By Ryley McGinnis, UConn Journalism | May 9, 2019
Derek Slap, Mary Glassman and Lonnie Reed are three Connecticut politicians who started their careers in journalism and made the switch to politics. In this special ‘Behind the Stories’ podcast, Slap, Glassman and Reed outline their motivations for going into journalism, why they left the field for politics, and how they think their careers in news prepared them for elected office.
Slap, who got his degree in journalism from Syracuse University, won a February 2019 special election to the 5th district state senate seat that represents Burlington, West Hartford and parts of Bloomfield and Farmington. He offers insights into how politicians and journalists should be work together to fix the country’s distrustful, partisan divisions.
Lonnie Reed earned a Master’s degree in journalism from the University of Washington. Her political career just came to a close as she decided not to run for a sixth term in 2018 representing Branford as the 102nd District State House Representative.
Finally, Mary Glassman, a University of Connecticut journalism alumna, served as the First Selectman of Simsbury, Connecticut for 16 years. Both Glassman and Reed echoed how important their journalism education was to their political careers and attribute much of their success to their journalism education.
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TOP PHOTO: Connecticut State Sen. Derek Slap, second from left, poses with his election staff during the first canvas for his 2019 campaign. (Photo courtesy of Derek Slap)
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