Long Island journalists reflect on their careers during a panel discussion. // Photo Courtesy of Ahjané Forbes.
The Press Club of Long Island and the Hofstra University Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists came together with Long Island journalism Hall of Famers for a panel discussion about the industry. The panel took place on Thursday, Nov. 11, and was moderated by Chris Vaccaro, the director of graduate journalism program at Hofstra and advisor of Hofstra’s Society of Professional Journalists. Panelists included journalists from local news organizations.
This panel was the first in-person event that the Press Club of Long Island has been a part of since the pandemic and the first time that a Hall of Fame discussion was held at Hofstra.
“This is also the first time that anybody has seen the Hall of Fame placard in the NewsHub, which we put in probably two years ago right before the pandemic,” Vaccaro said. “It’s always very important to me to make sure we have events like this at Hofstra so the students have an enriching experience, they learn from people who have been doing these types of jobs in journalism for so long. In this case, these are legendary people here on Long Island.“
Vaccaro started the panel asking questions about their careers and their experiences in the field. The panelist shared their experiences and also gave advice to student journalists in attendance.
“If you don’t love it, please don’t be in it,” said Carolyn James, an editor at Amityville Record and adjunct professor of journalism at Hofstra. “Don’t do it because it takes a certain kind of a person and a certain passion too.”
Many students in attendance were in the graduate program for investigative journalism. Their concerns were with violating privacy laws and covering challenging stories.
“You need to challenge yourselves. You need to put yourself in uncomfortable situations,” said Sandra Peddie, investigative reporter at Newsday. “It’s dealing with those uncomfortable situations that help you grow as a person and as a professional.”
Bill Bleyer, former prize-winning staff writer for Newsday and current author and freelance journalist spoke about being persistent as a reporter while job hunting. Bleyer mentioned the upcoming regional conference in March, where he holds a workshop on how to get a job.
“If you don’t have persistence, you won’t even get into the profession in the first place,” Bleyer said. “You won’t do a good job unless you know how to keep pushing when your editors say no, when the people you try and interview say no,“
Although the media industry is becoming more digitalized, Scott Brinton, executive editor at Herald Community Newspapers and adjunct journalism professor at Hofstra University, agrees with Bleyer’s point about persistence in the journalism field. Brinton adds that the original way of reporting is still effective.
“I know everything is online these days, but I still have this very old-school, old-fashioned belief in the power of shoe leather journalism,” Brinton said. “Just going door to door and talking to people.”
All of the panelists spoke about some of their proudest moments and stories in their careers, but also some of their most challenging ones. In response to a question asked by Roksana Amid, a graduate journalism student, about ethical dilemmas that the panelists dealt with in their careers, Bleyer talked about a time in his career as a reporter when he had to break the news to a family that their daughter died in a car accident.
“It was the most surreal experience and uncomfortable moment ever as a Newsday reporter,“ Bleyer said.
Amid was happy to ask the panelists questions as she is getting ready to start her career.
“I knew that students were going to be able to ask questions so I figured it would be a great
opportunity to ask well-seasoned journalists what their career was like, what ethical dilemmas
they faced and I got some pretty good insight,” Amid said.
Other graduate students also expressed that they learned something from the panel.
“I really appreciated what all the panelists had to say, honestly, and it was a very informative panel to go to. I’m really glad that the School of Communication was able to host it,“ said Alyssa Lidman, a graduate student journalism major.
Undergraduate students also shared a similar sentiment.
“It was a good night and I think everyone got something out of it that they weren’t necessarily expecting. I think the panelists had a lot to say,” said Matthew Hughs, a senior journalism major.