Joey Safchik (Photo – Screengrab, KETV/ABC)
KETV/ABC reporter Joey Safchik pays a visit to her former journalism advisor and guides aspiring journalists.
By Aiden Ford and Hannah Sakai
Joey Safchik is a professional reporter from KETV, a television station in Omaha, Nebraska that is affiliated with ABC News. As a former student of Marshall Fundamental’s journalism teacher, Sang Lee, Safchik was invited to speak virtually with this year’s class of journalism students at the beginning of the school year.
Safchik told the students of her experience in the journalism industry. Safchik had gained an interest in journalism at a young age and set it as her life goal in her middle school years.
Last year, Safchik graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with the class of 2021. She won three Chicago/Midwest student Emmy Awards and several Society of Professional Journalist Mark of Excellence Awards. She was also honored with Medill’s top recognition for broadcast students, the William C. Fyffe and Gary Cummings Awards.
Safchik spoke of more recent experiences, moving to her current position as a professional reporter from KETV in Omaha. “It was really scary moving to Omaha, I didn’t know anyone here, Safchik said.
Once Safchik was done, Marshall students took the floor. Students had prepared questions for this meeting in order to receive a professional or personal answer from a broadcast journalist with experience.
Mayda Djaferian, a junior at Marshall Fundamental, is an aspiring journalist and has already taken a course in journalism at PCC. “It was very informative and exciting to hear about Joey’s experiences,” Djaferian said. “The interview inspired me to follow the path even more.”
Safchik instructed students to find their passions in specific topics of interest to bolster their journalistic skills. “Absolutely. Pick up any skills you can along the way. If you can do it all, if you can show on a resume that you can write a killer story and you can take a photo that will pull at people’s heartstrings to go with it, you will have a much better shot at not only getting a job, but thriving in that job.”
Students also asked how citizen journalists like themselves can add to content that the mass media delivers. “I think there is absolutely a place for it, especially if it is bolstering professional journalism and it is helping to tell a story and the content is accurate” Safchik said in response to a question regarding her thoughts on the place of citizen journalism in the ever-evolving world of media.
Safchik’s visit was due to her relationship with Marshall Fundamental’s current journalism advisor, Sang Lee, whom she has kept in close contact with.
Marshall Fundamental currently offers a beginning and advanced journalism course that allows students to produce both print and broadcast content for the school community.
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