A year and a half into college, Jose Pagliery was 20 years old and the American economy had crashed. He was studying journalism at FIU, and he realized that he had no idea about what was going on in the country´s financial downfall. So he decided to take economy classes that would add value to his career path.
“Studying journalism just doesn´t cut it anymore,” he said. “Where to look is the most important.”
Taking classes in a different area helped him understand other issues, and that benefited him when he began working as an intern in The Miami Herald. There he covered late night community meetings, listened to the police radio and told the editor of any important news.
“It sounds terrible, but I learned everything I needed there,” he said.
After the Herald, he got a job with the Atlanta Journal Constitution and later with the Daily Business Review. By working while still in school, Pagliery learned how to approach people in certain situations and gain experience that a classroom would never give him.
“I would talk to moms that had just gotten their kids killed,” he said. “That is where you have to be careful.”
But for him, the best thing from all those situations was that his story would reach people and perhaps society would learn and change. He says the story has to matter to people; it needs to apply to their lives.
Today, Pagliery, 27, works for CNN Money in New York City where most of his days start at 6 a.m. Continues on a subway ride reading the news from his phone, a newsroom meeting where staff pitches stories and share what they are working on, until 6 p.m. where he finally gets home and is able to do other things he loves, such as archery or hiking.
“Luckily, I have a job that allows me to balance my life,” he said. “I love what I do, and I have no idea where I will be in a few years.”
Even though he feels that journalism doesn´t receive the respect it deserves and the pay is not the best, he loves being engaged in conversations that no one else is having.
“I want to be happy,” he said. “And journalism makes me happy right now.”
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Constanza Gallardo 