ST. LOUIS — Stephanie Rothman got her start in journalism when she was a student at University of Texas at Austin to get her bachelor’s degree. Her education continued to Northwestern University, where she got a master’s degree in journalism.
“I originally was going to go to school for English, but then realized no, I’m not going to teach English, and I’m not writing a novel or doing print journalism. But I really love video formats,” she said. “It’s a faster pace, and you also get to be with so many people. Writing to me was too solitary. I know I am too much of an extrovert to be solitary every single day.”
Rothman says she learns something new every day. She interacts with many different kinds of people.
Reporters can have odd work schedules. Many newscasts will have them working early in the morning, late at night, or weekends.
“I used to work Monday through Friday, weeknights, but now I work on the weekends as well, and I anchor on Monday and Tuesday, so I do have a weird schedule,” she said. “Right now, I work the night shift Monday through Wednesday, and I end my day reporting anchoring the 11:00 p.m. show by myself with Chris Higgins. Then I’m off Thursday and Friday, and then I come back and cover the morning shift for the weekend.”
Why did you become a journalist?
“I have wanted to become a journalist for as long as I can remember. I’ve always been a really chatty person—too chatty for my own good,” she joked. “But then I realized as I was growing up that I’m great at English and history in school, and combining that with my love of people, always having a curious mind, and just being such a chatterbox, I realized I could combine all those attributes into a job.”
“You can do a job, but you don’t see a result for a long time,” she said. “With journalism, especially general assignments, I end my day knowing that I have hopefully helped people or at least informed them in some way.”
Broadcast journalism allows Rothman to tell interesting stories through video creation, providing visually engaging information.
“Obviously, with the world becoming more dependent on streaming, what we’re doing now will fit into the way of the future,” she said. “It’s been my life’s purpose, honestly. I know I’m still young; I just hope I can continue doing it for as long as I can because I like being a journalist. There’s so much to do, and it’s never over. News obviously never stops.”
What motivates you?
“There’s a lot of good in the community. I hate when people say all they hear and all they see is bad news,” she said. “I would love to show happy news 24/7. But unfortunately, if we didn’t show the struggles, we wouldn’t be able to improve.”
“People reach out all the time with ideas, but also just to talk; they feel like they know you,” she continued. “It’s funny because I try to be personable, but a lot of the stories we cover are hardships. I hope that people feel like they can approach me.”
What do you to help with work stress?
“I like taking time for myself since I start most of my week at night, I have the mornings, and I like to just be outside. A lot of the time, we’re working in cars, and it can get very stressful,” she said. “The job is such a quick turn-around timewise to get the story out and to do it accurately. That stress gets put on us, mentally and physically.”
Despite facing pressure in broadcast news, Rothman enjoys the job.
“It can be very stressful when you’re having an “off” day to like to turn it “on,” but the funny thing is if I’m having a bad day and I come to work weirdly enough, like it actually does turn my mood around,” said Rothman. “I think it’s just because I like what I do, I feel like I have so much to do, and I have to do it. It pushes me to want to do it well, and the team is amazing. I love it.”
What do you do on your day off?
“I mostly spend time with my dog, Emmy; I am obsessed with her. She’s a huge part of my life,” she said. “When I go out, I take her with me when I’m driving to a new neighborhood, but we also take long walks. I like trying new restaurants, and I’m a huge museum person, there is a lot of good culture here in St. Louis.”
Rothman’s love of learning, meeting new people, and going to new places is reflected in her work as a journalist. Her unwavering love and dedication to telling interesting stories have cemented her place in the field and given her both a deep sense of purpose and personal satisfaction.