By Kelci Webb

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Pamela Brown, a justice correspondent for CNN, discussed the importance of persistence in journalism at the annual Joe Creason Lecture in Whitehall Classroom Building on Thursday.

“It is such a pleasure to be back home in my hometown of Lexington,” Brown said. “I want to thank Beth (Barnes, the director of the School of Journalism and Telecommunications), who organized all of this and brought me in to speak with you all.”

Brown was made an anchor on CNN at age 23. The change happened after her previous show was canceled without a clear reason.

“I really thought that I had failed,” Brown said. She began writing stories and asking her boss to check her work, in order to improve.

“Two years later, that same boss that took away my show … promoted me to weekly night anchor,” Brown said.

When Brown was first out of college and reporting for WJLA in Washington D.C., she worked long hours, which she felt hurt the balance between work and the rest of her life.

“It was sort of a slap in the face when everyone else was drinking and partying and I would have to be in bed by 6. It was social suicide,” Brown said. “As hard as it was to sacrifice my 20s, I know that is what really built the foundation for my career today.”

Brown said that in any career path, but especially journalism, success comes from working harder than those who want the same opportunities given to them.

“I know that I didn’t get the opportunities that I have gotten because I was more savvy or way more experienced. I truly believe that I got to where I am because of pure persistence,” Brown said. “I never would have thought that I would end up on CNN, getting to talk about breaking news with Anderson Cooper.”

She also advised journalism students to try to prove themselves and ask to be part of big stories.

“It is okay to cross that red line of persistence and be annoying every now and then,” Brown said.

Going on the air, Brown said, is a very small part of what she does. Her job is meeting sources for coffee or dinner, and cultivating the relationships that will lead her to breaking news stories.

“It takes so much preparation,” Brown said. “The key to success is being prepared. It’s a full-time job.”