How Alumnus Dan Corey’s Journalism Journey at Rutgers Prepared Him for NBC News
Before graduating from Rutgers and landing a job as a producer for NBC Nightly News, Dan Corey scored the biggest interview any student journalist could dream of: a conversation with then-President Barack Obama.
Corey was the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Daily Targum, in 2016 when Obama was named Rutgers commencement speaker.
That 15-minute, five-question interview, combined with the broadcasting experience he gained through 88.7 WRSU-FM Rutgers Radio, propelled him into a successful journalism career.
At NBC, he also works on network specials, and covers national and international breaking news. He played a role in NBC’s coverage of this year’s general election, Supreme Court decisions, the crisis unfolding in the Middle East, along with human interest stories.
Corey entered Rutgers intending to pursue a career in journalism but also decided to broaden his expertise with a second major in marketing at the Rutgers Business School. He immersed himself in extracurricular activities including membership in three separate honor societies: the international Beta Gamma Sigma, the national Kappa Tau Alpha, and Rutgers’ Cap & Skull.
Before getting his foot in the door at NBC as an intern and then as part of the NBC Page Program, Corey interned with CBS News. He credits The Daily Targum for helping him build his reporting background and WRSU for providing a broadcast background.
Corey, a 2018 graduate of the School of Communication and Information, reflects on his time at Rutgers, his legacy, and how to build the necessary skills to pursue a career in journalism.
Through your experiences at The Daily Targum and WRSU, can you describe a pivotal moment or even a challenge that you encountered that defined your experience?
There are a million. One especially challenging moment was when I was the Editor-in-Chief of the Targum during a referendum year when each Rutgers school had to vote on whether to keep the paper’s student funding and independence from the university. Having to convince students of the value of keeping the newspaper alive while running the newsroom every day – along with school – was very, very difficult to pull off.
Interviewing President Obama was definitely a major highlight. I still can't believe I did that. When that happened in 2016, I was invited to the first and only College Reporter Day at the White House, and when it was announced that President Obama was going to be the commencement speaker at Rutgers, I reached out on behalf of the Targum to ask for an interview for the editorial board. It worked out from there. I think having that happen soon after the referendum that year validated the Targum and student journalism in general – and it was very gratifying to show the legitimacy of the newspaper in such a public way. Yes, it’s a college newspaper, but I think people don’t understand how important it is to have that training ground for people who are coming up in the field and having it while they are in school.
You've left quite the legacy at Rutgers. How do you hope to continue at NBC?
I've worked on a bunch of different shows for MSNBC, and now I work for the Specials team for NBC News. Whenever there's major breaking news, we're like the Avengers. Whenever we get the bat signal, if something happens, we swoop in and we’ll cover it live as it happens. I take a lot of pride in the work we do. I think it's important for people in journalism to have the ability to cover breaking news under time pressure, demonstrate their editorial judgment, and try to think of the best way to explain what's important about the news while rolling with it as it happens.
What has been the most rewarding part of your role at NBC or your career?
My friends and family always ask me to explain what’s happening in the news to them. With them and with work, I think it's very rewarding to know that you have informed people. An informed population is always better off. We live in a very busy, interconnected, confusing world. If you're able to explain why the economy is the way it is or why certain things in politics are the way that they are–being able to play that part in people's lives, even if it's a small thing, I think it holds a lot of value. I’m grateful that I get to do that.
What would you say to someone who's graduating soon and needs advice or direction?
In college, we learn the “hard” skills, like writing and editing, and then there are the “soft” skills like learning what editorially makes sense – and what really matters. I would argue that those soft skills are a lot more important to learn – and to learn early – no matter what field you're going into. Learning a technical skill is like preparing for an exam. If you study and practice it, you'll figure it out.
Your judgment and the way you use it to interact with other people is something that's shaped over time. Yeah, it can be changed, and it can be influenced, but that can take a lot longer and require more effort. Also, learn everything you possibly can if you’re given the opportunity because you never know when it’ll come in handy. I wasn't fully aware of just how beneficial my experiences at Targum and WRSU would be while I was doing them, but looking back now, there’s no question that they were. I was able to show I could do the job at NBC because I was a part of WRSU and The Daily Targum. Finally, try to have fun too!
A version of this story was published on the School of Communication and Information website
