GS Grad Catches Big Break at CNN

Jason Reid graduated from Georgia Southern in 2006 with a degree in Journalism. During his time at Georgia Southern, Jason was involved with the on-campus radio station and newspaper.

Between the two, he says working with the radio station had the most edge to it.

“Working in radio was something that was very new to me and I was able to be involved in both the on-air and behind-the-scenes aspect of it,” Jason says as he talks about why he enjoyed working for the news station.

Along with working with the news station and on-campus newspaper, The George-Anne, Jason also worked with the student-run TV newscast. Reid says that most college stations don’t have the high tech equipment and big budget that major networks have, but just being able to master the basic foundations of a quality newscast is acceptable anywhere.

Reid describes life after college as exciting and nerve-wrecking. He describes the feeling of everything leading up to and happening after graduation as something that comes at lightning speed. Leading up to graduation, Reid had gone through several rounds of interviews with CNN,but he had not heard anything by the time graduation came. So after college, Reid worked for a company that produced web-based presentations for corporations.

Although he enjoyed it, he was happy when he received an official offer from CNN. Most students are aware how difficult it is to make it to national network such as CNN, and Jason Reid understands that concern.When Reid started as a video journalist for CNN, there were typically two tracks you could go down: Editorial (Producers, Writers, etc.) or Technical (Directors, TDs, Graphics operators, etc.).He says he took it upon himself to learn both sides.

He says no matter what side you choose to pursue, it is good to be knowledgeable about both side.“Sure, some people don’t know and don’t care what the other side does-but i can assure you that you’ll get a lot farther if you actually show some amount of interest in every aspect-people definitely take notice,” Reid says.

Jason Reid has one piece of advice for Georgia Southern Students, no matter which route they choose to take in the field of journalism“Asking questions is at the heart of journalism and most people would be happy to answer any questions you have,” Reid says