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Baltimore TV anchor shares insight on the news industry

Megan Rivers is a TV anchor in Baltimore.

Emmy Award-winning anchor and reporter Megan Rivers recently returned to her alma mater via Zoom to offer insights into the world of broadcast journalism.

As a co-anchor of 11 News Today in Baltimore, Rivers shared with Â鶹´«Ã½ students her personal journey through the production industry, emphasizing the unique challenges she has faced as an African American woman in a predominantly male-dominated field.

Rivers opened up about the emotional toll of covering tragic and crime-related stories, particularly while working the night shift. She discussed the difficulty of separating herself from work when stories often center on heartbreak and tragedy.

“It’s hard not to take some of it home with you, especially when you’re reporting on situations that affect real people,” Rivers said.

That is one reason she loves the morning news despite the long hours. The content is drastically different.

The seasoned journalist also spoke about the practical aspects of launching a career in the industry.

One piece of advice she offered students looking to break into journalism is choosing a natural-looking hairstyle that is easy to maintain. She explained that appearance needs to stay the same from day to day, which is an issue for Black women whose culture is to change hairstyles often.

Rivers also stressed the importance of maintaining a professional image online, advising future reporters to keep their personal social media presence separate from their professional lives.

Asked about her social life, she said jokingly, “I don’t have one.” She gets most of her social interaction through her job.

When it comes to breaking into the business, Rivers didn’t sugarcoat the challenges.

“Starting out in production or as a reporter, the pay is not great,” she said, adding that passion and dedication are key to making it through the early years.

Another crucial piece of advice Rivers shared is the importance of telling stories from multiple perspectives. She emphasized the need to go beyond simply repeating police statements, urging future journalists to seek out voices from all sides of a story.

Rivers graduated from Â鶹´«Ã½ in 2010 and has worked in production and TV reporting in Columbia, Charleston and Washington, D.C.