Science Journalists Give Advice to Hunter College Students

Image

On October 8, 2024, more than a dozen Hunter College journalism students gathered in the Film and Media Studies Department office for a luncheon with journalists and Pulitzer Center grantees Corey S. Powell and Pamela Weintraub. 

The two had already visited several classes and had a panel discussion the night before. The luncheon event was different, however. It was a chance for students to ask questions about the journalists’ careers.

Weintraub and Powell discussed the importance of finding good sources. “Everybody has some area of expertise, and everybody has large areas of ignorance,” Weintraub said. “And, you know, you have to be aware of that.”

Students listened attentively as Powell and Weintraub told stories about their careers. One student asked about the “existential threat” people often talk about facing journalism. 

Weintraub noted that this is nothing new. 

“Ever since I’ve been in journalism, it’s been like that,” she said. “Places I’ve worked for have been swallowed up by other places; they’ve folded; they’ve morphed into other things. And it’s dizzying.”

Powell took a more positive spin, noting that as blogging and social media have revolutionized the media landscape, it has opened up possibilities for “more people to talk to each other, and local reporting can now be known around the world.”

On getting started in a career, both Weintraub and Powell emphasized the importance of persistence and perseverance. Find sources on social networks X (formerly Twitter), Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, or even Facebook, they advised. Call them, email them, contact their friends. One student brought up the idea of showing one’s portfolio to make individuals trust them.

As the lunch winded down, Weintraub discussed the audience, saying that any time you write a story, you must relate it to people and listen to your values. 

“I let my own values be part of the way I see the news. And I just don’t see any way around it,” she explained. 

Powell advised, “basically pulling back and letting your sources talk, letting your sources tell their stories.”