Real Girl: Alexandra Moe of NBC News
Name: Alexandra Moe
Age: 24
Hometown: Laurel, Maryland
As a NBC embed reporter, Alex hits the campaign trail alongside the presidential candidates to break and report political news. Interviewing politicians, writing stories, shooting video clips, and appearing on television are all in a day's work for the multimedia journalist. In July, she moved to Iowa to cover the first major electoral event of the presidential nominating process. Now, Alex is focusing her reporting on Republican candidate Newt Gingrich. She's earned a coveted spot on Gingrich's campaign bus and travels with him to a new state almost every week. Since Gingrich could drop out of the race at any moment or surge as the frontrunner, Alex has no idea what her next move on the campaign trail will entail. What is certain is that she has a bright future as a political journalist ahead of her.
Read on to learn more about Alex's career.
1/8This recent college grad is traveling across the nation to report on the 2012 presidential election.
2/8"In high school, I worked for my school’s TV station and yearbook. I decided to go to the University of Maryland, where I got a dual degree in broadcast journalism and government and politics. I interned at CNN’s D.C. bureau as a junior in college, and while I was there, Tim Russert passed away and they created the Tim Russert Fellowship. I applied on a whim. I was very humbled when I was selected to be the Tim Russert fellow for 2010. It allowed me to start working in the NBC Washington bureau and focus completely on politics."
3/8"You can never predict what’s going to happen on the campaign trail. I was stationed in Iowa from July to January, and I was in charge of getting to know the caucus process. My daily routine is to wake up, read the news, contact my sources, and cover one or more political events. I shoot events with my camera and I usually put them up live for NBC. If an event makes news, I’m responsible for writing a full print piece for NBC’s blog, "First Read". Then, if it’s big news, I might be on TV that day or do a phone interview. There are some days when I have four or five events a day and I’m throwing my gear in the back of my car—though as nicely as possible so it doesn’t break!"
4/8"The Iowa caucus on January 3rd was a big deal for me. Iowa is really important because it sets the tone for the presidential election going forward. A lot of people question why this Midwest state gets the first nominating event in the country. People value one-on-one time with a candidate. In Iowa, it's easier for candidates to see lots of small towns on a low budget and introduce themselves to the average American. I flew that night straight from Iowa to New Hampshire, and when I took off, I actually didn't know who won the caucus because Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum were so close. We found out that Romney won by eight votes, and I still can't believe that eight votes decided the election."
5/8"I've been assigned to cover [Republican presidential nominee] Newt Gingrich, so I've been traveling to New Hampshire, South Carolina—everywhere! My very first day in Iowa, my first event was covering Newt Gingrich at the Nordic Fest; I remember I walked through a field with Gingrich, his campaign manager, another aid, and a state representative. Recently, at another event, there was a crowd of reporters around Gingrich and he wasn't taking any questions. He actually yelled out at me and said, 'Alex! Do you remember when there were just a few of you?' I was laughing, because of course I do! He knows my name and it's great."
6/8"Political journalism is very competitive and I'm an extremely competitive person. It's a 24/7 job, even over holidays and weekends. I sleep in different hotels every night. Even if I have no events to attend, I'm still working: checking email, meeting with sources, and writing stories. I know that the average person will never get to meet the people running for president or get to see them campaign in person. I just want to provide as much unbiased coverage as possible."
7/8"I am one of the younger journalists on the campaign trail. I go in with the mentality that I work hard and I know what I'm doing, but I also recognize there are people who have been in this business a lot longer than I have who I look up to for advice. Even people who are younger than me can teach me things. I try to be very open-minded, but I don't let age be a factor in my mind. As long as you're doing your job to the best of your ability, it doesn't matter how old you are."
8/8"I've been on a bus with Newt Gingrich traveling across the early primary states since December 27th. In New Hampshire, I got to do my first primetime hit for MSNBC. I reported live from the Gingrich New Hampshire primary party, which was really neat and a little nerve-wracking. From there, I flew straight to South Carolina, which is where I am now. According to Gingrich and his campaign, he'd have to win here to be able to continue on. We'll see how it goes!"
