Who I Am
Ever since I was 14 years old and biked to WVIP, my local radio station to work the morning shift, I've felt the need to listen to other people's stories and find a way to share them with the world.
My journalism journey is as intrinsic to me as my blue eyes. My guiding principles have always been to be a humane reporter and do my best to relate to my interviewees and, during the pandemic, I added my own hashtag, #compassionatejournalism, to my email auto-signature to give anyone communicating with me a sense of the values I apply to every assignment I'm working on.
The pandemic only made that mission clearer to me as I quickly pivoted to diving into all the human-interest stories that needed to be covered.
I felt I had to contribute something during that difficult time and, since 2020, I’ve written about the sourdough starter trend, how to order in dinner or shop the farmer’s market safely, adding the boyfriend/girlfriend to the pandemic pod, the challenges facing college students coming home for the holidays, Americans’ ability to quarantine, how to book a rapid test before Valentine’s Day, the ways in which New Yorkers are digging deep and becoming mushroom farmers, sleep divorce and, in a USA Today Op-Ed, I made a personal plea for Americans to do all that we can to avoid the ICU.
Now that we've emerged, I've continued to dig into stories pertaining to women--our health, our entrepreneurship, our desire to upskill and reskill and get a seat on a corporate board. It's those stories that fulfill me the most as a woman, as a journalist and as a human.
My Mantra
I love what I do! I'm committed to practicing this craft in a way that that's fair, kind and aims to always get both sides of a story. The journalists I know are the same: They put their heart and soul into every story they put out into the world.
This mantra has guided me well during my decades of interviews. I'll just say it: I’m in love with every single thing about journalism.
And what’s not to love?
In fact, I believe there are few jobs as fascinating as a reporter’s. In any given week, I’m just as likely to be interviewing people with an A to Z list of health issues as I am to be booking interviews with artists, celebrities, chefs, surgeons, filmmakers, small business owners or authors with new books.
I consider myself lucky to have been able to interview so many A-list celebrities over the years in person, including chatting with Luke Bryan in his tour bus, Harry Connick Jr. in the back of a pickup truck, Robin Roberts in the GMA studio, Tony Bennett in his art studio overlooking Central Park, Seth Meyers in a book-filled set and Jimmy Fallon in his memento-filled office in 30 Rock.
Shining a light on my own story
It’s also very important to me to honor the bravery of the people who have shared their stories with me by sharing my own story.
For example, when I learned that I’m a cancer previvor 19 years ago, I knew my words could provide comfort to others so I shared my story—multiple times. Writing my way through this personal lens has led to such fulfilling work and has ultimately connected me to some of the most important people in my life, many of whom contacted me first as readers and then became lifelong friends.
This profession, which involves listening, empathizing and immersing yourself in a subject in order to bring important stories to light, has been the dream of a lifetime because as I always say:
Every single person has a story to share.
Let’s connect so I can hear your story!
Warmly,
Lambeth