Nobuko Forum Encore!

“I went into journalism because it was a period of time where in this country we had Richard Nixon as our president. The corruption that he was involved in was uncovered and there was an impeachment process. A lot of what was discovered was under five journalists of The Washington Post,” former WJLA anchor and former Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer, Marriott International Kathleen Matthews told Kedanren Female Executives on a Mission to the United States for The Nobuko Forum Encore hosted by Nobuko Sasae at the residence of the Japanese Ambassador. “I was passionate about the world of journalism in our democracy and that’s what led me to it. I also had financial aid and I had to support myself, so it was also a good career for me to have a pretty reliable salary. I got married, I had three kids and I was very lucky that I went from being a writer to being a producer to being a street reporter going out with my microphone and interviewing people to make a news anchor. One of the things that really worried me in that world was the fact that a television journalist actually had union contracts and prescribed hours. You do a lot of over time but you’re put on a shift, you’re like a shift worker so you know what your hours are going to be usually in advance.”