Jennifer Koons

Journalism Lecturer
Age: 33
Hometown: Columbus, Ohio
Education: B.A. Ohio State University, Political Science; M.A. Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, Journalism; M.A. Northwestern University School of Law, Law
Area of Research: Journalism related to foreign policy and humanitarian news
Time at Georgetown: 2 years
Courses Taught: “Introduction to Journalism,” “Digital News,” “The Global Street”

What is the biggest challenge in teaching journalism to undergraduates?
The biggest challenge for me is making sure I meet everyone’s needs. With the minor program, we have students who are interested in this full time, but then there are students who are just interested in their particular class, so making sure that everyone’s needs are met is the most challenging.

Why did you want to become a journalist?
I always knew I was going to be a writer from the time I was little, and then I realized you could ask people questions and keep learning forever and find out about every subject you care about, and it just felt like that was the icing on the cake to the writing.

What drew you to Georgetown?
Barbara [Feinman Todd, journalism director]. We talked via FaceTime when I was in London and I could tell we shared a similar passion and enthusiasm and I loved the idea of being somewhere at the birth of something.

What’s your favorite piece you’ve written?
The first story written about the Arab Spring that was about to start in Bahrain for Foreign Policy. It was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. It was a good exclusive, breaking news, important story that Manama was going to be the next place to attempt an overthrow.

What advice do you have for aspiring journalists at Georgetown?
I think the thing Georgetown does so well is to keep the focus on the topics, the myriad of topics you can cover. I hope that always continues. I like that we have our students who are interested in more of the literary aspects, who are interested more in foreign policy and security aspects, students interested in the military, and I hope that continues — that we keep having a diverse student body that pursues stories about all those different niche things.

What would be your ideal course to teach?
“The Global Street” is my ideal course, and it’s been wonderful. I like it because it’s small, it’s students I’ve had before, and we just get to focus the entire semester on one story while reading the best stories. 

Interview by Emma Hinchliffe