Julia Manchester ‘15 combines her love for political analysis and broadcast journalism as a breaking news reporter for The Hill, an American political newspaper and website in Washington D.C.
Manchester came to Ithaca College knowing she wanted to pursue broadcast journalism. Professor Jack Powers encouraged her to major in Television-Radio. There, she learned the production side of news. Her involvement with on-campus media, like ICTV and WICB, gave her the opportunity to pursue her passion for broadcast journalism.
“I was always one of the TVR students who learned more towards journalism part, so I did ICTV shows like Newswatch and WICB, and I loved it.
Manchester worked as a reporter-anchor, associate producer, and director with Newswatch. She also hosted a political show called Experts Say, a student discussion panel focused on political issues. For WICB, she hosted the newscast segment.
Off-campus, Manchester interned for multiple organizations, such as the ABC affiliate in Orlando, Florida; CBS News’ London Bureau; and WENY-TV in Elmira, NY. As an intern for WENY, she was able to begin on-air reporting as an intern.
“That was by far the most hands-on experience out of all them and it was so much fun,” Manchester said.
After graduating from IC, Manchester earned her Master’s degree in political science from American University’s School of Public Affairs
Now as a breaking news reporter for The Hill, Manchester covers a mix of breaking news stories while reporting for their digital channel, TheHill.TV. Depending on what’s occurring on Capitol Hill, she conducts interviews with lawmakers and strategist around town to produce news segments.
Manchester also does The Hill’s external media hits for news outlets such as MSNBC where she produces the political news of the day segment every weekend at 7 a.m. She can also be seen reporting for FOX and Canada’s CNC where she delivers breaking news.
“I really love to talk about politics and adding my analysis to it. I enjoy writing my own pieces for the Hill.com, in addition to talking about the political news of the day on so many different channels,” said Manchester.
She is extremely grateful for the content she has been able to produce at the Hill and these on-air opportunities.
“The Hill is such a great platform because our region is so wide and it has access to so many resources, and I am very thankful for that,” said Manchester.