Life After IJ

In my old life, I was a print reporter covering Congress. Newsrooms were collapsing left and right, and I could see the writing on the wall:  reporters needed to do more than just report. So I enrolled in American University’s Interactive Journalism program while still reporting on the Hill. This was 2005. I’d been at the magazine for more than 10 years. It paid off. Three months – THREE MONTHS -- after graduating I was hired as NPR.org’s national producer. I am now a part of a modern newsroom, producing the stories you hear on the air for the Web.

Heidi Glenn, '07
National Producer, NPR

"Not only did IJ help me get my job, but it also propelled me into the national spotlight. I created an interactive unemployment map as a final project for my Multimedia Flash class. It's since been featured on CNN, ABC, MSNBC, The Huffington Post and hundreds of television and newspapers across the country - or should I say, the world. "The Decline: The Geography of a Recession" has received over five million hits (last time I checked) and continues to gain attention. I get emails about it every day. And, I just learned that it is currently being used as part of the Economic Law curriculum at Stanford University in California."

LaToya Egwuekwe, '10
Labor Writer in Washington, D.C.

“I did an interview (for USA Today) with Hillary Rodham Clinton that got replayed and quoted everywhere from the New York Times to Saturday Night Live -- all because my paper provided sound on our website... I was able to do so thanks to the training I got at American University's Interactive Journalism program. Thanks, AU, for teaching an old printosaur some new tricks -- without you, my oeuvre never would have been quoted by Jon Stewart!"

Kathy Kiely, ‘08,
Managing Political Editor, National Journal

"I’m now a senior editor and I work with Cosmo on the print side (but we all write for the Web as well). The IJ program was invaluable because, not only did it teach me how to be a better all-around journalist, it allowed me to do that initial Washington Post internship which helped move me forward. I also made some great contacts — namely (program director) Amy Eisman — who really helped guide me along the way. It was also great that I could continue to move forward in my career while getting my master’s, since journalism really is a field where the more you do it, the better you become.  When I’ve interviewed for new jobs, potential employers have always been impressed that a) I have a master’s degree and b) I know how to do a little bit of everything, which is thanks to the IJ program.”

Korin Miller, '06
Senior Editor, Cosmopolitan

Josh Williams, MA/SOC '07, is a multimedia producer for the New York Times.

"We had a class with Howard Parnell that was a simulated newsroom where every Saturday we had to put out a newspaper and I think that was the class that best prepared me. Daily pressure, daily deadline. That kind of work set me up for the pressure in a newsroom."

Josh Williams, ‘07
Multimedia Producer, New York Times