Authors In The Media With Pamela Gwyn Kripke

I am delighted to be returning to do this Authors In The Media Q&A with Pamela Gwyn Kripke discussing her journalism career this time around! 

Q: Pamela, what was your journey going into journalism? Did you go to college or apply for jobs right after graduating high school? I love asking authors who are or used to be journalists this question, because I love knowing their different journeys!

A: I became interested in journalism in high school, writing for my school newspaper and becoming its Editorial Editor. In college, I wrote for the paper during freshman year and then discovered the radio station, which broadcast beyond campus and throughout Rhode Island. That was the farthest my stories had traveled, and it was exciting. After Brown, I went to Northwestern for my master’s in journalism, which led me to Mississippi for my first reporting job.

Q: What wisdom have you learned in your journalism career that you would want others to know whether they go into journalism or editing or not?

A: Whatever you choose to do with your career, do your homework. Read reliable sources. Observe your surroundings and the people in them. Get as much information as you can before you even begin what it is you are going to, and take your time. Know the truth so you can tell who isn’t saying it. So many reporters fail to follow up in interviews because they don’t know enough about what they’re reporting. They become note-takers, which isn’t their job. 

Q: I love asking authors who are (or used to be) journalists this next question! Can you give a list of the fascinating people you’ve had to interview & talk about what those experiences for you were like? 

A: I’ve interviewed people in the public eye–fashion designers, senators, high-profile CEOs, artists. But the most fascinating, really, have been the lesser-known people who do extraordinary things…the woman who ran a prison entrepreneurship program, the scientist working to develop artificial blood, the unhoused man who painted at a studio in a shelter. After my piece ran, one of his paintings found its way to the White House, and he sold enough work to save for an apartment. These are the stories that inspire other people in all kinds of ways.

Q: What do you enjoy the most about your journalism career? What do you enjoy the least about your journalism career? 

A: While I’ve worked on staff for varied publications and broadcast stations, I’ve been a freelance reporter for most of my career, covering a wide range of stories (news, features, essays) for all sorts of magazines and newspapers. This has required that I learn a lot about a lot of things, which I have loved. I also really like it when the story changes on you, when you realize that there is something going on that you didn’t expect. I think it goes without saying that journalists like me who grew up in the print heyday have been rather depressed since our beloved publications (and employers) died tragic deaths when people started clicking. It’s become much more difficult to place pieces in the few that remain.