A Visit To Fox News Channel

Friday morning, I headed over to Fox News Channel for my client Tourism Queensland’s appearance on “Fox & Friends.”

Hello Again: “Fox & Friends” anchor (and former colleague) Steve Doocy and me

I had the pleasure of catching up with co-anchor and all-around good guy Steve Doocy, who greeted me with a big hug. We reminisced about the time when we shared a cubicle wall during my stint as an associate producer at Fox.

While we were talking, it hit me that a decade has passed since my FNC days -- and that the winding road of my career has mirrored the twists and turns in my love life.

For seven years, I pursued my passion for TV news, traveling like a serial monogamist through jobs in writing, producing and on-camera reporting. With every gig, I learned something about myself -- just as I have from each of the men I’ve dated.

I think that jobs, much like relationships, aren’t necessarily meant to last forever, but to prepare for you what comes next. By illuminating who you are and refining your vision of what you want for yourself, they help equip you to make that vision a reality, even if it means taking a few detours along the way.

Over time, I’ve found that each detour is less a bump in the road and more an opportunity to make a fresh start. Because in both life and love, it’s never too late to begin again.

By The Numbers: On Air Edition

I recently had the pleasure of catching up with my former Fox News boss and good friend Jerry.

Over a delicious lunch at Ben’s Kosher Deli & Restaurant in NYC’s Garment District, we reminisced about our days together at Fox ten years ago. It should probably be illegal to have as much fun at work as we did.

Shepard Smith: This Fox News anchor fronts the primetime show that I worked on

As we recalled that magical time, I couldn’t help thinking about my former career path.

Before jumping ship to the world of public relations, I spent seven years working in TV news. From taking flight in a golf cart powered by an electric parachute to interviewing newsmakers big and small (Senator Bob Dole, Jared the Subway sandwich guy), I enjoyed plenty of adventures in pursuit of the day’s news. Here are some of the highlights -- By The Numbers:

Number of jobs in TV news: 7
Number of TV news jobs that required moving out of state to small towns: 3
Number of on-camera reporting jobs: 2
Number of TV news gigs abroad (in Sydney, Australia): 1
Number of winter weather disasters experienced during TV news stints: 2

Back in ‘97, I was a morning news producer in Bangor, Maine when a devastating ice storm hit. Later, during a 2003 blizzard in Delaware that shut down the state, I did a live report on the disaster from a waist high snow bank.

Yes, producing the news may not always be glamorous but one thing is for sure --- it’s one hell of a ride.

By The Numbers: Professional Gypsy Edition

During my ten year journalism school reunion back in April, I attended a panel about reinventing yourself. I couldn’t help thinking about how that phrase has applied to my career before and since attending Columbia‘s j-school.

Reporting Live: That's me with the microphone during my on-air days at WBOC-TV in Dover, Delaware, 2002

It’s been quite a journey from my days as a fresh-faced college graduate to my current profession of travel PR. I’ve written about municipal bonds for a trade newspaper, reported live during a Delaware blizzard and researched business segments for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Here are some of the bends in the long and winding road of my career -- By The Numbers:

Number of jobs since graduating from Mount Holyoke College: 10
Number of career changes: 2
Number of small market TV news jobs outside of New York: 4
Number of overseas jobs: 1
Number of years spent working in PR: 4.5

Four and a half years after making the transition to travel PR and joining Quinn & Company, I feel the same as I did when I first started -- fortunate to work for talented, honorable people and to be promoting one of my biggest passions, travel. Even better, I get to do this in the world’s greatest city.

Following Your Bliss

When you work at a close-knit company of 40+ people, the departure of a colleague often feels like losing a family member. This week marks the end of an era at Quinn & Co., the spirited PR agency where I spend my workdays, with the exit of three beloved co-workers.

Each of my departing colleagues is leaving to pursue different career paths. Cristina is taking her tremendous gift for advising into a new role as a school guidance counselor. Fashion-savvy (and, I predict, future Project Runway candidate) Michel has been accepted to New York University's highly-competitive Steinhardt Master of Arts Visual Culture’s Costume Studies Program. And organizational whiz Danielle will be transferring her talents to event planning for the New York Historical Society.

Quinn & Co Gals: Danielle, Michel, Me and Cristina

As these fabulous women begin new chapters in their lives, I am excited at what lies ahead for them. And I can’t help recalling the circuitous but deeply fulfilling journey I’ve had in following my own bliss.

I spent most of my twenties pursuing my childhood dream of broadcast journalism, specifically, the pie-in-the-sky hope of becoming the next Katie Couric. My ambitions took me to destinations of all kinds -- from glamorous cities abroad (Sydney, Australia) to small-town USA (Southern Illinois, Dover, Delaware). For seven years, I was part of the TV news world as a writer, producer and on-air reporter.

I was on day two of a two-year reporting contract at a CBS affiliate in Maryland when it hit me -- I want to do something else. The realization unnerved me. After all, I had devoted my education and career to that point in service of one very specific goal. What in the world would I do next? Thanks to a serendipitous encounter with Val, a fellow journalism school alum and respected travel reporter, I soon found out.

Over drinks one night, I discovered Val was looking for a freelance writer to contribute to her website. She gave me the job, which was to take press releases and turn them into news items. It was in the course of doing this that my new career in travel PR was born. Val forwarded me an opening at Quinn & Co. and the rest, as they say, is history.

Nearly four years later, I’m still having the time of my life. PR is the perfect confluence of what I love -- writing, travel, and working with the media. Uppity journalists might say I’ve gone over to the ‘dark side.’ I say, it was the best professional decision I’ve ever made.

I have no doubt the same fulfillment awaits Cristina, Danielle and Michel, and I can’t wait to hear all about their adventures post-Quinn & Co. Their transitions are a wonderful reminder that it’s never too late -- or too soon -- for a second act.

As English novelist Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley once said, the beginning is always today.