By Ali Main
Since childhood, Ali Main has considered herself a storyteller. She and her friends used to spend hours on end pretending to be different people in imaginary worlds in their backyards in St. Louis, Missouri. Soon they began chronicling these fantasies in words, and Main's passion for creativity transitioned into a love for writing.
Aside from imaginary lands, Main has also always been fascinated in the real world. Throughout her life, her natural curiosity was sparked in school, where she displayed a particular interest in history and social studies classes.
As she grew older, Main didn't know exactly what she wanted to do with her life, but she knew she wanted to somehow pursue her love of storytelling and her desire to learn. In high school, Main was introduced to journalism in her broadcasting class, where she fell in love with telling her classmates' stories through video. Main later joined her school's newspaper as a staff reporter in an effort to expand her journalistic abilities.
Main knew that the fast-paced world of broadcast journalism could one day be the place for her after a internship at a local government access television station, STL TV, during the summer before her senior year in high school. At the small station, Main was able to get hands-on experience in nearly every aspect of broadcast production, from operating cameras to editing.
This invaluable experinence reassured Main in her decision to pursue journalism beyond high school. She applied to many of the top broadcasting programs across the country. When she found out she had been accepted to the University of Southern California's broadcast and digital journalism program, she was stunned and knew that she could not pass up the opportunity to move across the country to pursue her dreams.
At USC's Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, Main has taken as many opportunities as possible to learn many different aspects of journalism, from directing a live broadcast to designing Photoshop graphics to producing a weekly entertainment and lifestyle webcast and a morning talkshow.
After trying on as many different hats as possible, the Cinematic Arts and Political Science double minor finally found one that fit perfectly when she was offered the opportunity to become a coproducer for Annenberg Media's political unit. In this role, Main spent several of her weekends covering caucuses, political rallies and other exciting stories of the 2016 election cycle across the western portion of the country.
As much as Main appreciates the weather and lifestyle on the west coast, she has a deep-seated desire to one day work in the east coast media world- particularly in New York City. She was lucky enough to live out this fantasy this past summer as an intern at CNN's New York bureau, where she covered major news across the northeast region (including the occasional baby penguin story). Main viewed this experience as a reaffirmation of both her love of journalism and her desire to someday end up on the east coast.
But, alas, Main finds herself once again on the west coast as she begins her junior year at USC. As Annenberg Media's new political director, she has a lot to look forward to this semester. She is excited to lead a team of student journalists in finding new and innovative ways to cover the 2016 political season.
Main hopes to one day have a successful career in broadcast journalism as a network news producer. She can't think of a more appropriate way to pursue her lifelong passions for storytelling and the fast-paced world of live television.