Journalist Lawrence K. Jackson detailed his career since graduating from Syracuse University during a lecture in Watson Theater on Tuesday night.

Jackson, also a host, producer and public speaker, graduated from the broadcast journalism program at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 2013. He currently anchors NBC’s digital news show “Stay Tuned,” which draws more than 30 million monthly viewers, according to Jackson’s website.

Over the course of his career, Jackson has interviewed many notable figures, including Usher, Oprah Winfrey and Donald Trump. Those interviews have appeared across media platforms such as ESPN and ABC.

Jackson’s talk was the third in the Sankofa Alumni lecture series, which the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Office of Multicultural Advancement began as part of SU’s Black History Month Celebration, according to SU News. These lectures were created to invite SU alumni of African descent to discuss their careers and achievements after graduation, per its website.

Jackson’s described his career since graduating from SU and showed clips of his work at various broadcast companies. He then had a conversation with Abigail Covington, a member of the student staff at the OMA who moderated the event. A question and answer session following the discussion allowed audience members to ask Jackson questions via Twitter.

Jackson described his journey from an undeclared SU freshman who struggled to get accepted into Newhouse to a successful broadcast journalist. He emphasized the importance of perseverance in the face of rejection, describing his college experience as a series of “no’s” that he had to work hard to overcome.

“People tell you to be realistic because they don’t want you to think too big, they don’t want you to push yourself as far as you can go,” Jackson said. “They limit what you’re capable of.”

Jackson also highlighted the idea of “visualizing” goals for future. He explained the importance of having a clear idea of the type of career one aspires to have and being relentless in pursuit of that ambition.

He described his internship at “CBS This Morning” and the day he was allowed to sit behind the anchor’s desk for the first time as a key moment in his visualization of his future.

“When I sat at that desk, I was dead serious,” Jackson said. “I was going to be back to this desk, and I was going to have my name on this wall, and it’s going to be ‘CBS News with Lawrence Jackson.’”

Jackson also offered advice to college students looking to apply to media companies. He stressed the importance of maintaining one’s identity on-camera rather than emulating other anchors and forming a fake persona.

“There is something about you inherently that makes you just you,” he said. “And it will be the reason you stand out. I challenge people to be exactly who they feel they are.”

After the lecture, Cedric Bolton, coordinator of student engagement at OMA, said he chose Jackson to speak at the event because he personally knew Jackson from his time at SU and knew that Jackson would provide a compelling lecture. He added that he was surprised by the growth Jackson has undergone since graduation.

“I knew him as a student, and I knew he would be excellent, and he definitely was,” Bolton said. “And I’ve learned so much. I’m thinking, ‘Wow, you think you know them.’”

Jackson concluded his lecture by tying it back to Black History Month, highlighting the idea of being true to one’s personal, racial and ethnic identity in their work and using it to strengthen and individualize their journalism.

“Know who you are and know what you bring to the table,” he said. “You have a voice that no one else can imitate.”

Published on February 26, 2019 at 10:45 pm

Contact Gillian: gifollet@syr.edu