you know, keeping
10:56
your house clean or performing at work or just
11:00
getting to the post office on time and saying
11:02
like, I'm never gonna make this and these gifts
11:05
aren't gonna get to their destination in time.
11:07
I mean, it's a lot of moving parts and a lot
11:10
of moving emotions. Yeah. Yeah, and especially,
11:13
I think, I mean, you're sort of in front, you're
11:15
in front of the camera when, you know, having
11:17
been a broadcaster. Right. So, you know, in this
11:20
episode, we want to talk about the art of storytelling
11:22
from the front of the camera instead of the back
11:24
of the camera. And, you know, broadcast journalism
11:27
is more than just reporting the news, it's storytelling
11:29
in motion, bringing the news to life in a very
11:33
immediate and immersive way. You know, you're
11:37
telling powerful narratives, you're connecting
11:39
audiences to real stories, real people, real
11:44
moments, and you have to deliver the truth with
11:47
impact, with clarity, with urgency. I know as
11:53
a journalist, it was also about neutrality, finding
11:59
that balance, making sure I had enough sources
12:01
on both sides to kind of tell the whole story.
12:05
Would you agree that this has been your MO and
12:09
how you've done? your job right absolutely and
12:13
there are so many heated moments in uh moments
12:17
of journalism where you know you get sent out
12:19
on a story sometimes it could be like a story
12:21
i really don't care about like i really i i mean
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i'm gonna be honest i hated going to like county
12:26
commission or city hall meetings because i would
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i would sit say i i really don't care about all
12:31
this but you have to become an expert by five
12:34
o 'clock and not just an expert like i can't
12:36
just like write write it up, I have to be on
12:39
camera and act like I'm 100 % into it. And I
12:42
know what I'm talking about. But you you and
12:46
then you have to get the emotion and act like
12:48
you care. And it's a lot. And then you have to
12:50
do that all in front of the camera. You can't
12:53
you can't hide. I don't want to say hi, because
12:55
you're a print journalist and you still have
12:57
to do all the stuff that we have to do. You still
12:59
have to face people and interview people and
13:02
write about it. But, you know, professionally
13:05
but you know having to be on camera you know
13:09
and then you're stressed out about am I going
13:11
to make deadline all those factors come into
13:14
play and it could be a perfect storm of oh boy
13:17
here we go again i don't know if i'm going to
13:18
make it or it's sink or swim and um and and sometimes
13:23
also i found out like when you're on sensitive
13:25
stories like somebody just lost a child or a
13:27
loved one and you're under deadline you have
13:29
to you have to be sensitive to people that i
13:32
learned What and I still I'm still honing and
13:36
I'm saying this job. We're never like completely
13:38
100 % experts. We just know how to do it better
13:40
over the years. Like I'm still learning every
13:42
day. If I go out in a story now, there's still
13:45
things like oh wow, I never I never interviewed
13:48
somebody like that before. It's always constantly
13:50
learning about different things, but going back
13:52
to you know, you have to be sensitive and you
13:54
have to listen to people and I think that those
13:56
are the two most important qualities because.
13:59
You first of all, you're going to get a better
14:00
story if you listen to somebody and you. you
14:03
listen to what they have to say and you're engaged
14:06
with them if you're spaced out and just thinking
14:08
about my gosh my deadline or I really don't care
14:11
about what this person thinks you're not going
14:13
to get a good story and you're not going to be
14:14
a good storyteller storytelling telling isn't
14:17
just about talking like want want want it's not
14:21
just about talking you're not just talking and
14:23
i'm broadcasting you're listening to people and
14:26
you're relaying the message that these people
14:29
or the story that somebody else has to tell.
14:31
And it's not our story. It's sometimes it's their
14:34
story. Sometimes in our field, we're not talking
14:37
about ourselves. We're talking about other people.
14:40
So, um, yeah, I think I just went off on a tangent,
14:43
but nothing wrong with that. No, that's all good.
14:47
No. And I, and you know, and I remember, um,
14:50
you know, as a print journalist, um, you know,
14:54
I found the hardest stories for me were those
14:56
difficult stories. Like when somebody's house
15:00
burned down and you needed to cover that. And
15:04
at first, I remember my very first fire and I
15:08
was like, what do I say to them? People are sitting
15:10
on the ground crying. And we're already stressed
15:14
out by what we have to do. And oh my gosh, you
15:17
got your deadline. I got my deadline. Yeah. And
15:19
then you're like, I have to talk to these people
15:20
and be calm and then be professional. It's very,
15:24
it's very hard to do. It's something it's hard
15:26
to finesse over the years. It is challenging.
