The human side of reporting
Christine Park balances life as a Fresno State graduate student and teaching assistant with her job as a reporter for ABC 30

By David Lindquist

The Collegian

Christine Park has a red belt in Taekwondo and once broke her ankle sliding down a fire pole. She’s flown in a fighter jet with the Blue Angels and mingles with celebrities at her job. She’s not a stuntwoman. Park is a local news reporter for ABC 30.

While her actual job may not sound as exciting as being a stunt woman, she does get to do some really cool stuff.

“One of the best parts of this job is the incredible amount of access,” Park said. “It’s very much a privilege to be able to get behind the scenes. In this job, you get a window into places the public would never be able to go.”

Park also loves working in Fresno.

“The cool thing about working on TV in my hometown is that I know a lot of people,” Park said. “It’s like having built-in support.”

Her family and friends aren’t the only ones who support and love her.

“I think she’s a beautiful woman and she has a great presence on TV,” said Jennifer Jory, a senior at Bullard High School. “I love watching her every morning. Her consumer reports are really interesting and helpful.”

She’s not in this business just for the fame and fortune.

“We hold a lot of power even though we’re just a local station, and we try to use that power to help people,” Park said. “This job is never boring. You tell stories for a living.”

While Park may look like a natural on TV, there is a tremendous amount of work and stress that comes with being a news reporter.

“The worst part about this job is that the business doesn’t care about your personal life,” Park said. “I’ve made a lot of sacrifices. Every day I feel overwhelmed by what I want to do, what I need to do, and what I actually can do.”

Park puts in her share of dirty work as well.

“When I knock on the door of a murder victim’s family, that’s when I feel like a complete jerk,” Park said.

“I’ve been flipped off, cursed at and had doors slammed in my face. I don’t like invading people’s lives at a time of tragedy.”

So reporters do have feelings. They’re also human.

“I’m tired every day,” Park said. “I wake up at 2:30 every morning and work until 11:30 a.m. And Monday through Thursday I go to classes at Fresno State after I get off work.”

Park is a grad student and a teaching assistant at Fresno State.

“It’s really cool to have her in class,” said Fresno State student Jesse Sanchez. “You can understand her and she gives straight-forward guidelines on what needs to be done. She’s a great asset to my class.”

Park says she has also added a little color to her life since becoming a news reporter.

“My husband and I counted recently and I have 50 suits in just about every color,” Park said. “They’re organized in my closet in the order of the rainbow.”

“For TV, you buy some crazy colors that you would never wear in real life,” Park said. “If you think about it, why on earth would I have a purple suit? I find a lot of my suits on the sales racks because they are colors that most people wouldn’t wear.”

Park offered advice for anyone in the communications field.

“A little stress is good, but you can’t let it consume you,” Park said. “A big part of this job is having the experience. After a while, you begin to realize that every story has a common procedure and I am able to ask myself, ‘Why is this story so hard or so different from anything else I’ve done?’”

Other than knowing Taekwondo and having behind-the-scenes access, Park is just like most other people.

“I watch a lot of TV,” Park said. “I watch ‘Desperate Housewives,’ ‘Scrubs,’ ‘Lost,’ ‘CSI.’ And I usually go to bed around 8:30 or 9.”

And even with her local celebrity status, Park hasn’t forgotten where she came from.

“My mother is my personal hero because she’s just so beautiful, talented, kind, and thoughtful,” Park said. “I just hope I can be as good of a mom as she was to me.”

She’ll have her chance; she’s expecting her first child in September.

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