Mark Maremont '83 |
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Investigative reporter, Wall Street Journal When I came to Columbia, I had almost no journalism experience. I hadn’t even worked on my college paper. Nine months later, I was still a greenhorn, but with a newfound fire in the belly and a valuable new set of tools.I still remember my terrifying, yet ultimately rewarding, first assignment: Go out to a Brooklyn neighborhood and find a story. Any story. Having skilled professors to comment on, and often tear apart, my stories was great preparation for the real world of editing. I also forged wonderful friendships with some of my fellow students, who as a group were among the brightest and most curious people I have ever met. I still keep in close touch with some of my classmates almost 25 years later. Since graduating from the Journalism School, I have pursued a wonderful career in business journalism, much of it doing investigative work uncovering corporate fraud and abuse. Although the topics I cover are far afield from what I learned as a student, the essential lessons imparted by my J-School professors still apply –a zeal to pursue the truth and inform the public, tempered by the need to do so fairly and ethically. I think a Columbia education could be even more valuable today, with technological shifts shattering the financial underpinnings of traditional media. Young journalists today will need to be well-rounded and flexible to thrive in a fast-changing profession. Read more about Mark... |
Photo/Claire Holt
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