15:29
You think about those first, the first couple
15:32
of times we did that, you know, we probably sounded
15:35
dumb, but we were learning, you know, so. Yep.
15:38
Yep. I just remember my, my, uh, my editor saying
15:42
to me, um, you know what, ask them, ask them
15:46
about rebuilding, just ask them about rebuilding,
15:49
you know, and, and that got people talking about
15:51
Just gave them like a little bit of a hopeful
15:54
thought in a moment when everything was hopeful.
15:57
And positivity in a dark, very, yeah, a light
15:59
looking towards the light instead of being, you
16:01
know, like all doom and gloom. Right, exactly.
16:04
And positivity. Exactly. So you've told us a
16:08
lot about you. You did talk about that you went
16:10
to Columbia and great, you know, top journalism,
16:14
one of the top journalism schools in the world.
16:16
I got my master's at Kent State University, which
16:18
is also a big journalism school. So, you know,
16:24
I went into print because I like to write and
16:26
I enjoy writing. So what was it about broadcast
16:29
news that pulled you into journalism? I think
16:34
I like the video component. I like telling stories
16:37
with video and showing the people who we're talking
16:40
about. I like the creative side of using video
16:44
and interviews to put an exclamation point on
16:49
points that need to be made or stories that need
16:51
to be told. So I think I just like that. I've
16:54
done a little bit of print too in this world,
16:57
you know, in this day and age. It started in
16:59
the early 2000s. They had that thing called convergence.
17:01
And so now you're a multimedia journalist, even
17:04
now you're, you're, you're print and your video.
17:07
So I'm sure in your print, they want you to do
17:10
some video stuff too. We had to do web. Yes.
17:13
Every time we took a picture. So you are doing
17:16
video. We're all multimedia journalists now.
17:18
Yes. Yes. Yeah. A hundred percent. Let's talk
17:24
about the newsroom. I've been in newsrooms, lots
17:28
of phones ringing, lots of typing, people running
17:31
around going to go cover something, breaking
17:33
story. I read that you'd worked in newsrooms
17:38
around the country and every city has a different
17:41
pulse, every city has a different set of stories.
17:45
Are there any is there any one story that you
17:48
can maybe kind of comes bubbles to the top of
17:50
your mind that really stands out from some of
17:53
the different newsrooms you were in? You know
17:57
what you say that like they're they're all a
17:59
different pulse. It's a different vibe in each
18:01
city. But the newsrooms are all the same. We're
18:03
going to cover hard news, soft news and the medium
18:07
news where like the political stories are talking
18:09
about stuff that happened, you know, like state
18:12
laws and what whatnot. So. in that it's different
18:16
as far as like, you know, there may be more crime
18:19
in one city, but there's still crime in all cities,
18:22
you know, that I cover. There's still like happy
18:25
uplifting stories. I think that there's so many
18:27
stories that I covered. I like, I don't like
18:29
to pick everyone. People ask me that like, what's
18:31
one story, you know, whenever I get interviewed
18:34
or I speak to a class, but it's, there isn't
18:36
really like one, I guess the types of stories
18:40
that I like to cover the most are the ones where,
18:43
Your people are changing their lives like making
18:46
change that you know or it's it's impacting their
18:49
life in a positive way. I can remember I was
18:52
at one station where I was a morning anchor and
18:55
then I had this franchise where You know, we
18:58
tried to uplift people. It's like we tried to
19:00
change, like, let's change your life, like change
19:02
their life for the better. And there was this
19:04
one woman who just lost her job and she was on
19:07
the verge of being homeless. And we did a story
19:10
is like we talked about rebuilding. She was rebuilding
19:12
her life and we were kind of documenting her
19:15
rebuild, but kind of helping her along the way
19:17
and showing her the resources. And, you know,
19:20
those series that we did with her, we helped
19:23
her start over again, helped her with job tips
19:27
and hooked her up with professionals for job
19:32
interviewing and how to dress for an interview.
