MPS Journalism Alum of the Month - November 2012

Katie Bridges (G ‘12)

Contact Information: Website: www.kathleenbridges.com, Twitter:@kathleenbridges, Facebook: “Katie Bridges”
”Take advantage of every opportunity that the MPS Journalism program presents to you.”

We are proud to feature one of our Summer 2012 graduates from the MPS Journalism program, Katie Bridges, as our November Alum of the Month. Since finishing the program, Katie moved to Little Rock, Arkansas where she works as the Editor of Arkansas Life, a monthly lifestyle magazine. Katie shares with us how her career took a 180 after starting the MPS Journalism program.

1. Tell us how your degree from the Journalism program has impacted and/or changed your career.

“Had I not been part of the MPS Journalism community, there’s absolutely no way I’d be in the position that I’m in today. I was a career-changer, and needed a way to make an entry - quickly - into the field. Thanks to the dedication of the MPS JO faculty and staff, I landed my dream internship at Washingtonian magazine after my first year, which quickly became a full-time gig. After relocating to Little Rock at the end of my final semester, I was offered the editorship at Arkansas Life magazine. I’m sure that without my degree and my experience at the Washingtonian, that position would not have been available to me!”

2. Why did you pick Georgetown’s Journalism program? How did you hear about us?

“I was looking for a program that would introduce me to prominent working journalists, and that would fill my portfolio with professional-quality clips. Needless to say, I was impressed by both the faculty line-up and the practical nature of the course offerings. I think I made a good choice.”

3. Who is your favorite working journalist?

“My capstone adviser, Howard Yoon, once told me that every good magazine is reflective of the personality and vision of its editor, and I couldn’t agree more. Perhaps it’s because I’ve recently moved to the editing side of the magazine world, but my superheroes right now are folks like Adam Moss at New York magazine and David Dibenedetto at Garden & Gun.”

4. What one interview for a piece you’ve done has had the most impact on you?

“I’d have to go with the interviews that I did for my capstone (which is being published in the December issue of Washingtonian—stay tuned!) with John Uselton and Michael Lowe, the pair behind New Columbia Distillers, DC’s new distillery. I spent many months with them—following them around the distillery, sitting at Lowe’s dining room table as they tweaked their recipe, conversing over countless cups of coffee. That type of immersion reporting allowed me to create a rich narrative and sitting down with months’ worth of material helped me hone my editing skills. If only we always had six months to work on a piece!”

5. What one piece of advice would you give current students?

“Take advantage of every opportunity that the MPS-Jo program presents to you. Seriously. Your professors are more than willing to help make things happen for you - take them up on it!”