The Five Question Challenge with Lisa Gutierrez

By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com

One of my favorite reporters that I love following is Lisa Gutierrez.

For over 30 years, Ms. Gutierrez has published countless of articles for multiple news organizations such as The Kansas City Star and The Global Sisters Report.

Since 2000, Ms. Gutierrez rekindled the long-running Stargazing column that showcases the highs and lows of the entertainment industry. From her insights on the Grammy and Oscar ceremonies to all the drama that hits the fan on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, Ms. Gutierrez always leaves her readers informed and laughing out loud.

For this edition of The Five Question Challenge, The Kansas City Star veteran talked about overcoming the challenges that she faced in her career and shared her opinion on how the World Wide Web affected the media industry.

Jacob Elyachar: When did you get interested in writing? How did that passion evolve into a reporting career?

Lisa Gutierrez: I first became interested in writing way back in grade school. I would write stories that were so interesting – one was about being an athlete at the Olympics – that my teachers would have me read them out loud in class. I could see by the way my classmates responded how much people enjoyed hearing my stories.

But, how do you turn writing into a career? I am a newspaper reporter mainly because of my father. He was an avid newspaper reader and follower of the news. There were always newspapers in our house, so I guess my career in newspapers was just meant to be. (A lesson from that: I believe parents need to teach their children how to be savvy consumers of the news.) Also, my high school journalism teacher was a huge fan of mine and encouraged me to study journalism in college.

JE: Let’s talk about your column: “Stargazing.” Could you please describe your column to my readers?

LG: I inherited Stargazing from another colleague at The Kansas City Star. It had been in place for several years before I came to the Star in 2000. In Stargazing, we follow Hollywood news – though I try to steer clear of the overexposed Kardashian clan – and viral stories. Stargazing is the place you can find the latest on Kansas Citians working in Hollywood – Jason Sudeikis, Paul Rudd, Rob Riggle, et cetera – as well as who got married over the Fourth of July weekend. (Billy Joel, Ashton Kutcher and Vanessa Williams all did this year). We also use Stargazing online, at KansasCity.com, to live-blog and recap popular TV shows and big celebrity events, such as The Bachelor episodes and the Oscars red carpet.

JE: What are some of the challenges that you faced over your career? How did you overcome them?

LG: I think my biggest challenge, at first, was being sort of shy to talk to people. There is no easy way to fix that, you just have to get out there and do it.

In the beginning, too, I was sometimes afraid to ask people the “hard questions.” But, here is an easy way to deal with that: If you have a tough question to ask someone in an interview, you save that one for last, just in case they kick you out of their office or hang up on you. That way, you have already got the rest of your interview done.

Answering this question makes me realize, I guess, that my career has come fairly easily to me. I have been lucky because I know that journalism is a much tougher career to break into these days.

JE: Over the past decade, the media industry has been revolutionized through the World Wide Web. In your opinion, how have these changes improved the journalism world?

LG: I think the growth of the Internet has forced us to work faster, and smarter. No longer are we tied to deadlines for the print product. Now, because news and the reaction to news on social media happens so quickly, we have to file stories quicker. I think that has also forced journalists to make their stories more reader-friendly and engaging. I, for one, am a big fan of adding polls to my stories, for instance.

And when I say we have to be smarter, I’m referring to how a lot of people these days might think that they are “journalists,” or so-called citizen journalists, just because they can take a photo on their iPhone or post something snarky on the Internet. It kind of scares me, frankly, when I see what passes as “news” these days. That is why trained journalists – who always get both sides of the stories, who know the rules of “on the record” and “off the record” and who are willing to chase down a good story – will always be needed and necessary.

JE: If you had the chance to meet with aspiring journalists or writers who want to work in the media industry, what advice would you share with them?

LG: In college, take as many “non-journalism” classes as you can – psychology, history, political science, and sociology. (Skip the math classes, and I’m only half-kidding about that!) A journalist MUST be well-rounded and a journalist must be well read. Every day, read the stories on major, legitimate news sites to stay on top of what’s going on in the world. By legitimate, I mean The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, ESPN and CNN. And, of course, KansasCity.com.

Along with that, don’t just read web sites that carry news that you “agree” with. For instance, if you are a liberal, make sure to read Fox News. If you are conservative, read The Huffington Post and MSNBC. Journalists must know what everyone is saying, at all times. You don’t have to agree with a certain viewpoint, but you’d better darn know it if you’re going to call yourself a journalist.

You cannot be a journalist today if you don’t know how to use social media well. Repeat. You cannot be a journalist today if you don’t know how to use social media well. Do I need to repeat that again?

To read Ms. Gutierrez’s work for “The Kansas City Star, click here: http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/ent-columns-blogs/stargazing/

You can also follow her on Twitter by visiting @kcstargazing!