When we were tasked with the assignment "Interview with a Journalist" back in September, I found myself stumped for who I wanted to interview. I racked my brain thinking of journalists who I thought would make for an interesting subject, until I remembered Cindy Burgess. She was one of my instructors at Sheridan College and I remember really enjoying her classes & her stories of her time as a professional journalist. So I gave her a call and we agreed to schedule the interview for the following day.
Cindy was very informative and intelligent, and gave me a great insight into what it is like working in the field of broadcast journalism. She worked for CTV News for about 20 years, before leaving the professional field to focus more on independent, freelance work. She talked to me a lot about her favourite parts of journalism. For example, three days after the interview, she was going to be flying to Mexico to swim with sharks & stingrays, as part of a story she was doing. Cindy is clearly very passionate about her profession. She emphasized how important it is to her that she remain as truthful and honest as possible when it comes to reporting, so her audience can make intelligent and informed decisions.
Of course, with all the positive comes some negative. Cindy made sure to be clear that her role as a journalist is not always about doing fun things like swimming with sharks or chasing storms. There are deadlines, politics, all sorts of things that make the job not quite as glamorous as it might seem. Additionally, there are always going to be stories that you don't want to cover. When Cindy was working as a reporter in Peterborough, she once had to cover a story about a little boy who went missing while fishing with his father. She thought to herself, "If they find that little boy's body while I'm here, that's it, I'm done, I can't do this."
Overall, I had a wonderful time talking to Cindy and hearing her stories and experiences during the interview process. It is great getting to catch up with someone I hadn't seen in quite a while. It would be interesting to see how the skills I've learned in PR at Mohawk College would transition into the world of broadcast journalism. I hope to maintain a relationship with Cindy as I continue my professional career.
You can learn more about Cindy Burgess by visiting her website https://cindyburgess.com/.
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| Cindy Burgess |
Cindy was very informative and intelligent, and gave me a great insight into what it is like working in the field of broadcast journalism. She worked for CTV News for about 20 years, before leaving the professional field to focus more on independent, freelance work. She talked to me a lot about her favourite parts of journalism. For example, three days after the interview, she was going to be flying to Mexico to swim with sharks & stingrays, as part of a story she was doing. Cindy is clearly very passionate about her profession. She emphasized how important it is to her that she remain as truthful and honest as possible when it comes to reporting, so her audience can make intelligent and informed decisions.
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| 2004 - Cindy at the CTV anchor desk |
Of course, with all the positive comes some negative. Cindy made sure to be clear that her role as a journalist is not always about doing fun things like swimming with sharks or chasing storms. There are deadlines, politics, all sorts of things that make the job not quite as glamorous as it might seem. Additionally, there are always going to be stories that you don't want to cover. When Cindy was working as a reporter in Peterborough, she once had to cover a story about a little boy who went missing while fishing with his father. She thought to herself, "If they find that little boy's body while I'm here, that's it, I'm done, I can't do this."
Overall, I had a wonderful time talking to Cindy and hearing her stories and experiences during the interview process. It is great getting to catch up with someone I hadn't seen in quite a while. It would be interesting to see how the skills I've learned in PR at Mohawk College would transition into the world of broadcast journalism. I hope to maintain a relationship with Cindy as I continue my professional career.
You can learn more about Cindy Burgess by visiting her website https://cindyburgess.com/.
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