19:35
And then we did a makeover with her so she could
19:37
clean herself up and be confident. And we got
19:41
her new, helped her get new clothes and found
19:44
resources in the community to show people that
19:47
are in her position that You know all hope isn't
19:49
lost. There's a lot of help out there in the
19:51
community and we took her to all these different
19:54
outlets and organizations that would help her
19:56
and helped her rebuild and she did rebuild and
19:59
she was able to get a job like after like a month
20:02
after we did this and and move on with her life.
20:05
So I think that story was probably one of my
20:09
favorites and just to see how our journalism.
20:12
could work for the good and not just always the
20:15
dark reporting of all you know murders and what's
20:18
wrong with the world. I love the stories about
20:22
what's right in the world and how how communities
20:25
come together and and that one particular story
20:28
with that one woman where we were able to advocate
20:32
and show her what's out there in the community
20:35
and report that to her within our story and then
20:38
report on her success using those organizations.
20:43
It's probably one of my favorite stories ever
20:46
and the favorite type of stories I like to cover.
20:49
I feel most rewarded with in the end. Well, one
20:54
story at a time, making a difference. Made a
20:56
difference to that one. I wanted to pivot and
21:03
talk a little bit about your late husband, Paul.
21:06
Would that be okay? Yeah, that's fine. I'm very
21:09
proud of him. Yes. You know, I watched a few
21:13
segments about him, memories of him and all the
21:16
things that he had done. And he was a photojournalist.
21:20
So I believe you both worked at the same TV station.
21:24
Is that correct? Yes. Yes. We both worked at
21:26
the NBC affiliate in Tampa here. And I was a
21:32
weekend anchor and reporter and he was a photographer,
21:35
a photog. We call them photojournalists. Cameraman.
21:39
Cameraman. Did you ever have an occasion to cover
21:42
stories together? Yes, we did. We did cover,
21:45
you know, we covered several stories together
21:48
over the six years I was at that TV station.
21:51
And we won a couple of awards, too. We did a
21:54
story on following bounty hunters overnight.
21:58
And we ended up getting an award for that. So,
22:02
yes, I've done everything with him. I've done
22:04
stories. I've done red carpet stories with him,
22:08
like Super Bowl -type stories with him. And then
22:09
I've done, you know... following bounty hunters
22:12
for a night of work and at murder scenes I've
22:16
done everything with every kind of story with
22:19
him over the years. That's quite a variety. That's
22:21
before we were dating though. I didn't get together
22:23
with him until after I left that station and
22:26
went to the competition because I worked at the
22:30
NBC affiliate and then I had a non -compete so
22:35
I sat out for a year and then ended up working
22:37
for the Fox station. Gotcha. So how did his passion
22:43
as a photog and visual storyteller influence
22:47
your own approach to journalism? I think seeing,
22:50
you know, seeing how he would shoot a story,
22:56
you know, how the different angles and how, you
22:59
know, the different angles he would use to show
23:01
people in different ways, his technique. his
23:04
technique, you know, because I always say I shoot
23:06
video like a reporter, an anchor, but the photojournalists,
23:10
they really they're the grit of the newsroom.
23:13
You know, they they go out there, you know, in
23:17
the snow and the heat, especially in Florida.
23:19
And they go out and knock out the story and it
23:22
comes out beautifully. And a lot of their storytelling
23:25
is through the video and the interviews that
23:28
they get. So the video shots that he got influenced
23:32
how I want to tell stories, how I want to show.
23:37
And it also helps me with just being sensitive
23:40
to how we approach people. Because he always
23:44
had, Paul always had a way with people. even
23:50
though he was behind the camera, he had a way
23:52
of making people feel comfortable in front of
23:54
the camera so they would speak more. They would
23:56
want to share their stories with him. the bedside
24:01
manner, for lack of better terms, and how to
24:03
be sensitive and take a moment to really listen.
24:06
He taught me a lot about listening to people.
24:09
Even though he was behind the camera, the photogs,
24:12
they listen a lot. That taught me how to be a
24:16
better journalist and influenced how I did my
24:19
own job. That's wonderful. Well, thank you for
24:23
sharing about Paul. Of course, thank you. Yeah,
24:26
he's very much missed in the community, but his
24:28
legacy lives on. It's not just me, but he's influenced
24:33
so many journalists, and not just at the NBC
24:35
affiliate that he worked at, but photographers
24:38
and journalists at all the stations here. And
24:41
I'll still hear every now and then, oh, that's
24:44
how Paul did it. Do it like how Paul did it.
