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January 2011
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From Missouri Journalism to the Red Carpet
Journalism Alumni Go Behind the Scenes To Get the Exclusive at Major Hollywood Events
Jann Carl poses for photos on the red carpet before taking her position as an Entertainment Tonight correspondent. Carl describes award shows as long days full of arrivals, awards and afterparties.
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By Jessica Kenney
Strategic Communication Student
Sharing a red-carpet laugh with Julia Roberts about her persistent gum chewing might not seem normal in the field of journalism, but it is for some entertainment journalists. These individuals give the audience an inside look at Hollywood and have the opportunity to cover new films and television shows, top celebrity stories and exclusive award shows. Strict deadlines and getting the exclusive story are just as crucial in entertainment journalism as anywhere else.
Former correspondent for Entertainment Tonight Jann Carl, BJ '82, news editor for TheHollywoodReporter.com Kimberly Speight Nordyke, MA '99, and deputy editor at The Hollywood Reporter Lindsay Powers, BJ '04, are all making a living in this fascinating world of pop culture. They spend some of their time rubbing elbows with Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie, but they haven't forgotten the journalistic values they learned as students in the Missouri School of Journalism.
As entertainment journalists, Carl, Speight Nordyke and Powers attend the most prestigious events to talk to celebrities and relay the stories to waiting audiences. Carl has covered the Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, Golden Globes, Venice, Berlin and Toronto Film Festivals, Screen Actor's Guild Awards, and others. Speight Nordyke has covered the Emmys, the Golden Globes, ESPYs, MTV VMAs and Movie Awards, and more. Powers has covered the Emmys, Oscars and MTV VMAs, as well as the Oscars and the Toronto, Cannes and Tribeca film festivals.
All describe the red carpets and backstages at these events as nothing short of madness with plenty of journalistic challenges behind the velvet ropes.
"The red carpet is one of the toughest assignments because you have to get so many minutes and so many interviews," Carl says.
Lindsay Powers (right) smiles with Katherine McPhee. Powers interviewed the American Idol runner-up in 2006.
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Powers enjoys the backstage at the 2006 Oscars. She also covered the 2010 Oscars. Photos: Courtesy of Lindsay Powers.
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As an awards show reporter, there are many obstacles to overcome, such as running around in a fancy dress or having to politely ask for an interview over screaming fans. But how about when the celeb screams over fans for you? Carl recalls Tom Hanks yelling out her name at an awards show because he recognized her as an anchor for a local news station. "He felt like he knew me because I had delivered the news to him every night," she says.
And what is a reporter to do when interviewing Peter Jackson, an Oscar nominee for the night, while Sandra Bullock, an audience favorite, is about to walk by? Carl was faced with this dilemma at the 2004 Oscars and managed to get Bullock to interview Jackson. She handed the microphone to Bullock and ended up with a red carpet moment between America's sweetheart and that night's Best Director and Best Picture winner.
Carl began her reporting at news stations in Chicago and Los Angeles, where she received three Los Angeles Emmy Awards as a news anchor at KTLA-TV's "News at Ten." Even though she had become a successful and award-winning newswoman, Carl says "My heart was not in always in reporting on the bad negative side part of society, and news was becoming more like that." She decided she wanted to work more related to human interest, and so she landed a job as an Entertainment Tonight correspondent.
Although she now covers different topics such as celebrities and the film industry, Carl says her background in hard news helped her in entertainment journalism. She was able to gain celebrities' trust because she was not there to sensationalize, and they responded to the integrity maintained in her stories.
Powers smiles with The Jersey Shore's Snooki and Romina Rosado, executive producer of UsMagazine.com, in 2010. Powers interviewed Snooki about MTV, show secrets and her famous "pouf" hairstyle.
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Lindsay Powers, BJ '04, gets a new "pouf" hairstyle from The Jersey Shore's Snooki and friends. [View Video] Photos: Courtesy of Lindsay Powers.
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Speight Nordyke took a different route and headed to Los Angeles about a year after graduating to work for The Hollywood Reporter. She has been living in Los Angeles and working in entertainment journalism for almost 11 years but still says being on the red carpet and covering some of the biggest award shows is an unbelievable experience for her. "I love seeing the celebrities go by in their dresses in person and experiencing it firsthand," she says.
Powers entered the field of journalism with a fearless attitude and the primary goals of getting the exclusive interview and meeting her deadline. Upon graduation from MU, Powers became an editorial assistant at The New York Post and transitioned into entertainment journalism while working there. She then spent more than four years as a reporter for Us Weekly, until she started working for her current employer, The Hollywood Reporter.
Powers says she enjoys working for The Hollywood Reporter because it focuses more on the business side of entertainment journalism. In the world of entertainment, business is not always boring. While Powers covered the Oscars in 2007, she asked Jennifer Hudson about a rumored feud with Beyonce on the set of Dreamgirls. Hudson was very short when answering and shot down the question, telling Powers that she didn't know what she was talking about. The footage was televised the next day, and Powers received many text messages from friends and co-workers about the coverage of her controversial question.
"You must be fearless in asking questions," she says. "Asking Jennifer Hudson that question could be considered controversial and could be nerve-wracking for some, but you have to ask to get the stories."
It's enough of a challenge to handle the celebrities and keep up with the fast-paced environment of an awards show, but Carl, Speight Nordyke and Powers also have to get the story and report it as fast as possible and be the ones who do it first.
Kimberly Speight Nordyke works the red carpet at the 2010 Emmys at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. Speight Nordyke has covered the Emmys six times and says it is always a hot day. Photo: Courtesy of Kimberly Speight Nordyke.
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These women credit the Missouri School of Journalism with teaching them to get the story and meet the deadline. Carl worked for KOMU-TV and Speight Nordyke and Powers worked for the Columbia Missourian as students, and the reporting skills they learned apply to their careers on a daily basis.
All agree that the ability to and the importance of meeting deadlines - instilled in them at Missouri - is extremely important to their jobs. Speight Nordyke remembers being assigned seven or eight stories, all due by 5 p.m., when at the Missourian. Looking back, she says handling that prepared her for entertainment journalism. She describes her experience at the Missourian as invaluable and says she was given a well-rounded education that helped her along her career path.
Another important skill for Powers is the ability to spot a good story - and to find one if nothing is apparent. That has helped her be aggressive in the field of entertainment journalism, where she never gives up on getting the story.
"My editor used to send me out to get a story," she says. "It instilled that go-getter attitude."
That attitude, thanks to Missouri, helps these women cope when put right in the middle of the celebrity action, and whether it's Carl giggling while busting Julia Roberts for her red carpet gum chewing, Speight Nordyke embracing the exclusive red carpet or Powers being shot down by an Oscar winner, they all strive to get the story first and get it in on time. And even when surrounded by all of that glitz and glam that is untouchable to most, they stay true to the journalistic values gained from their experiences as students at the Missouri School of Journalism.
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