By Emily Hassett STAFF WRITER
Hofstra University’s Society of Professional Journalists (HUSPJ) hosted a panel of recent journalism graduates from the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication on Feb. 25.
The panelists included Elisa Tang, a production assistant at “The Today Show,” Anthony Notarile, a sports anchor and reporter for NBC affiliate “WKTV,” Rachel Crocetti, a producer at ”InStyle Magazine” and Emma Sugar, a production assistant at “ABC News.” All four alumni have begun successful careers in journalism since their graduation this past May and were enthusiastic about talking to current Hofstra students and aspiring journalists themselves.
HUSPJ vice president, Melanie Rainone, a senior journalism and creative writing double major, explained what went into planning the panel.
“The hardest part was just kind of figuring out who we wanted,” she said. “Because there are so many facets of journalism, we wanted to make sure that each of them were represented. We didn’t want just TV people or just magazine people or just web people. So I think reaching out in our personal networks and our friend’s networks was probably the first and most difficult step.”
Senior journalism major and HUSPJ President Maggie Stamets was happy with how the event turned out.
“It was awesome because one of the great things about Hofstra, especially communications, is that these people were so eager to help out, and even people we reached out to who were not able to make it were really apologetic because they really wanted to come back and help,” she said.
The former students took questions from the audience of aspiring journalists, who were eager to learn how each panelist landed their first job in news out of college. Connections and networking came up in each of the panelist’s answers. They emphasized the importance of not only internships, but also maintaining contact with your supervisors or others who assist you throughout your internships. They explained that relationships are a huge part of being successful in the industry.
Networking was so highly suggested by the panelists that freshman journalism major Danielle Zulkosky said, “I [took] away [from the event] that you need to network. Who you know is more important than what you know in some cases.”
While all independently successful, Tang, Crocetti and Sugar told the audience that they were all currently freelancers, meaning that they are not permanently employed at their jobs.
“Don’t let the term freelance scare you,” Corcetti added.
She explained that almost all start-up jobs in the news industry are freelance. This simply means that you can work for different companies on the side, as Crocetti does as a writer for BarkPost, a website for all things dog related.
Notarile was able to relate, and explained why he is happy he is not contracted at his job as a sports anchor and reporter.
“I wouldn’t want to be contracted because I’m still signed up to the agency where I found my first job. So every couple of days I get a long list of TV emails from different places, so if I see something I like, I want to have the ability to go there, not have a contract.” He went on to say that he plans on moving around a lot because he is young and able and that not being contracted allows him to do so freely.
The panelists described their love for journalism and told the aspiring journalists that they should be excited and take advantage of the opportunities they have at school. Both Tang and Notarile worked at Hofstra’s radio station, WRHU and at the HEAT Network.
“Organizations at Hofstra allow you to not be just a student, but to act as a professional journalist,” Tang said.
While all four panelists were lucky enough to find work shortly after graduation, they told the audience that when applying to multiple jobs, you will most likely be rejected sooner or later. They went on to say that it is extremely important to remain confident, and reassured the audience that it’s OK if you do not get a job immediately after graduation.
Sophomore journalism and political science double major Sarah Hysong recounted what she took away from the panel.
“I learned that you’ll be fine. Because everyone is freaking out about what they are going to do after graduation, and I mean, I know Emma, she was my RA last year, so knowing that she’s completely fine almost immediately after she graduated is so reassuring.”