AU alum Caitlin Moore was recently made the new digital editor for the pop culture team at the Washington Post.
After graduating from AU in 2011, Moore went on to work for the Washington Post for three years before being promoted in August. Moore will start her new position Sept. 16 and will work with pop culture editors and bloggers to write and edit, all while pitching ideas and working on long term digital projects, Moore said.
“I’ll be working with the graphics and video team to enhance our stories,” Moore said. “I think in the last few years that we’ve gone much more digital…I think [our] mobile [platform] has grown extensively.”
One of Moore’s goals is to appeal to a younger demographic, which gets its news from a range of outlets, including phones, tablets and their computers, according to Moore.
“We do still want those older people, but we want to be the ‘go to’ for a whole new host of people that go online for their news,” Moore said.
Moore strives to engage her readers as well as prioritize what they may find interesting, something that AU broadcast journalism classes taught her in undergrad, she said.
“Every semester was so [busy], but because of that I felt so prepared to do multitasking and work consistently,” Moore said. “Those classes were so hard, but they taught me so much.
The Eagle, where Moore worked as an editor, also served as a good resource to fine-tune her writing skills, she said.
“The Eagle 100 percent prepared me,” Moore said. “It felt like we were doing our own thing [when I worked there]. It made me comfortable writing and editing.”
Some things can only be taught outside of the college bubble, though.
“Nothing can really prepare you for a breaking news situation where everything is insane,” she said. “It’s kind of trial by fire. You learn when you jump in.”
One of her favorite breaking news moments was when she worked with the Post for the 2012 presidential elections. Come election night, reporters and editors were busy collecting data and watching other news stations update their polls, trying to get the story first, she said.
“[It was a] massive beehive of activity. Everyone was so busy but so professional. It was so exciting. I was 23, and I couldn’t believe I was here witnessing this,” Moore said.
Moments like those taught Moore that while participating in extracurricular activities during school is important, getting “real-world” experience is important.
Perseverance comes at a close second according to Moore- she described putting in extra hours and shifts at the Post, and how that really made a difference in the amount of experience she gained.
“I know it sounds cheesy, but honestly if you want to cover something and that’s what you want to do, keep going for it,” Moore said. “Don’t let yourself be a speed bump. Other people can say whatever they want but a lot of times you get in your own head.”
