Jessica Moore and Stefanie Jay
By Brianna Florian
Jessica Moore from My News 3 and Stefanie Jay from Fox 5 News joined the College of Southern Nevada in celebration of International Women’s Day. Moore and Jay spoke to a classroom of students about the glamour and grit of broadcast news.
“You’re talking to people who aren’t glamorous, aren’t clean, aren’t pretty but they need you to tell their stories,” said Moore, when asked about the harder aspects of broadcast news. “One of the keys to success in this business is to have a thick skin and a soft heart. It takes a lot of grit to get to any bit of glamour.”
The women touched on how to gain respect from viewers as well as sources.
“If you’re well put together, you better also be well-spoken,” Moore said.
Moore and Jay shared details on what it is like to be news anchors, from long days in the field to opinionated emails from viewers.
“People like to give opinions of what they think of you and every once in a while you take one to heart,” said Jay, before sharing a story of a rude email she received from a viewer who said she looked like a piranha.
“A day of anchoring is a piece of cake next to a day of reporting,” Jay said.
She shared tips on being a reporter. “The biggest thing I would say is bringing more than one outfit to work and don’t burn bridges with anybody. Reputation means a lot.”
When asked what she liked most about the event, CSN student Kaylyn Kuntz said, “The honesty from both women, they don’t sugarcoat anything. I love it.”
International Women’s Day was founded in 1911 after Clara Zetkin, German feminist, proposed a day for women to celebrate and to speak about change for the future.
“Women telling stories every day is a huge part of how women have changed the course of history,” Jay said. “That’s what we are: story tellers.”
Coyote Student News at the College of Southern Nevada 