Political reporter Dan Merica urged aspiring journalists and American University students not to be discouraged and remain aggressive when searching for a job at a school event on Oct. 16.
“It sucks to apply to 90 jobs and hear back from two, but it is reality in our industry right now,” Merica said. “I would also say that there’s really no job at this point beneath you.”
At the event hosted by the Kennedy Political Union and School of Communication, Merica shared that the University was the reason he got to work at CNN, where he started as a guest reader.
Merica, MA/SOC ‘11, is a reporter for the Washington Post and co-anchor for the paper’s flagship political newsletter, Early Brief. Previously, he was a national political reporter for CNN, covering Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid in 2016, the Democratic presidential primary in 2020 and President Donald Trump’s first term. Merica also worked as a political reporter for The Messenger and as an investigative reporter for The Associated Press.
The event was moderated by SOC professor Jane Hall. Hall asked about the state of journalism and how it has changed since Merica’s campaign coverage in 2016.
“Journalists are under attack in the middle of a shutdown with unprecedented layoffs planned with the Pentagon Press Corps,” Hall said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth imposed new rules on news outlets reporting from the Pentagon on Oct. 15, which included the possibility of expulsion if they reported on information not approved by Hegseth. In response to these regulations, dozens of journalists have quit, according to an article from The Independent.
Merica explained that politicians interact differently with the media today.
“Politicians can go around the media pretty easily,” Merica said. “They can go to outlets far more friendly to them.”
The event also discussed the idea of fake news in journalism and how Merica proposed to combat it. Merica said it is important for journalists to show they are human.
“I talk about things that I care about beyond the news,” Merica said. “I think that is a lesson for journalists right now that you can be really good at what you do and also have some personality because it humanizes you with the reader.”
Based on his time covering Clinton’s presidential bid, Merica said covering presidential campaigns can be very competitive, as journalists want to be the first one to report on something.
Despite this, Merica said it is also a place to form personal connections. While covering Clinton’s campaign, he met his wife, Monica Alba, a White House correspondent for NBC News.
With his expertise, Merica shared that fact-checking is critical for journalism.
“What’s really difficult about journalism in general is that saying something is not true means you have to obtain what is true,” Merica said.
This article was edited by Payton Anderson, Abigail Hatting and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Sabine Kanter-Huchting, Arin Burrell, Paige Caron and Ryan Sieve.
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