T he life of a journalist is very busy, but also very fascinating. Everyday people read the newspaper or their favorite magazines and never fully realize that there’s a person behind all the words and phrases on the printed page. Veteran journalist Ikimulisa Livingston is one those people. As a reporter at the “New York Post,” she helps tells the stories of the city. She spoke with the NYABJ journalism workshop on Sept. 6 about her experiences.As a young child, Livingston loved to write and read, especially books by Judy Bloom. Livingston actually aspired to become a broadcast journalist and dreamed of being on television. Not realizing that broadcast and journalism are very different she majored in journalism at San Francisco University, and liked it so much that she stuck with it.
In the start of her career Livingston, worked at many newspapers in the bay area. She later moved to Iowa and was a reporter for the “The Des Moines Register.” Unfortunately, the atmosphere wasn’t what she wanted, so after 18 months in the midwest, Livingston moved to New York City. Livingston applied to all the major newspapers in New York, and soon enough a reporter at the “New York Post” quit and Livingston was offered the job.
Still at the “Post,” Livingston has done many interesting and impacting stories <<LIKE WHAT? EXAMPLE>> and she’s had the opportunity to see news as it unfolds. She’s also had the opportunity to meet many famous people such as LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, Michael Jackson, Donald Trump, Jason Kidd, and many others.
business for about 15 years, Livingston has learned some very valuable lessons that she lives by daily . It is important to be compassionate, especially with those who have lost a loved one. If anything happens to her or family that is newsworthy, she says she will have a statement ready.  But as amazing as the job is, there are downsides. To get the story, Livingston often has to deal with people who don’t want their personal business out for the world to see. In addition, when threatened leave even though this job is amazing there are down sides such as the fact that journalist have to go get a story, which can mean dealing whit people who don’t want their business out for the world to see. She’s also had to learn not to get upset when reporting on tragedies, no matter how bad the news is. Â
Journalism also brought Livingston out of her shell. ” I owe journalism because it brought me out of my shyness,” she said at the workshop. “Jjournalism forced me to talk to people.”
By: Jastina E. Carter
