Class of
2007
Bio: Laura Lane is the winner of the Rolling Stone College Journalism Contest for Entertainment Reporting in 2007. She is currently a writer for ESPN magazine and a senior reporter for OK! magazine.
Born and raised in Orange County, Calif., Laura recently made the move to New York City. She graduated from the University of Southern California, where she double majored in broadcast journalism and political science.
Soon after her Rolling Stone contest win (Nov. 1, 2007 issue) for her revealing profile on TV personality Ryan Seacrest, Laura was offered a job at E! Online where she interviewed celebrities weekly, reported on breaking entertainment news and covered the Hollywood celebrity scene. Additionally, she co-hosted the E! Entertainment radio show, Party Girl, which airs on Sirius and XM radio.
As an ESPN reporter, Laura’s covered MLB spring training, the NBA playoffs and interviewed dozens of professional athletes in basketball, baseball, football, tennis, soccer and track and field. She is currently a Page 2 contributor for the magazine and writes articles for The Mag Daily on ESPN.com. Laura’s also been a guest on ESPN radio’s Dave Dameshek show and Mason and Ireland.
Laura’s contributed to MTV News, most recently interviewing Linkin Park, Busta Ryhmes and former Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell. She’s also contributed to SportsIllustrated.com, Men’s Fitness magazine, 944 magazine, All In magazine and Saturday Night magazine. She also maintains her own blog, ridethefastlane.com, which has gained nationwide attention.
Laura is a commentator on the E! Entertainment series Battle of the Hollywood Hotties, which airs internationally. She’s appeared as a commentator on Entertainment Tonight and as a re-occurring guest host on KNBC’s Your LA, which showcases hotspots in Southern California. While at USC, Laura traveled around the nation reporting from Arizona to South Bend on the National Championship Trojan football team for radio, print and television. She served as an anchor, news reporter and sports reporter on Annenberg TV News, USC’s award-winning live newscast, where she reported on anything from local news and USC sports to the Los Angeles elections and Iraq war. She also hosted the entertainment news, movie and gossip show, Take 5, on Trojan Vision, USC’s TV station, which reaches more than 1.8 million homes.
She began her career as a writer in college covering college football and track and field for the Daily Trojan sports section and writing for Saturday Night magazine where she covered the Sundance Film Festival and wrote profiles on Lakers player Luke Walton and Giants pitcher Barry Zito. Her sports features led her to receive the prestigious Allan Malamud Sports Writing Scholarship. She also co-hosted the Trojan Sports Power Hour and Rock of The 90s on KSCR 1560am radio and was a sideline reporter at football games.
Laura served as Ryan Seacrest’s personal intern for seven months during her senior year of college, where she closely followed the one-take-wonder around the E! News set, American Idol rehearsals and KISS fm events. He would later become the subject of her award-winning article. Additionally, she has held internships at KNBC 4 in sports, KABC 7 in entertainment, E! Entertainment in E! Studios and Talent and Casting at Comcast. Laura also worked on E!’s Fashion Police, helping behind the scenes covering the Academy Awards, Grammy’s and Golden Globes.
Laura played soccer, track and cross-country in high school. She loves sports, playing guitar, traveling, politics, concerts, sushi, snowboarding and poker. She has a younger brother, Jonathan, who taught her everything she knows about poker and a younger sister, Molly, who shares her passion for music.
Awards: Rolling Stone’s College Journalism Competition for Entertainment Reporting 2007
The Allan Malamud Sports Writing Scholarship 2006
ATVN positions and duties: I served as ATVN news anchor for two semesters. I also worked as a sports reporter, news reporter, writer/ shooter/ editor and in good ol’ graphics.
How did ATVN prepare you for your current job?
ATVN was the most incredible hands-on experience I could have asked for. We were literally running our own news room, which I think ran better at times than some major markets. The most invaluable experience was getting to try every position in the newsroom. This helps because I can do a better job at my position if I have a better understanding of other positions. I had the most respect for ATVN because it ran like a real newsroom. I really got the feel for the flow of a newsroom and if a breaking story broke, we were going to go live with it - whether that meant making mistakes or not. It was great! (And made for incredible blooper reels)
What is your advice to aspiring journalists?
Don’t ever get discouraged. It is competitive but most likely it is that adrenaline, drive to succeed and ambition that led to you to this field in the first place. The best advice I can give is don’t burn bridges. Build real relationship with people, because not only will they come in handy, but you will enjoy work more. Always go above and beyond. Not because you want credit but because you want to do the best that you can do. When you have time help out other people in the newsroom. Network, Network, Network. Also, time pr omitting, interview as many people as you can when you are on a story. You never know what they will say. And EVERYONE is a source. You just don’t know it yet. Everyday you will stumble upon a potential story - so be aware. We all make mistakes. Just learn from them and grow. Find your niche.
What are the top three skills college journalism students should be working on in order to be prepared for their first broadcasting job?
Writing, reporting and improvisation ... I’ll try to elaborate. Journalism has become a multi-media industry. You need to be able to do it all. Nowadays, many on-air reporters are asked to turn their stories into articles for online and visa-versa. Writers are now becoming regulars on TV. Don’t limit yourself by sticking to just television. You need to be able to write, do radio and look and sound great on TV. You may be asked to report for radio. Be able to read on the teleprompter but get used to be thrown curve balls and be prepared to improv.
What is the most important thing a college journalist should know when he or she is trying to negotiate his or her first job?
God, I am so not the person to ask for this one. I wish I was. If you have any advice, I would love to hear it!
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