Maggie Gorman (’19) started her career at CNY Central during her senior year at Ithaca College.
When Gorman realized that she could be a part-time student during the Spring of her senior year, she took advantage of her extra time to secure a producing internship at CNY Central. By April, she moved out of her internship into a part-time position. A few months after graduating, Gorman moved to Syracuse and fulfilled the role as full-time newscast producer for CNY Central’s 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. NBC shows.
“2020 being my first year as a producer in a newsroom has been a wild one,” Gorman said. “But I think that the news cycle of this year … has actually helped me grow a lot as a journalist and as a producer.”
Gorman’s TV News Reporting and Producing class with Anthony Adornato, associate professor in the Department of Journalism, helped her to narrow down her career goals. After one class that she spent producing, she knew she wanted to pursue producing internships and eventually a full-time producing role.
Working with a small team of classmates that switched roles each week made Gorman a better team player, which is an asset in any newsroom.
“That taught me a lot about teamwork, which translates into newsrooms everywhere,” Gorman said. “It's super important to know how to work with one another.”
Outside of class, Gorman said she poured herself into ICTV. Starting her freshman year, Gorman worked on all kinds of shows from cooking shows to Newswatch.
“That is, I think, the best way for students to get the hands-on experience that will lead them to internships and jobs in the future,” she said. “I really made it a priority to be involved in that and to grow my skill set and to take it seriously.”
Completing a minor in psychology in addition to her journalism major also gave Gorman better insight in to working with a team.
“Learning psychology, you know a lot about how people interact with one another,” she said.
Being involved and forming connections while in college were the two aspects of Gorman’s experience that helped her to secure a job right after graduation. Whether a student is aspiring to go into print journalism or TV journalism, the resources are there.
“It's all about taking your own initiative and working hard towards the goals that you want to meet,” Gorman said.