Jillian will be anchoring and reporting for KSPN 2 News in Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.  She will be anchoring the 6 p.m. news throughout the week and reporting 2-3 stories a day.  Jillian will be covering cops, courts and politics for the Flametree Network.

She is looking forward to learning about the people and culture on the tropical island.

Jillian was a News Assistant for NY1 News in NYC for the Local Edition, covering Northern New Jersey, Staten Island and Queens.  She wrote, shot and edited stories about a variety of topics including Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts and the upcoming mayoral race in New York City.  After taking on constant traffic driving to stories in the Big Apple, Jillian is looking forward to the island lifestyle.

Jillian started her broadcast journalism career at the age of seven, when the microphone was half her size!  She began reporting and producing for the local cable station in her hometown for "Just Kidding," a new show for kids aged seven to 12.  Her first assignment for East Brunswick's Channel 8 was to interview the local fire commissioner about Fire Prevention Month.  In the middle of the interview, the sirens went off and she watched as the fire engines left the station.  She couldn't believe it.  This first interview sparked her burning passion for journalism.

When the show ended, she moved over to report for "This Week in East Brunswick," where she conducted hundreds of interviews with political leaders, law enforcement officials, children's entertainers, coaches and non-profit organizations.

When anyone asks her why she chose the University of Southern California, one of the first aspects Jillian mentions is Annenberg TV News.  At the live, nightly news operation, she had the incredible opportunity to cover international, national and local stories coming out of the number 2 media market.  As a dedicated member, she reported as a one-man-band, anchored the news and weather and produced 30-minute newscasts from the first pitch of the day to the sign off.  Jillian has been privileged to report on the Occupy Los Angeles movement, President Obama's visit to the Southland, the trial of Conrad Murray, the 2008 presidential election and stories affecting local Angelenos.  Her persistence allowed her to interview L.A. Mayor Villaragosa, city leaders and celebrities populating the Thirty Mile Zone.

She has held internships at NY1 News, a hyper-local network covering news in and around the five boroughs of New York City; Varney & Co. at the Fox Business Network in New York; Fox Business Network in Los Angeles and Young Hollywood. 

Jillian loves spending time with her family, watching the news (of course!), soaking up the sun, working out and exploring new places to visit and eat.

Check out Jillian's website and follow her on Twitter!

As an Anchor/Reporter at KSPN2 News, I am covering the cops and courts beat.  So, you can often find me in Superior Court checking out the latest criminal cases in the CNMI, and visiting the Federal Court building on a daily basis keeping an eye on any new court documents filed.  I also cover breaking news.  Just recently, there was a plane crash on a neighboring island, killing 2 Chinese tourists and the pilot.  That day, I was at the dock here on Saipan interviewing first responders, the Governor and Red Cross about the recovery efforts.  Also, I will cover community events, like the recent fundraiser for Red Cross and a Body Building Competition.

I most recently worked as a Writer/Shooter/Editor for NY1 in NYC.  I covered Queens, Staten Island and Northern New Jersey.

One of the most important skills journalists need in this new era of news gathering is a knowledge of the social media scene.  In a world where anyone can now become citizen journalists, information is flying faster than it ever did.  It's our job as journalists to vet those sources and dig deeper than a few posts for the whole story.

ATVN is the place to be if you are a news junkie and if you want to get the best experience to prepare you for your years after college.  I started on the Assignment Desk my first semester freshman year, designed graphics, operated cameras and TelePrompTers during the newscasts, ran all around Los Angeles as a Multi-Media Journalist and worked my way up to producing the 30-minute shows and anchoring the news and weather.

I graduated with minors in Economics and Forensics & Criminality.  Having any kind of specialty in addition to reporting will make you so much more valuable in the broadcast world.  As they say, journalists need to know a little bit about everything!

Keep trying, believe in yourself and in your abilities and have confidence in the excellent education we received at USC!