Award-Winning Journalist Ben Garvin Speaks at Weekly Forum
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State brought award-winning journalist Ben Garvin to speak to students about his career.
The event was hosted by Professor Will Yurman. Yurman holds these forums every week, bringing in new journalists to share their experiences with Penn State students.
Garvin worked for the station KARE 11 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he created content as a print journalist and worked on many projects behind the camera. His most notable works include a documentary about a Minneapolis school and a man-on-the-street piece in which he dressed up as an ear to ask people different questions at state fairs.
Garvin talked about why he became a journalist in the first place: journalists hold the power to create change.
“Early on, I was driven by my ego,” Garvin said. “I think now that I’m a little older, I realize that we have a real power to make a difference.”
“What can I do that’s going to really make an impact, fill my heart and soul, and make me feel of value?” Garvin said.
Along with sharing his experiences, Garvin gave advice for attendees and explained his in-depth knowledge about transitioning to a different form of storytelling and reporting.
“In TV, we were in the news meeting at 9 [a.m.], and then we went out to shoot something and it was on air at 5 [p.m.],” Garvin said. “The quality of my work initially was really crappy. I had to let go of the perfectionist in me [that] wanted to get everything just right and [instead] just get stuff on TV.”
To watch the full seminar, you can visit the Bellisario College of Communications webpage to find the recorded event. The next speaker will be Lynn Johnson from National Geographic on March 9.
Jonathan Draeger is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. You can contact him at jrd6052@psu.edu.