24:47
So I know that he's very. that he made his mark
24:51
in the community and in journalism. He's also
24:55
helped a lot of young journalists to get their
24:57
start. I think I saw a segment that somebody
25:01
was saying, when I was brand new, he was right
25:03
there to support me. So that's wonderful. Oh,
25:07
that's nice. Nice memories. Thank you. So a couple
25:12
more questions if that's OK. Yeah, of course.
25:17
So let's see. Okay, here's one. Journalism has
25:23
had to evolve quite a bit, especially in the
25:25
last decade. Do you think journalism still holds
25:29
the same space for storytelling or has the industry
25:33
had to shift its focus more towards hard news
25:37
and fact checking in today's climate? I still
25:42
think you can be a storyteller with with hard
25:45
news and fact -checking. I think it can be a
25:47
storyteller with fact -checking. So yeah, I think
25:48
there is a lot, but that's important in journalism.
25:51
We have to fact -check. I think actually there
25:54
is less fact -checking, especially with social
25:57
media out there and all the different platforms
25:59
and citizen journalism. Everyone is a journalist
26:04
now and a storyteller, but what stories are true?
26:08
So I think that's... Definitely changed. And
26:11
we have we must fact check. I think that's something
26:14
that's that's been we've been, you know, we've
26:18
been losing a little bit. We've been losing the
26:20
fact checking and just saying what we feel is
26:24
more editorial. You know, everyone's editorial
26:27
by everyone's editorializing what they see and
26:31
their opinion on it. And I think that's causing
26:34
a lot of problems, a lot of problems in in America.
26:38
Um, yeah, so I think that, um, yeah, I think
26:41
it's, it's changed, but in the opposite direction,
26:43
it changed in where, you know, fact checking
26:46
isn't such a priority. People are just saying
26:48
what they want to say. And I think that hurts.
26:51
I heard, I think that hurts the storytelling.
26:53
Um, so there's fictional storytelling and there's,
26:56
there's true storytelling, you know, real, real
26:58
stories that are having credibility. So, yeah.
27:02
Well, I think, I think we also, I mean, like
27:05
you said with the editorializing and. when you
27:09
ask somebody where to get your news, people are
27:10
saying on social media. And we do live in, I
27:14
think, an era of misinformation. And like you
27:17
said, the fact checking that we were taught in
27:21
college as journalists is something that I think
27:26
has never been more important at this time. Absolutely,
27:31
for sure. Unfortunately. I always tell my students,
27:37
I'll put my professor hat on now, where did you
27:40
get that information? You don't know how many
27:42
times I say credible sources, credible sources.
27:44
You guys know what credible sources are? Credible
27:47
sources, you don't just get it off somebody's
27:49
Facebook page or Insta or TikTok. You need to
27:53
find out where the source is or find the most
27:55
credible source, the most important, the highest
27:57
organization. If you're talking about COVID,
27:59
you don't get something from Insta where somebody
28:02
is just talking about it. National Institute
28:06
of Health, go to NIH, go to the CDC. So, you
28:09
know, find credible sources before you start
28:12
putting them on paper or on video. Right. Right.
28:15
Right. Yeah. I mean, I know for me, like, I think
28:20
maybe it's part of the whole journalism part
28:22
of my body, my part of my brain. But, you know,
28:24
when there's been some really big breaking national
28:26
news, I'll actually put, like, opposing TV stations
28:31
on side by side because I want to hear, like,
28:34
what each side is saying because, you know, and
28:39
it just is really interesting to me. But I think
28:42
you were just mentioning being a professor. So
28:45
I wanted to ask you a question about that, because
28:47
you are teaching the next generation of storytellers,
28:49
the next generation of journalists. You do talk
28:52
to them about, you know, important things like
28:56
credible sources. But what are you telling them
29:00
about the future of journalism? The future of
29:05
journalism, I mean, what I'm telling them is
29:07
that they have to be true to journalism. They
29:09
have to be credible. I'm telling them that journalism
29:12
isn't dead and storytelling isn't dead. And people
29:16
may say like, oh, why do you want to get into
29:17
this business? We're always going to need storytellers.
