A Lady's Lesson: Interview with Brianna Keilar
If you've turned on CNN in the last few years, chances are you've seen the incredible Brianna Keilar. Graduating from UC Berkeley in 2001, Ms. Keilar started in television as an intern and production assistant at KTVC Channel 2 in Oakland, California. With a resume that includes CBS News and mtvU, Ms. Keilar currently resides at CNN as a congressional correspondent. Recently, Ms. Keilar was kind enough to take a break from covering health care reform and answer a few burning questions about challenging assignments, journalistic peers, and what it takes to get that "put together" look.
1) You graduated from Berkeley with a BA in Mass Communications, what drove you to enter a career in journalism? Why television, as opposed to radio or newspaper?
I really enjoy telling a story visually and in real time, and I love the unpredictable nature of news. Initially, while still in college, I considered going into print. But after writing only a few articles for Cal’s student newspaper I landed an internship at a local news station – KTVU – and had so much fun tagging along with reporters out on assignment that my aspirations quickly changed. Later, while working as a television reporter in a small market, I also did some radio work, including morning drive-time on a contemporary hits station. But I liked reporting better so the radio gig was short-lived and I stuck with my day job.
2) As a CNN correspondent, what role do you play in the development of a breaking news story?
Anything and everything. Chasing down lawmakers in the halls for comment (these days it’s on any incremental development on the healthcare front), running over to our live shot location in the Russell Senate Office Building to get the news on TV (if the news can’t wait, I phone in a “beeper” to a show) or even calling in a late night pizza order so our CNN team on the Hill is fed.
3) What has been your most challenging assignment to date?
Covering healthcare reform has been the most intellectually challenging. It requires attention to constant, incremental changes and, simultaneously, an ability to see the forest for the trees.
The Virginia Tech tragedy was the most emotionally taxing assignment I’ve covered. I was with the first network crew live from the campus and I stayed on air for the next eight days. I was 26 at the time, very close in age to the victims, and it affected me deeply.
4) If you were to have a luncheon with a few of your journalistic peers, who would you invite and why?
Kyung Lah (CNN Tokyo-based Correspondent), Savannah Guthrie (NBC News White House Correspondent) and Jay Newton-Small (TIME Congressional Correspondent).
Savannah has a great West Coast vibe that I connect with (she’s from Arizona, I’m from California); Kyung is hilarious and if you need some perspective from outside the bubble, well, you can’t really get farther away than Japan; Jay is refreshingly candid and it would be nice to hang with her somewhere other than the hallway outside the Senate chamber.
5) All of the correspondents both male and female look effortlessly put together even under stressful circumstances, what tips can you give to get that always put together look?
Coffee and eye drops are musts to fool people into thinking you actually got enough sleep. Use cushy shoe inserts. If you’re like me, when your feet hurt it somehow manages to show on your face! Find a good tailor and visit him or her often. Make sure your pants are just the right length to avoid bunching around the ankle or that “high-water” effect. And I stash a flat-iron (intended for use on hair) at my desk for midday touch-ups on a collar or pants hem.
6) DC men are always on the go. What three things should all men have on them at all times?
Breath mints, business cards and a bottle opener key fob that doesn’t actually look like a bottle opener.
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