Television personality Robin Roberts spoke to a huge crowd of USC students on Thursday afternoon in the Wallis Annenberg lobby about her experiences in the field.
As a little girl, Roberts dreamed of becoming a professional tennis player. Nonetheless, her desire to ace opponents at Wimbledon was a little too farfetched. “I needed a thing called ability,” Roberts joked, but her determination to make it in sports guided her to an unfamiliar field: journalism. Roberts landed her first reporting job at a local station in Mississippi after graduating from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1983. Seven years and five jobs later, Roberts began working for ESPN as a sportscaster. Trading in a racquet for a microphone, Roberts dream finally came true. She made it to Wimbledon.
During her 15 years at ESPN, she became famous for her catchphrase, “Go on with your bad self!” In 1995, Roberts began working for NBC and continued to win the hearts of viewers with her well-liked personality on Good Morning America.
After a short introduction, Roberts’ responded to students’ questions about her career and about the journalism industry. Right off the bat, Roberts captured the audience. “You have sock game!” Roberts said, pointing to a student’s colorful patterned socks. The audience reacted in a simultaneous burst of laughter after the student said, “Sock game strong.” Roberts covered serious topics in the industry while still sprinkling in witty comments and jokes. She first discussed diversity. As a black, openly lesbian woman, Roberts works hard to diversify the media. With experience in both sports and in entertainment reporting, Roberts found that the film industry is severely lagging behind in regards to diversity.
“Film doesn’t get it,” Roberts said. “They’re taking so much longer to diversify.”
Hash tags like #OscarsSoWhite started the conversation about diversity in the entertainment industry, but Roberts believes the only way to diversify is to keep the conversation going. “The conversation cannot end Monday,” Roberts said. For years, Roberts balanced both of her gigs as an entertainment host and as a sports reporter. Speaking to dozens of prospective reporters in the audience, she stressed that with the skills and the necessary foundations, journalists can pursue a career in any industry. The only difference between two fields is the subject matter – everything else is the same.
Nonetheless, when asked if she would ever report on politics, her answer was simple: “Hell no!” Roberts was adamant in her wishes that everyone in politics would just get along.
For now, she’s planning to continue making a difference in the entertainment industry. Catch her co-hosting ABC’s Oscar pre-show with Michael Strahan on Feb. 28 at 4:00p.m. PST.