Christopher Piatt, '06
Christopher Piatt, ’06
Alumnus lands dream job
Anna Riggenbach, Kent State magazine journalism studentChristopher Piatt, ’06, went to extreme measures to land his dream job. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in television and radio production, he moved to an unfamiliar city away from his friends and family to pursue a career with the Cable New Network (CNN).
The resume he submitted online did not yield any callbacks, so he decided to take a more unconventional approach. The CNN food court is open to the public, and Piatt was determined to get an interview. As Piatt sat in the food court, he would ask those wearing CNN identity badges for the names and numbers of people in their departments who handled hiring. Just six weeks later, Piatt had an interview.
Piatt started out as a video journalist working on Headline News, CNN Domestic and CNN International. As a video journalist, he floor-directed, ran a teleprompter and organized scripts for anchors. He also represented all of CNN’s bureaus around the world as a desk assistant.
After only five-and-a-half months, he was promoted to media coordinator. In this position, Piatt records everything that comes into CNN via satellite and puts it on servers. He documents live events where he picks the best sound clips and video for broadcast.
While at Kent State University, Piatt was the programming director of TV2, the student-run television station. He was also a technical director and director for live Kent State sports broadcasts; produced and directed “Kent Focus,” a variety and comedy show that won “best show of the year” while he worked on it; and filmed a documentary on the first Kent State United for Biloxi trip.
“I had my hand in everything,” Piatt says. “I put forth the extra effort, and Kent State gave me the option and ability to do that.”
Piatt says his start at TV2 gave him proper job training.
“TV2 gave me a jump on knowledge,” Piatt says. “Kent State definitely gave me that edge.”
Piatt has noticed a change in news with the expansion of online reporting, such as CNN’s I-Report. I-Reports are videos that come from anyone with a camera and can be posted to the CNN Web site. When the Minnesota bridge collapsed on Aug. 1, I-Report submissions were record-breaking.
“User-generated content is the future of the news business,” Piatt says.
Piatt has been at CNN since February 2007, and he says it is still a surreal experience. “Sometimes I still can’t believe I work here,” he says.
While most of Piatt’s colleagues landed their jobs at CNN through connections, his path to being hired was unusual. Although he had no personal contacts in Atlanta when he moved, Piatt encourages students to network and make contacts while still in college. He also advises students to be persistent, think outside the box, take part in extracurricular activities and make themselves known.
As Piatt says, “I worked hard, and that paid off.” Now that Piatt works for CNN, he rarely has time to sit and eat in the food court.
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