Arcadia England

Marisa Kling

I would first like to say that I feel so grateful and privileged to have had the opportunity to attend this Women in Journalism event at the Trinity Mirror. When I first signed up for the event, I imagined that it would be a small gathering of individuals in the industry with the aim to discuss what they had learned from competing in the world of journalism while suffering prejudices and stereotypes from being a female in a predominantly male field. What I discovered was much more than that. I was able to experience a new section of London, gain insights on an industry that I was previously semi-unfamiliar with, and discover advice that will aid me in continuing my education – whether it be in journalism or another field of study.

When a friend and I first arrived in Canary Wharf I was astounded by its grandness and sophistication - I felt completely out of depth. As a girl from a small town in the middle of Pennsylvania, I had never been able to experience this aspect of a culture – the fast paced luxury of a major financial district. After getting lost and eventually finding our way to the building, a frustrating journey to say the least, we arrived at the building that would be holding the seminar. We were assigned passes that would allow us past security gates and into the area with Trinity Mirror’s private lifts, and we were taken 21 floors above the city and into a conference room where the panel would take place. We were immediately offered wine and small snacks, which I was not expecting. After mingling with other individuals attending the event, we found our seats, which held handouts explaining who would be attending the event that evening.

When we were told that prominent individuals in the industry were going to be leading the event, I was certainly not expecting a founding member of Sky News Corporation to be moderating the night. Nor was I expecting female editors and writers for many of the largest news outlets in London and the UK. I was astounded to see who would be giving the talks, and I was excited to hear what they had to say.

Starting off the evening by discussing the process of how to find work experience and post-graduate internships, I slowly realized that not only were my friend and I probably the only Americans in the room, but we were also probably the youngest. While this created a bit of discomfort, I found that everyone in the room seemed to hold different backgrounds, and none of them gave us odd looks when they heard our accents! This was a breath of fresh air from what I usually witness in London. After resolving that bit of a mental panic attack, I was able to focus in on the discussion that was occurring. Some of the main points that were made stressed being open to new opportunities, which is a skill and trait that would apply to anyone in any field of study. While that was the most poignant piece of advice I received at the event, I also learned so many other concepts that would apply to finding a job in any industry and making yourself a better candidate for acceptance.

While there were certainly aspects of this event that I was not expecting, I found that the experience over all was one that I greatly appreciated. I wish I was staying in London long enough to attend other events hosted by the same organization! I feel as though I learned a great deal of useful information in a short, concise period of time, and I plan on using much of the advice discussed on the panel when looking for jobs and internships in the future.

Ruby Zenteno

On February 20th, Women In Journalism held a meeting with a panel of prestigious women from major newspapers across the UK. Distinguished ladies like Kay Burley (founding member of Sky News), Krissi Murison (first female editor of NME), and Alice Vincent (founding member of Wannabe Hacks) were just a few members of an extremely accomplished panel. The speakers each took turns sharing success stories before the panel opened the floor to the audience for questions.

The advice given by the panel was practical, useful and encouraging to aspiring media students; the central idea conveyed was to pursue opportunities with dogged persistence, and focus on networking to increase possible work venues. The panel related to the audience not only as successful journalists, but also as women, and addressed many of the concerns about balancing work and family with smiles and an “anything is possible attitude.” For us, the whole experience can be likened to meeting idols; we aspire to achieve the same level of success in our careers as well.