EVENT RECAP: Women Who ROKK the Media

On February 28, 2024, ROKK Solutions hosted “Women Who ROKK the Media,” which featured veteran broadcast journalists Jessica Stone and Dr. Alison Burns. Introductions and the Q&A session were led by Varuna Bhatia, vice president and former journalist at Fox News, and Eva Tell, associate account executive and alum of the University of Maryland.

We first heard from Dr. Alison Burns, currently a professor at University of Maryland, and formerly a Washington correspondent and producer for Cox Media Group. She shared that the best way to connect and maintain relationships with reporters is to do your homework. When you know which outlets will best reach your target audience, your pitch is much stronger. She also encouraged our team to form meaningful relationships with reporters – noting that cold calls rarely work. This doesn’t have to be over lunch or coffee. It can be as simple as an introduction over a video call, which can go a long way. After 14 years, Burns traded the newsroom for the classroom to teach the next generation of journalists.

Jessica Stone, foreign correspondent at Voice of America and former White House Correspondent for CGTN America talked about the distinction between being a reporter and being an anchor. As a reporter, your focus is on the story. As an anchor, it’s not only the story, but how you tell the story. Your personality is part of how the story comes to life.  It’s also visual storytelling, which is why she is glad that everyone has cameras on their phones to capture the stories around them.