How to Ask Tough Questions | Career Workshop
Journalists fulfill an essential role by keeping a check on people and institutions in power. A key tool to their watchdog function is the interview, when journalists directly engage government officials asking questions to hold them accountable. An interview is a tricky thing to pull off, especially when the goal is to expose a hidden truth. To help students develop this critical skill, we’re bringing in a seasoned White House correspondent who has mastered the craft.
Karen Travers, of ABC News, is a staple in the press briefing room; she has covered the Biden, Trump, Obama, and Bush Administrations. Travers was there for President Trump’s historic first trip abroad in May 2017 and all of his subsequent trips overseas, including his two summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Travers has extensively covered Washington and national politics, traveling to 49 states and more than 60 countries. She has reported on the ground in key battleground states, covering primaries and caucuses, Republican and Democratic conventions, and presidential debates in every election cycle since 2004. She is a double Hoya (COL’ 00, MA’ 03) who served as a Fall 2019 GU Politics Fellow.
Karen will lead a career workshop on “How to Ask Tough Questions” open to all Georgetown students and alumni. This session pairs with next week’s career workshop “How to Answer Tough Questions” where former press secretaries help students build their own toolbox for responding to a good interviewer.
“How to Ask Tough Questions” will be on Monday, September 27th from 12:30-1:30pm in the HFSC Social Room.