In late October, Stephanie Bertini, a broadcast journalist currently employed at NBC 6 News, walked into the journalism classroom at Miami Lakes Educational Center prepared with an audiovisual resume and powerpoint, ready to impart her knowledge on the future generation of journalists.
Bertini began with a video that compiled her 10 year broadcast career to show her transition in journalism, beginning with local stories in Canada and progressing to more cutting edge stories in the larger and more competitive Miami market. To show how she made her way to where she is now, she also showed her powerpoint presentation entitled “Dream and Reach: My Journey in Television News.”
She stressed the fact that broadcast journalism is about helping others and not oneself. It’s about going out and telling people’s stories, informing the public, and reporting the facts: “If you have selfish goals, this is not a business for you,” she said.
Bertini advised the class to follow her personal motto of dreaming and reaching – thinking about where you want to be in the future and taking the steps to get there: “Move toward that finish line even if you can’t see the end.”
A career in journalism can be demanding and uncertain; Bertini mentioned younger journalists who have complained about having to pull up their roots and constantly move, as well as how much pressure they are put under at work but she encourages the career path for those who have a genuine passion for the art.
“That passion is something we can’t really talk about too much because it comes from inside,” she said.
It was because of her passion for journalism that Bertini found her niche as a broadcast journalist, covering an array of stories, some of which have been incredibly emotionally impacting for her.
The most impacting story that she covered was about children who lived in poverty. Because Bertini had been covering stories for a while, she didn’t expect to be so heavily impacted, however, an interview with a young girl left her deeply touched.
To this day, she still tears up as when she thinks about her.
The presentation turned incredibly interesting with impromptu broadcast scenario – the class was startled when Bertini instructed them to take out their phones and quickly rattled off her number as well as her twitter handle. She told the class to tweet or text her photos and quotes of her visit to explain how fast-paced broadcast journalism is.
“You don’t really know when you start the day what you’ll be dealing with,” she said.
The importance of versatility and professional presence was also stressed. She told the class to network, try to get as many internships as possible, and to create a positive social media presence as soon as possible.
“If you want to do this at the high school level, you’re already in the game,” she concluded.
In her short visit, Bertini was able to pass on to The Harbinger staffers incredible knowledge and inspire them to stay determined.