Sofie Scarlett, a communication major from Baltimore, MD, wants to be a TV reporter when she graduates in 2014. So when veteran journalist, political analyst, and best-selling author Steven V. Roberts came to campus just weeks before the presidential election to discuss the role of media in the campaign, Sofie was there.
Sofie interviewed Roberts for a front-page article in the Marymount student newspaper, The Banner, where she is a staff writer. She also wanted to gain some perspective on her future career.
She says, “All the time I’m hearing about how journalism is a dying profession, but Roberts talked about the need to balance the fast delivery of news you get through social media with the more accurate but slower reports of traditional media. That way voters can separate fact from rumor.”
Roberts and his wife, National Public Radio commentator Cokie Roberts, live in a Washington, DC, suburb not far from Marymount. The university’s location makes it easy for many prominent personalities from the area to visit Marymount and interact with students. For MU students, this means they don’t just watch history on a screen: they’re so close to the action, they can reach out and touch it!
Connell Wise ’16, a business major who also attended Roberts’ talk, says, “The field of journalism has changed tremendously in just a short time, and to hear it discussed by one of the top names in political reporting was very exciting. You don’t have that kind of opportunity at just any university.”