Photo courtesy of Aaron Burrell. // NAHJ and NABJ hosted an event featuring Emmy award-winning journalist Aaron Burrell.
Emmy award-winning journalist Aaron Burrell shared his advice and journalistic experience during an event hosted by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) and the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) at Hofstra University on Wednesday, Sept. 28.
Burrell, a former Division 1 soccer player from Sacred Heart University, turned his focus from playing soccer to telling sports stories through video journalism. He said that starting his career entirely on his own has led to hardship, change and success.
“A difficulty that I faced early on is not hearing back from a lot of people as an undergraduate,” Burrell said. “Then, I realized, no one is going to stop me from posting to my own YouTube channel. So, that’s what I did, and it kept rolling and soon leveraged into my first internship as well as my first job at NBC Sports.”
Although Burrell has an Emmy under his belt, he still became discouraged throughout his career.
“I went through a period where I was struggling to see what my next move was. I contemplated leaving the industry altogether,” Burrell said. “You would think that winning an Emmy is the highest pinnacle you can reach in the media industry, but I think the one thing that kept me going was that I knew I had something that I could give to the field.”
Burrell also spoke about his first job experience with the Miami Times, Florida’s oldest and longest running Black-owned newspaper, and what he hoped for in the print industry.
“I want to make sure that we are fair in our coverage and that we cover stories that are interesting to underrepresented communities,” Burrell said. “It is easy for the media to quickly forget about them and as a journalist of color, it is important to use our experiences to tell those stories and to bring attention to it.”
Tiffany Acosta, a senior journalism major and secretary of NAHJ, was glad to have Burrell share his experiences with students.
“I think his advice is very universal and can be applicable to any journalist,” she said. “His experiences show that journalism is always an opportunity for growth and improvement.”
Jake April, a second-year graduate student, was motivated by Burrell’s positive outlook on working hard to achieve his dreams.
“I enjoyed how honest he was about his journey being very affected [by] his race and how he used it for positivity,” April said. “He knows he needs to work a bit harder and does that while not getting discouraged because of something he can’t control.”
Students also shared their input, noting their favorite moments from Burrell’s presentation and how they will apply the advice to their futures.
“His emphasis on having representation in newsrooms and overall encouraging students to take chances stood out to me,” said junior journalism major Crystal Bermudez. “He emphasized that through his own personal career, we should try something new in order for more doors to open.”
Lucas Pino, a senior journalism major, attended because of Burrell’s recognized success and his kind advice to aspiring journalists.
“During my time here at Hofstra, I’ve dealt with a lot of struggles as a beginner,” Pino said. “He made me feel better personally because he won an Emmy even after enduring a lot of struggle, and in the end, it all worked out and paid off.”