Upper School Students Visit Politico

From Divna Stojilkovic '29: On April 28, the Grade 9/10 Journalism class had the privilege of visiting the Politico newsroom. During the trip, we had the opportunity to hear from professional journalists about their experiences and learn how a real newsroom runs. 

Politico is an online newspaper that covers politics, policy, and power. It covers political news across the globe, with offices in California, London, and other capital cities, in addition to the headquarters in DC. As a smaller organization, Politico doesn’t focus on the variety of coverage, but plays a niche role in delivering highly-accurate political news.

This role gave every speaker a unique perspective on accuracy, as maintaining it is part of everything they do. No one understood this more than Anita Kumar, the Head of Standards and Practices. In her day-to-day, she focuses on making sure the paper stays accurate and non-partisan, ensuring the delivery of correct, non-biased information. She spoke about how she navigates sensitive issues, going through numerous rounds of editing on stories with conflicting sides, and making sure that any biases held by reporters don’t make it into the final draft. 

To give us a sense of the daily routines of a reporter, Deputy Head of News David Kihara, a breaking news reporter, spoke to us. He explained that breaking news reporters are the frontline in delivering information to the public quickly, and how he integrates Politico's strong emphasis on accuracy into his work. Kihara also spoke about how journalism can be a great way to get to know the world around you and gain greater situational awareness. His partner, Gregory Svirnovskiy, discussed the benefits of being bilingual and having greater cultural awareness in the field, including how to further investigations and speak to sources otherwise out of reach. 

Svirnovskiy wasn’t the only one who talked about how understanding multiple languages can shape your experiences as a reporter. Julia Marsh, the current executive editor, talked about her experience living abroad in South America, and how knowing Spanish helped her gain a better understanding of the areas in which she worked and traveled.

Overall, the trip was an amazing experience that gave us an opportunity to better understand journalism in the real world and perspectives that we can bring as international students.