When Kris entered Clairbourn for his 8th grade year, it was the sixth school he’d attended in nine years. “I got very used to being the new kid,” he recalled in a half-hour long phone interview with the alumni office.
After graduating, he moved on to Flintridge Prep and then to the University of Southern California, where he graduated with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. Since then, he’s worked as a reporter in Colorado Springs, San Diego, Washington DC, and last year was named the National Transportation Correspondent for CBS News.
Kris generously shared his time with the alumni office at the end of a busy week, which included flying from Washington DC to San Francisco to Maui to Los Angeles and back to Washington DC in 36 hours. From his office at the CBS Bureau in DC, Kris reflected on his career, the joys of working as a reporter, and his time at Clairbourn.
When did you realize you wanted to become a broadcast journalist? It really cemented in my time at Clairbourn. One of our assignments at Clairbourn was to do a presentation on a career field that interested us. I had been sort of interested in news and sports and something to do with TV reporting, but it hadn’t really crystalized. A family friend of ours, a guy named Bill Press, did commentary on channel 13 and I called him when I had this project and he introduced me to Ross Becker, who at the time was the anchor at KCOP. And Ross really became my mentor and dear friend. It was through my experiences hanging out with him at the TV station and some of the events going on in Los Angeles at the time. It was back in ’93, ’94 where we had the big firestorm, and then the Northridge earthquake and the O.J. Simpson stuff. There was something really exciting about being in the middle of everything going on.
How would you sum up your job in one sentence? I would tell you that I am living my dream.
How so? I am a correspondent on the broadcast that I remember watching in journalism school saying, “it would be amazing if one day I could be there.” It’s just been a terrific experience. In some ways this is the hardest job I’ve ever had, certainly my first year at CBS when I was working for our affiliate service and was on the road for 7 months out of the 12 months. But, it is amazing, we get to go places people don’t get to go, we get to see things people don’t get to see, you get to do things people don’t get to do and then you get to tell the rest of the world about it. There’s no job like this one.
What is an average day like for you? One of the challenges and perhaps the beauty in the network job is that there is a certain level of unpredictability. It’s hard to gauge. This job can have some very long hours, but the payback is that you get to do some very cool things.
What do you consider the coolest part of your job? The beauty of this job is often found in the journey. It’s the people you meet along the way, it is the things you see along the way. It can be the acts of kindness you see coming out of a disaster, the moments of bravery. I talked to these Philadelphia police officers who crawled into that Amtrak train crash (in May, 2015). The cars were at a 45 degree angle, it was pitch black, there were sharp edges, the vehicles were moving, there was smoke and they didn’t think twice, they just went toward where the screams for help were. Those moments and meeting some of those people are incredible. I’ve gotten to go all over the world as a reporter to places I never would have gone. Places like Afghanistan, Pakistan, places that most people don’t get to see. Those are experiences that stay with you. One day you can be on a beach in southern Virginia waiting for a hurricane and the next day be at the White House. It’s a remarkable profession that is, in many ways, unlike any other one in the variety and the scope of what you do or what you see.
What would you say it takes to distinguish yourself in the broadcasting industry? That is the million dollar question, isn’t it? I think it is a combination of timing and preparation. It took me more than 3 years to get CBS to hire me after years of being a reporter in smaller markets. The truth is that it’s a combination of taking the time to learn the craft to learning how to tell stories and to find the powerful elements that make your stories memorable. It’s about figuring out how to do television in a way that the audience responds to. Part of it is being a really good journalist and that’s how you stand out. I’d like to believe that it’s the work that stands out most, but the other side of that is I’ve been very, very fortunate to have so many wonderful people in television take interest in me or donate their time to help mentor me. It’s building a network of people who can advise you and help you grow. Being at the right place at the right time, sometimes. Basically, I think it’s a mix of a lot of things.
What advice would you give students who wanted to become a broadcast journalist? The best advice I ever received from a boss was, from my assistant news director at KTLA Marcia Brandwynne. Marcia said to me, “Just be the reporter who knocks on one more door and makes one more phone call.” That concept of, just put in a little bit of extra effort every time and that will separate you. I think that’s really true. One of the things I carry with me from my mentor Ross is this idea that our job is to be a mirror, to reflect the community back upon its self, the show the good parts and the bad parts. Our job isn’t to have a position or an opinion, it is to tell you what happen. Also, I’m a big supporter of going to a smaller market. Go to that small town, make your mistakes, learn how to be a reporter, learn how to build the sources and break the stories. Because, you don’t just want to be on TV, you don’t want to just be that person who stands there and holds the microphone, you want to be that person who is breaking stories, who is out in front of the news. You want to be the person reporting the news, not just the person standing there talking about what somebody else has found out. You want to become an expert in your field, not just someone who’s there to be on TV.
If you couldn’t be a broadcaster, what do you think you would do with your life? I thought really hard in college about becoming a police officer. I’m not really wired to sit in an office all day. I don’t know what else I would do. I think when you look at what is an opportunity to, 1) not be in an office, 2) to do something different every day, and 3) to be doing something that helps the public. When we’re doing our jobs right and in times that really matter, people turn to television journalists because we can bring you to where something is happening, as it’s happening. That is a real valuable public service. So, I don’t know exactly what I would do outside of this. Maybe that’s why I became a reporter because I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I couldn’t master the curveball, so I wasn’t going to be a profession baseball player, so I needed a job and this beats real work.
Where do you see yourself in 10 or 15 years? I’m really living my dream right now. My goal from day one sitting in journalism school was how do I get to be a network correspondent? I’m not really thinking that far down the road right now, I’m just trying to enjoy this moment.
What do you like to do when you aren’t working? Lately, sleep. When I get to steal a weekend in town, I try very hard to catch up with my good friends. My weekends are not necessarily the most happening of times. I force myself to go to the gym. I always try to travel with one of my still cameras. I really enjoy photography. I was really happy in my new place here in Washington, when I moved back, that there was finally space for a wall of my own photos, a photo wall of my own pictures from all over the world. That is the closest I would come to having a hobby. When I’m not at work, I try very hard to spend quality time with the people I care about. I love the opportunity to go hide behind my camera lens and take some cool pictures. I love to travel, which is nice with this job because I spend a lot of the time travelling for work. I love going places I haven’t been. So this year, I’m looking to visit a friend in Japan. I try to take a couple of cool trips a year.
What is your favorite Clairbourn memory? I think I have a couple. I was struck in the summer program just how warm and welcoming the Clairbourn community was. I look back very fondly on all of the Paul and Cara Barker dramatic acting experiences and opportunities. We made a movie my 8th grade year. They were just terrific teachers and friends. For someone who was parachuting in at the end, I have to tell you just how welcoming everybody was – the teaching staff was terrific, my classmates were great. So, I have very fond memories of my time at Clairbourn.
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