Former Campus Chronicle editor returns to share her wisdom
By Nicholas Bainbridge// News Editor
On Feb. 18, 2019, High Point University graduate Jodi Guglielmi returned to campus to share her experiences and give insight on life as a post-graduate communication major.
Always aspiring to be a successful journalist, Guglielmi wasted no time in acquiring experience reporting on the news.
While she started as a staff writer, she was quickly promoted to an editor her sophomore year and coordinated with several writers to ensure that a section of the newspaper was completed in time for each release. Throughout her senior year, she held the position of editor-in-chief. In this capacity, she was responsible for reviewing all of the articles and layouts in the bi-weekly publication.
She also worked closely with Dr. Bobby Hayes, an assistant professor of communication, to establish the HPU branch of the Society of Professional Journalists, a group that aims to facilitate the growth of young journalists by exposing them to proper investigative procedures.
“We saw a hole where something didn’t exist that needed to and thought that it was something that every journalism student could benefit from,” said Guglielmi. “Dr. Hayes handled all of the paperwork of course.”
After graduating from HPU in 2015, she was faced with the challenge of determining where she would go next. She eventually set her sights on an internship at People Magazine.
“When it came time to look for a job, I was stressing,” said Guglielmi. “I saw that People Magazine was looking for an intern, and knew that this was where I wanted to be. I know a lot of people get a job straight out of college, but I figured that an internship at my dream job is better than a job elsewhere. I worked hard and continually reminded them that I wanted a job. When they had an opening I was the first person they thought of.”
She was not given much responsibility at first. However, she continually put herself forward and requested to write on any story that she came across. Guglielmi explained that this was because it was necessary for her to demonstrate her worth to the company. Continually taking on relatively unimportant tasks allowed her to steadily gain a reputation amongst her associates, who placed more trust in her over time. This gave her the prerequisite clout to report on more important topics and make a name for herself.
Guglielmi explained that she would continually inform her overseers that she desired a full position at the company. Because of this, and her continual dedication to her work, she was hired as a full employee at People Magazine.
Rather than remain stagnant in her new position, Guglielmi continued to take on more responsibility in her area of expertise, which is celebrity journalism. She covers controversial topics like the accusations against Matt Lauer, the former NBC anchor.
Guglielmi explained that it was immensely important to her that both sides of a story are told, and she demonstrates her integrity by covering stories such as the Matt Lauer accusations in a way that lets the accused have a voice as well, while most other publications only acknowledge the side of the accusers.
The journalist explained that in her work she puts a substantial amount of effort into ensuring her work is factually accurate and advises students interested in reporting to do the same.
First, she explained that unlike many tabloid magazines, People Magazine has policies to ensure the validity of information from sources.
“We do a lot of fact-checking. We even have people whose dedicated job is to fact check,” said Guglielmi. “We are not a tabloid magazine, so getting things right is very important to us”
Guglielmi also explained that the magazine had a policy called the rule of three. If there is a breaking news topic and a source tells them something, they require at least two other sources to tell them the same thing.
The young reporter also stated that HPU did a great job preparing her for her journalistic exploits. Her classes and other activities on campus allowed her to gain important skills that became invaluable in her line of work.
When asked what the most useful lesson she learned from her classes was, she recounted an anecdote about how she was required to report on a topic that she originally had no interest in.
“One thing that really helped me that I hated at the time was in one class I had to pick out of a hat what I had to write about and I picked court trials,” said Guglielmi. Celebrities break the law a lot, so this prepared me well for stories on that topic. It also taught me how to be a well-rounded reporter who can write on various stories even if they are outside my favored area.”
Guglielmi is continuing to write for People Magazine four years after her graduation and plans to stay there for much longer.
Dr. Bobby Hayes (left) welcomes his former student Jodi Guglielmi (right) back to HPU. Photo by Nicholas Bainbridge