While my time in journalism has been shorter than I would like, I still bring some critical skills to the table from this period in my life.

While working at CNN, I started as an entry-level “Video Journalist” whose main responsibilities included running scripts to anchors and operating the teleprompter. While basic, this job gave me a chance to learn the workflows of a large newsroom and experience breaking news coverage firsthand.

During the Russo-Georgian War (or South Ossetia War) I was able to put my Russian language skills to use translating materials and fact-checking information for the international desk. This foray into international coverage only whet my appetite for this beat and when the Iranian election led to massive protests in 2009, I was on hand to help produce cut-in segments on the relevance of Twitter for reporter Josh Levs. This work allowed to me to exercise editorial control by choosing what tweets would be made into graphics as well as work with senior producers to decide placement and tone of the segments.

Towards the end of my time at CNN, I was made an editorial assistant, which meant, among other duties, I was responsible for vetting and producing CNN’s iReports. Working with this content only further reinforced my ability to respond to the needs and requests of more senior producers. However, it also taught me the finer points of vetting imagery and sources as well as supporting news gathering with user generated content.

Ultimately, my time at CNN not only taught me how a 24 hour news organization operates but how to operate within such an organization as well. I learned to not only work under extreme pressure with diverse editorial and technical teams but also how to support news coverage with a variety of content.