Founder of QCTV finds job at CNN

CNN, dynamic, issue 15, Kaitlin Cassidy, Whittier College, Yasmin Khorram, Features - By Kaitlin Cassidy on Thursday, January 26, 2012 - 02:13

“After two summer internships with CNN, I knew they were my dream company to work for,” recalls Whittier College alumna Yasmin Khorram. “Now that I’m here, I can literally say I’m in love with my job.”

Khorram graduated from Whittier in 2010 but it took her nearly a year after graduation until she was hired by CNN. She applied to CNN’s entry-level position titled “Video Journalist” which is only offered in their Atlanta headquarters. “It was a long grueling interview process and when I finally got hired, I had only two weeks to get to Atlanta,” Khorram remembers. Khorram took the risk, packed up everything and moved to Atlanta to pursue her dream.

Once at CNN she realized that the working place was way different from college. Khorram recounts, “In order to succeed you have to be self-motivated.” Clearly her hard work stood out, because five months later, Khorram was promoted to her current position of Associate Producer on Headline News. “As an associate producer I pull elements such as videos and sound bites, and help write the live shows for HLN,” Khorram explains.
Khorram attributes some of her success to her years at Whittier College. The founder of QCTV, Khorram recalls writing for the Quaker Campus as a great way to strengthen her writing skills. Her time at the Quaker Campus was beneficial her when Khorram also began reporting for CNN.com.

Another strong point for Khorram was her one-of-a-kind major, thanks to the Whittier Scholars Program (WSP). “In my interviews discussing my self-designed major and WSP curriculum gave me an edge over candidates who graduated with the traditional broadcast journalism degree,” Khorram mentions. Classes like Assistant Professor of Theatre and Communicaitons Richard Cheatham’s “Intro to Video Production” and her time with QCTV also prepared her to succeed as a Video Journalist. The background provided while working at QCTV and the Quaker Campus help Khorram prepare for the breaking news world of CNN. “One of my first weekends at CNN was when President Obama announced the death of Osama Bin Laden,” Khorram recollects. “It was pretty surreal to be in the newsroom knowing about Bin Laden’s death before the rest of the country. It made me realize working in a news outlet allowed you to know news first.”

While pitching stories for CNN.com, Khorram also got the opportunity to research and bring light to stories most people may not have had access to. For example Khorram recently published an article about an American basketball player finding success in Iran. The article also focused on a documentary that was being made about the basketball star as well. “The article got over 100,000 hits within the first week,” Khorram recalls. “It was an amazing experience to write something that impacted these people.”

Because of the article’s success, Khorram notes it helped to provide funding for the documentary. The article was also close to Khorram because of her own Iranian background, “I also wanted to show Iran in a different light,” she adds. And her advice to upcoming graduates?

“Don’t be afraid to go out and take a chance because you don’t know where it can lead.” Good advice from someone who landed a spot at her dream company.