It’s one thing to be interested in writing as a little girl. It’s a very different thing when that dream, mixed with persistence and curiosity, turns into a career.
Kate Snow, MSNBC and NBC Nightly News Sunday anchor and national correspondent was part of the team that won an Emmy for Best Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast on Sept. 28 for their segment Hooked. This story, which aired during one of NBC’s Nightly News broadcasts, offered an in-depth and personal look into America’s heroin epidemic.
The Black & White spoke with Snow about her experiences becoming a journalist and reporting for major news corporations.
B&W: How do you think your career really started?
KS: It’s kind of a long story. I was going to Cornell and got involved with an off-campus radio station. Then, when I was trying to get a radio job when I got out of college, the economy was doing poorly and I couldn’t get one. At the same time, I had applied to graduate school and had ended up getting accepted to Georgetown. So I went there for a two year master’s degree, and continued to work in radio part-time, which was actually a fun way to help pay for my schooling.
While I was finishing up, I was asking everyone I knew if they had any connections in media. The dean of our school knew someone at CNN and was willing to pass on my resume, which led to it being passed to someone else, which led to my being called in for an interview, and my first job out of graduate school was as a producer for CNN.
It kind of tells you a couple of things. One is that it really does matter who you know, and it helps to ask friends and family. Connections can be really critical, and that’s not always the case, but they can be helpful. I was also really persistent; I really wanted to work in the field and was trying to figure out a way. I worked hard to get to that first job.
B&W: What have been some of your favorite or most interesting stories that you’ve worked on?
KS: There have been so many different kinds of experiences I’ve had and so many different kinds of stories I’ve covered. If you ask me what’s the most exciting, wonderful opportunity I’ve ever had, one of them would be going to Africa and going on a safari in the Masai Mara [a wildlife reserve in Kenya]. I got to go there with Good Morning America for over a week to follow the animals and watch the Great Migration. It was just incredible; it was one of those once in a lifetime moments where you pinch yourself and go, “How did I get this job?”
I’ve also gotten to experience some really horrible things, like the earthquake in Haiti, but I’m glad I was there. It was awful, terrible and tragic to see firsthand, but also really life-changing for me. I’ve seen wars, I’ve seen people in combat, I’ve seen refugees, and those are all really unique experiences. I’ve also interviewed really amazing people on the way, whose names you may not recognize, but who have done some incredible things.
B&W: Congratulations on the Emmy for Hooked! What do you think made the story so impactful?
KS: Thank you! I feel very strongly that there’s a huge problem in this country right now, and I don’t think anyone would disagree that there’s an epidemic of heroin use. Until last year when we did this project, I don’t think I fully understood the depth of the addiction to heroin, what happens to people and how it takes over their life. We sought out people who were in the midst of addiction, those who had recovered, and we looked for people who maybe didn’t fit the stereotype that we all have in our head of what a heroin addict looks like. That was a passion project for me and my team, and we were really honored to be awarded that Emmy. I gave a speech that night and said, “It’s really not an award for us, it’s an award for the people that we interviewed who were brave enough to tell very deeply personal stories.” Imagine talking about losing your job or losing your family, and this substance wrecking their life. It’s very hard for people to talk about that.
B&W: What advice would you give to students?
KS: The first thing I always say is that I had no idea what I wanted to be, and no idea of where I was heading. I remember being really worried about that when I was 18. But it all works out.
You don’t need to know what you’re doing, you just need to follow your passion. I think being open-minded and pursuing the things that really interest you is important. I think persistence is important. I’m a big believer in asking a lot of questions of the people that are around you; you can learn from everybody. If you’re interested in something, check it out and see if you like it. Sometimes it’s just as important to try something and realize that it’s not for you as to find the things that are for you.
