What do you do in your current position?
Since April 2016, I have been the producer and in-house breaking news reporter for “New Jersey’s First News,” the signature news program on the state’s most listened-to radio station, New Jersey 101.5. Previously, I was 101.5’s evening news anchor for three years.
What is your favorite part about your job?
My favorite part about my job (other than the fact that our studios are quite literally around the corner from my beloved TCNJ) is finding a concise way to tell a complicated story. There’s only so much time we’re allotted on-air, and I love delving into the science of communicating my words in a relatable way to our audience.
What made you choose journalism?
I think part of the reason I gravitated toward journalism was growing up in North Jersey, in the shadow of the super-saturated New York media market. In fact, that’s probably the biggest part. The rest was watching “Murphy Brown” as a kid.
Tell us about the importance of getting involved in student media at TCNJ.
The first class I ever walked into at TCNJ, in the fall of 2005, was Bob Cole’s Intro to Journalism class. He was beginning the final year of his legendary career, but you never would have known it from the lasting lessons he impressed on all of us. During the semester, he gave us the option of “interning” as writers at any of the college’s (at the time) three media outlets: the Signal, WTSR, or LTV. I was already training as a DJ at WTSR, so naturally I chose that, but I made sure to get involved with the Signal and LTV as well. I wrote and anchored news updates for LTV during its 2008-2009 revival, I was part of the original “Around the Dorm” roster in 2006, and I anchored various news programs (including coverage of the 2008 presidential election) on WTSR over the course of four years, including a year as the station’s News Director. Each of those experiences enriched my knowledge and understanding of the industry, and I find myself still using what I learned at TCNJ on a daily basis at my job.