Ole Miss Grad Chronicles Journalism Journey during Meek Week

MarKeicha Dickens

Meek Week Story

October 16, 2012

Jour 271

444 Words

                          Ole Miss Grad Chronicles Journalism Journey during Meek Week

UNIVERSITY, Miss-- Mississippi Public Broadcasting lucked out when they hired this ball of entertainment. From the looks and sounds of Sandra Knispel, one would never guess she studied at Ole Miss. The German born and bred journalist received her MA in journalism from the university and has gone on to accomplish some great things. The former Bloomberg TV anchor talked about her journey and gave advice to a crowded room full of aspiring undergrads Thursday morning.  

            Straight out of college Knispel’s first job was in New York City where she worked for a German-American newspaper that no longer exists. She hated her boss. She hated her job. She even plagiarized.

“My green card was tied to this job,” Knispel laughed as she reminisced about this trying time in her career, “I didn’t know what else to do!”

After quitting for not being given enough vacation time for the holidays, Knispel worked for Bloomberg TV in Princeton. The shift from newspaper to media was intense. She advised the quiet but alert class to take openings on the weekend. The beauty of doing so is that more responsibility falls on you, making it seem like you are outworking everyone she explained.

After moving to Mississippi in 2001, the new mother of twins began freelancing for MPB the following year. She has received numerous accolades and awards while working at MPB, her most recent being an Edward R. Murrow (RTDNA) award for her feature series about the tornado that ripped through Smithville, Miss.

Knispel walked her audience through exactly how she received this prestigious honor. She never wrote that the people she interviewed were sad or emotional. She let her quotes and sound bites tell the story and found people who were personally affected by this tragedy.

“I didn’t want to do any harm to anyone. If someone started to cry during their interview I turned it (the recorder) off. You just don’t do that,” Knispel said. She hung out at gas stations and added personal touches to her finished project. The most important thing she did however was brought some positivity to her story, because people’s lives go on. They don’t just stay down and out, they rebuild themselves and find normalcy again someday.

At the end of her discussion Knispel wanted to know if questions were had by any. Professor Joseph B. Atkins broke the ice by asking the seasoned journalist to let the students know how crucial it was for young graduates to be flexible. Knispel’s reply? “If you want to eat, very important.”