"I have little doubt that my late nights in Falvey prepared me for the pressures of the White House press briefing room (the West Wing could use a Holy Grounds, though)..."
-Thoughts from VU English Alum and current financial journalist J.D. Durkin
J.D. Durkin, VU English '09, has worked as a journalist and news anchor, and has recently begun anchoring the morning show for TheStreet live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. He kindly took the time to answer some questions from us about his career path from English major to financial journalist (with pit stops in comedy and more).
Please describe your current job and what a typical day might look like.
I host a morning business show from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, so my prep starts the night before -- getting a jump on stories, gathering elements, and writing questions for my guests. I (try to) wake up in the 5am hour and read up on premarket data, and see if any big stories overseas may impact US news/markets later on. I'm at the NYSE by 8:30am and coordinating elements with my amazing producers (who are remote!), ready to go live for Opening Bell at 9:30am -- "The bell waits for no one," as they say. I usually write and shoot some packages in the afternoon, and spend a lot of my day researching and writing.
Before this, I was a White House and Capitol Hill correspondent where my days consisted of regular live shots, wrapping breaking news, attending press conferences/briefings, and talking to sources for my own reporting. I then pivoted to anchoring a nightly show, where I spent all day writing with an awesome team, followed by rehearsals, quick hair & makeup, then popping into the anchor chair.
What got you interested in journalism?
I sort of fell into it -- I always knew I wanted to work in TV, but the start of my career was on the comedy development side. I was hosting news-driven/late night shows on stage in New York, which meant learning a lot about politics/the media... in order to poke fun at it. In 2015 I was offered an actual newsroom position by Mediaite; with polish along the way from great mentors, I realized that although my path to get there was unique, my skills were well-suited for TV journalism. I quickly fell in love with the thrill of a good scoop, or a well-delivered news-making interview with a member of Congress. I've also been drawn to news jobs where I don't have to take myself too seriously, so I can still have a little comedic point-of-view. It's fun, but it's a huge privilege you can't ever take for granted. The viewers/readers/voters are the most important part of the work.
How did you develop your journalistic and anchoring skills?
I started performing at a pretty young age, silly stuff like school musicals (not to brag, but I was a mean Nathan Detroit in 8th grade). Most of my early performing was high school forensics, or speech and debate (my mother made me do it -- and man, she was right; mom's always are). I competed nationally for four years, and my event -- Original Oratory, or OO -- is how I started writing for myself. Being a TV news correspondent is adult forensics.
As an adult, my jump back into performing was improv/sketch comedy for years, often bombing on stage. It builds character, or so they say. I just kept going, and adding crafty little skills to my toolbelt along the way. Years later I started really studying the great anchors and TV personalities I admired -- their cadence, pacing, non-verbals. Properly studying the greats in the arena is a fun and important part of the process.
Do you draw on your English major skills or perspectives in your current role? If so, how so?
Sure, being an English major taught me that no matter how tight of a deadline I was facing, I could pretty reliably crank out a 10+ page paper in a pretty short amount of time. In broadcast, sometimes the deadlines are as tight as minutes, and you have to turn out accurate, solidly-sourced, smooth-sounding scripts/packages on the fly. I have little doubt that my late nights in Falvey prepared me for the pressures of the White House press briefing room (the West Wing could use a Holy Grounds, though).
What was your journey like from undergrad through to career?
Aeneid-sized twists and turns. But more or less:
The morning after graduation I moved to LA to make it "big" in TV, Entourage-style, because of course I did; there were big ups, and big downs; I slept in my car, performed basement improv shows to an audience of 3 people, and handed out my resume to every street vendor on Hollywood Boulevard to find work... but also somehow booked a movie and got into SAG. I moved to NYC, became a bartender to pay the bills while my main hustle was writing/performing live shows and could be closer to my family in Jersey. In my mid-20s, I focused a good bit of time teaching myself the parts of the industry I never learned, like how to shoot with a decent DSLR and edit my own videos. I was a writer's room PA for a few TV comedy shows, and joined Mediaite as Senior Editor, where I covered the historic 2016 election. Cheddar News launched as a TV network, and it was a well-timed fit; I started at the NYSE, but quickly moved to DC as a correspondent, anchor, reporter, you-name-it for 5.5 years. I covered two impeachments, Supreme Court nominations, countless White House briefings and Hill gaggles with grumpy Senators, and traveled to cover the President in Helsinki, Belgium, and Normandy. Now I'm back in New York at the NYSE for TheStreet, an incredible Wall St. institution, at a crucial time for the economy and our future, and I couldn’t be more excited.
Though I may have used the word "I" often in the last paragraph, the journey was only made possible by an astounding list of supportive family members, producers, stage managers, editors -- and friends from Villanova who came to my shows to support my career. I'm wildly grateful for them all.
Has there been culture shock involved in going from studying English at Villanova to reporting from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange?
Not so much -- this is right for the moment I'm in. If I had gotten dropped onto the floor of the NYSE after graduation and asked to anchor a live TV show… I'd be clueless. But I've been out of school now for 13 years (what?!) so that's a lot of time to fail, learn, and hustle. As an English major, I had to learn the daily discipline of getting the icky stuff done, because the reading/writing load demanded it. I do the same thing now: the daily discipline of doing my best work.
What kind of advice would you give to current undergrads thinking about studying English? Or, if you’d prefer, what kind of advice do you wish you could go back in time to give to yourself as an undergrad?
You don’t have to have it all figured out right now! Don’t put too much stock in how your major “determines” your career path – things change. Just be open-minded, work your tail off, be a kind person, and don’t forget to put the work down to go to a ball game or an amazing concert. A beautiful part of the journey is responding to things as they pop up, and saying yes to challenges and opportunities as they arise in your life and career. I went from sleeping in my car to questioning the President in the same lifetime – neither of which I thought I would ever do when I was at Nova. I don’t know that my map is the best blueprint for others, but if it helps even one student, then it’s worth it to share.
And by the way… the correct answer to the endless question, “But what are you going to do with an ENGLISH degree?" is: literally anything I want.
