Katherine Rosman, a Features reporter for The New York Times, spoke to staff members of The Chronicle about her experiences in professional journalism.

Rosman discusses her beginning years as a journalist 

Rosman’s first job was at a fashion magazine as an assistant, and though she said she initially was assigned only menial tasks, her enthusiasm for the work allowed her to get a job at The Wall Street Journal and then The New York Times.

“I did nothing but get coffee,” Rosman said. “I would order the car service. I would do expenses. I would open mail, because mail still mattered. It was really beneath what I had studied for, but I just was eager, I did whatever was asked of me and I raised my hand for any possible opportunity and I parlayed that into stories.”

Students receive details behind a few of Rosman’s articles 

Rosman spoke about her experience writing an article about the SoulCycle boycott this past summer. The boycott came after the public found out that Steven Ross, the majority shareholder of SoulCycle, was holding fundraisers for Trump’s campaign. For the article, she interviewed attendees at a SoulCycle class in the Hamptons.

“[After the class], people started to line up to talk to me,” Rosman said. “[Outside], other people in the parking lot started screaming ‘The New York Times is here, with their fake news,’ all pumped up with their 40 dollars worth of adrenaline. [It] was this like gang of sixty-year-old women and I’ve never been so menaced in my life.”

Rosman said she enjoys writing about fitness because it relates to people’s everyday lives.

“Part of the reason I like to write about fitness is I think it is very revealing about [world] culture,” Rosman said. It’s something that’s a big part of my life and is a big part of a lot of people’s lives.”

Rosman said she thinks being mindful of social media and its importance is necessary for future careers, particularly those in journalism.

“I’d encourage you to really think about your digital footprint right now,” Rosman said. “I am not saying avoid social media, I am saying think about how you want to be seen on social media. It can be a great tool [and] it can expose you to a lot of different voices. It can [also] allow you to organically build up a following [by sharing] your takes and what you’re interested in.”