29:22
We're always going to need to tell news, and
29:25
we're going to always need to give people information
29:28
and be information givers. So don't listen to
29:31
people that say don't. You know, don't get into
29:33
this business. It's a dying business. It's not
29:36
because it just may be in a different format
29:38
like online and people will always need video
29:41
and people will always need to be informed. So
29:44
AI can only do so much, you know, and on top
29:47
of that, people want a human. Do they? They don't
29:50
always want to listen to a robot. There's a time
29:52
and place for like quick and dirty or you know,
29:55
but you know, people always need that human connection.
29:58
I tell my students to keep telling stories and
30:01
keep finding people to tell, to, you know, relay
30:05
their story and don't stop writing. Don't stop
30:09
producing content because even though it's not
30:12
on the five o 'clock news, like not every, you
30:15
know, the local newscasts are going away, but
30:17
there's a whole internet, there is podcasting
30:20
like right here. There's a, you know, there are
30:22
websites, there are all kinds of shows, streaming
30:25
shows online. There will always be a need to
30:28
be a visual storyteller. And they need visual
30:31
storytellers. Yes. Well, we are visual creatures.
30:35
So visual storytelling is very important. So
30:38
for sure. Right. OK, one last question, because
30:41
I know we're coming on time here. So as we've
30:46
talked about, the journalist's job is to inform,
30:48
question, and tell the stories that matter. And
30:51
you're clearly somebody who's on the front lines,
30:54
who's been ensuring that storytelling still has
30:56
had a place in the news. If you had to give a
30:59
piece of advice to an aspiring journalist who's
31:02
out there, not necessarily your student, but
31:04
somebody who is thinking of even coming into
31:08
this industry, what would you advise them? I
31:12
would advise them to, first of all, follow their
31:16
dreams. And if you want to be a broadcast journalist.
31:19
If you want to be on air, you can do it. You're
31:22
the managing director of your destiny. You just
31:25
have to work at it and you have to make the contacts
31:27
and you have to you can't just say, oh, I want
31:29
to be on TV and just think you're going to be
31:31
on TV. You have to work at it. It's work, but
31:34
it's fun work. And if you and if you continue
31:37
on, you will be able to learn from so many pieces
31:43
of the. like there's so many people to learn
31:46
from. It's you become a mini expert on so many
31:49
different things that that's what the world of
31:51
journalism, you know, provides us is that we
31:54
get to be many experts on things we may be interested
31:58
or may not have been interested in before, but
32:01
it's a constant education and. The other thing
32:04
I would say is never lose your integrity. Always
32:07
have integrity. If you feel in your gut that
32:11
it's not good, don't do it. Follow your heart
32:14
and follow your brain and follow your integrity
32:16
and what your mama taught you. Because at the
32:20
end of the day, you're going to have to live
32:22
with yourself and the stories you tell if you
32:24
don't have integrity or you're insensitive. you're
32:28
gonna have to live with that or people are gonna
32:30
be looking at you funny. And that's not how people
32:33
wanna be. Not that we should care so much about
32:35
what other people feel about us, but it's a good
32:39
feeling when you can make this profession, you
32:44
can help people to be good in their lives and
32:47
you don't wanna cause harm. So I think that's
32:51
what I wanna say. Yeah, I think that's great.
32:54
That's great. Thank you. Well, that's all the
32:58
time we're going to take today. That's all the
33:00
time we have for today. Thank you so much, Narisa,
33:03
for being here. I know how busy you are. And
33:06
thank you for sharing your story with us. And
33:10
I love that we're closing on a note of integrity,
33:13
because really, that's what journalism brings
33:17
and should continue to bring, is we want to be
33:21
reporters with integrity. So thank you very much
33:26
for being here. Thank you, Liana, for having
33:28
me. And I love the whole concept of your show
33:31
and the vibe. And I congratulate you for doing
33:36
such a wonderful thing and taking your journalism
33:39
and being able to help others. Because I think
33:42
this format you're doing will inspire and help
33:45
others. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And
33:49
to our listeners. Whether you hear us locally
33:51
from the BTV studios in Bedford, Massachusetts
33:54
or across the globe on such podcast channels
33:56
as Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Amazon Prime, thanks
34:00
for listening. We hope you enjoyed this episode
34:02
and we'll see you next time. Happy storytelling.