Aspire to Inspire

From her humble beginnings at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), passing by The Post in New York and MTV.com, all the way to Laredo, TX, appears a hard working reporter that has proven that we do not need years of training or experience to excel in our professional life. Elizabeth Keatinge is a young reporter at KGNS-Laredo who has come a long way to be where she is at. She was born in LA and grew up to study English Literature at UCLA. However, her dream was to become a great reporter. One of her main inspiration to chase this dream was her grandmother, Mrs. Keatinge, who was a journalist. She warned Elizabeth that if money was what she was looking for, she was not going to find it in the news world. Nonetheless, this did not frustrate her aspirations since she was well aware that newspapers and television news was what her heart strived for.

Back in UCLA, she learned that if she wanted to pursue her dream she would soon have to leave home and move to a city where the opportunities would take her farther. That is when she decided to move to New York and chase her dreams. She began to work at The New York Post, an entertainment newspaper in NY City, where she covered mainly soft stories. However, that was not enough. She acquired a job at MTV.com where she wrote about music and films. It was through this experience that she got her first exposure to the usage of video production equipment. She also decided to increase her academic preparation and enroll at Georgetown University, where she would get a master’s degree in Journalism. After four or five years of working hard at The Post and mtv.com, Elizabeth decided that it was time for something different.

With little to none experience over Border City matters, Keatinge was hired in Laredo, TX where she learned that the culture was not the only factor she needed to get acquainted with, she needed to learn how to speak Spanish; but this would not stop her, “If something scares you, you should try it” she said. However, the struggle was not over for Keatinge, the position that she had gotten at KGNS Laredo was not only as a reporter, but also as the “cameraman”, who is in charge of filming the story as well as doing edits on it, and prepares it for every show, for her own stories.  She soon learned that having control over the images and the story gives the reporter the full power of creating a story according to how she imagines it should be seen. However, not everything was great news for her; she began to realize that this kind of career can get really stressful at times.

Keatinge gives us a little heads up about what other factors that young reporters should look out for in order to get great and informative stories. “The one and most important of them is that preparation is key” She said. For instance, to always know where to look and under what rock to dig in order to find good stories. She says that “little facts can spawn a whole story” and that is “always good to be in the lookout for those details”. One of the greatest things that Keatinge has learned is that it is “a great honor to have people share their lives and stories with her”. Her advice to journalists in border cities is that they should be aware of the language barriers and try their best to prepare to be at least 80% fluent in Spanish, and that’s just to be competitive.  

Some of Keatinge´s favorite topics are Small Businesses, the Farmers Market and humanitarian and social events at TAMIU. Finally, Keatinge gives us a reminder that even when hard, competition is healthy. As for her, even when she values every experience she has had, “she would never plan ahead” she says, meaning she enjoys every job she gets and hopes to keep it as long as she is needed to. However, she does have aspirations to get farther. Specifically, she would like to cover war stories, work overseas, and basically any story that involves traveling and getting international exposure.

Her visit to TAMIU has helped students in the Communication Department to better understand the professional environment for what they are preparing for. This makes the experience more valuable for those who are interested in pursuing a journalism career in Laredo or any other Border city. More information about Keatinge and other reporters in Laredo can be found at www.pro8news.com or at the KGNS offices located in Del Mar Boulevard.