El Paso native Monica Cortez planned to be a newspaper reporter when she started studying journalism at New Mexico State University. Then she got involved in NMSU’s “News22” program and by the time she graduated in 2013 she had two years experience in day-to-day TV news. She immediately got a part-time job at KTSM-TV and worked her way up.
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| The El Paso KTSM weather team (left to right): Monica Cortez, Celina Quintana, and Jessica Nevarez. All three are NMSU graduates who worked in the university's News22 broadcasting program. (Courtesy Photo: KTSM) |
Today, Cortez is the chief meteorologist for KTSM news in El Paso.
“I don't think I would be where I am today, if it wasn't for the guidance from Nick Miller and the experience News22 provided to me,” said Cortez. “While working at News 22 was stressful, I truly loved it. Because, at the end of the day, it’s all about how much work and dedication you put into it, in order to make your dreams come true.”
Cortez isn’t the only one. The rest of the weather team at KTSM-TV includes NMSU graduates Celina Quintana, an El Paso native who joined the staff a few months ago, and Jessica Nevarez, a Las Cruces native who has worked at the station since early 2018.
“The program gave me the opportunity to do a live broadcast prior to being hired at KTSM,” said Navarez. “This is something that I didn’t realize would set me apart from other students that came from other university programs.”
For decades, the “News22” local news broadcast, aired through the KRWG Public Broadcasting television station on campus, has been an important program for the Las Cruces community, as well as NMSU student journalists. The broadcast presents local news, features, sports and information to viewers across southern New Mexico and west Texas.
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| Marlenn Barraza, who began her broadcasting career at News22, now works for El Paso's KTSM as a photojournalist. (Courtesy photo) |
The student newscast has been a launching pad for generations of careers in journalism and broadcasting and includes nationally-known professionals such as NBC news correspondent Gadi Schwartz and Teri Schultz, now a reporter for National Public Radio. Regionally, KDBC’s Shelton Dodson, KVIA’s Hillary Floren, and KFOX anchor Robert Holguin are all also alums of the “News22” program.
In the past decade alone, more than 40 students who got their start at “News22” have gone on to establish careers in journalism and broadcasting, working for outlets in the southwest region, and across the country.
“News22 is the best learning environment that a student could possibly have,” said Ryan Rieker, who now serves as a Master Control Operator for ESPN’s Los Angeles office. “It’s an amazing real life experience, and I don't think I would have had it if News22 wasn't a live show that aired multiple times a week.”
“News22” is broadcast live three times a week during the fall and spring semesters. Airing at 6:30 p.m. on KRWG-TV, the student news program follows the principles and schedules of a working, professional newsroom – something that “News22” director Nick Miller understands well. He served as the primary anchorman at KTSM for 17 years. Emphasizing the merits of hands-on experience, his program provides aspiring journalists and broadcasters at NMSU an advantage over other university’s graduates who don’t get this level of practice before they apply for a job.
“When they leave here, they know what they are doing,” said Miller, who also serves as an assistant professor at NMSU’s Department of Journalism and Media Studies. “Not many universities have a real honest-to-goodness live TV newscast. We do.”
They also do the news in Spanish. Miller is joined by Hugo Perez, an assistant professor with a long career as an Emmy Award-winning photojournalist. Perez is director of the Spanish language newscast “Noticias 22.” The program, which runs once a week, allows NMSU students to utilize their bilingual skills, in addition to reaching a wider audience.
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| Gina Palombit, a News22 alum, now works as a Media & Communications Coordinator at White Sands Missile Range. (Courtesy photo) |
“I was part of both News22 and Noticias22, where I was able to practice and discover a potential I did not know I had in me,” said Marlenn Barraza, who is now a photojournalist working for El Paso based KTSM. “Four days after graduation, I started working right away in my field of study, simply because News22 and Noticias22 gave me all the tools I needed to survive, and here I am – standing tall.”
The program is almost entirely student run, with students responsible for everything from finding stories, conducting interviews, shooting and editing video, producing newscasts and sitting in the news anchor chair to read the news, weather and sports live in the studio, which is then broadcast to the public.
“News22 got me used to the pressures of live TV,” said Jeffrey Elliot, who currently works as a newscast director for WFMY in Greensboro, North Carolina.”Just how quickly things can change in an instant, and how fluid you have to be in order to adapt to that change.”
“That's what is so great about News22,” said Zach Rael, who now works as a weekend morning anchor and reporter at KOCO in Oklahoma City, “you can spend all semester sitting in a classroom reading about how to report. But it's that experience of grabbing a camera, shooting a story, writing, editing, and airing the finished piece that will give you the experience you need to thrive.”
In the age of digital news and social media, the skills students learn at News22 translate well to a broad range of communication-related careers.
“Broadcast journalism doesn't just prepare you to work in a newsroom,” said Gina Palombit, who currently serves as a Media and Communications Coordinator for the White Sands Missle Range, “it teaches you how to tell compelling stories using video, and that is a skill that is becoming more and more valuable in this age, where video is everywhere.”
Miller, who has been keeping track of his “News22” students’ careers since he started at the university in 2011, finds their success is one of the most statisfying parts of his job.
“To see so many of them out there, realizing their dreams,” said Miller. “It’s a very gratifying experience.”
