In a panel discussion hosted by The Kenyon Collegian on Oct. 23, five Kenyon alumni who have made successful careers in journalism gathered to discuss their work, the future of their field and their places in journalism both during and after their time at Kenyon.

The panel was opened by Matthew Winkler ’77 H’00 P’13, cofounder of Bloomberg News and former editor in chief of the Collegian. Winkler, who is currently teaching a course at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism as a visiting professor, reminisced about his own time at the Collegian, working with his fellow Kenyon students and Bob Dylan’s 1965 visit to campus. “So obviously,” Winkler said, “the Collegian has so many things in its history that make tonight especially special.” 

Emma Specter ’15, a culture writer at Vogue, described herself as “a quiet weirdo in high school” who found her voice writing for The Kenyon Thrill and excelled in the College’s small community. “Kenyon, for me, was actually an exercise in shifting scope a little smaller,” she said. In a rural setting, Specter was able to connect with peers who were sharing the unique experience of being Kenyon students alongside her. “That specificity really has contributed to who I am as a writer and as a person.” 

During her time as a Kenyon student, Specter connected with fellow panelist David McCabe ’14, who had founded The Thrill and invited her to write for it; now, McCabe works as a technology reporter for The New York Times. With a prestigious job in “a rapidly changing industry,” McCabe encouraged students to “be fluid. Think about the choices you make.” 

Like McCabe, AJ Rourk ’03 advised students to be adaptable. “I would encourage you to be open for a path that you didn’t plan for. Look at me: I majored in Spanish and now I’m director of operations at The New Yorker.” During a stage of intense growth for the magazine, Rourk helped create and refine its hiring and management practices. He compared his role to that of a mechanic: “I am sort of having a look under the hood and making sure that things are running smoothly.”  

Several of the panelists began their journalism careers as writers and editors for the Collegian. Beth Bennett ’96, associate dean and journalism professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, described becoming the Collegian’s editor-in-chief as a turning point in her development as a journalist. “I think it made me realize I did not know what I was doing, and that prompted me to go figure it out,” Bennett said. Erin Mershon ’12, the deputy media editor at The New York Times and another former editor-in-chief, said “I think everyone should be doing the Collegian all the time.” She enthusiastically recommended the paper to students across campus, whether or not they intend on pursuing journalism careers: “If you want to go into design, design the Collegian.”

Journalism is never a clear-cut field, and the panelists, who found success amid this uncertainty, offered their thoughts on its future. “Journalism isn’t always … a story on a page with a headline,” Mershon said. For example, to cover the rise of AI deepfakes on the internet, Mershon described how the Times published a quiz that tested if people were able to distinguish between human and AI-made content. “That’s still journalism, but it’s told with a very clickable, easy quiz.” 

Journalism is interdisciplinary and elastic; students from every corner of the liberal arts can consider a careerin the field. Even facing the looming threat of AI automation, panelists did not doubt that there will always be a demand for writers to inform the public. Bennett was also confident that journalism will be able to transform to meet the perpetually unprecedented demands of modern times. “It will evolve. This is an industry that is very good at evolving.”