{"id":55,"date":"2024-04-18T17:48:39","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T17:48:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/?page_id=55"},"modified":"2024-04-25T18:12:14","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T18:12:14","slug":"case-study-sana-siwolop","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/case-study-sana-siwolop\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Study: Sana Siwolop"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Journalism and Women Symposium members listen to a panel at the organization's Conference and Mentoring Program on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023 in Chicago, Ill. \/ Photo by Madeline Papcun, UConn Journalism<\/p>\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/files\/2024\/04\/JAWS-panel-crowd-1024x683.jpg\" src=\"http:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/files\/2024\/04\/JAWS-panel-crowd-1024x683.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-56\" srcset=\"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/files\/2024\/04\/JAWS-panel-crowd-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/files\/2024\/04\/JAWS-panel-crowd-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/files\/2024\/04\/JAWS-panel-crowd-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/files\/2024\/04\/JAWS-panel-crowd-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/files\/2024\/04\/JAWS-panel-crowd-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/files\/2024\/04\/JAWS-panel-crowd-1080x720.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">
Jour\u00adnal\u00adism and Women Sym\u00adpo\u00adsium mem\u00adbers lis\u00adten to a pan\u00adel at the orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion\u2019s Con\u00adfer\u00adence and Men\u00adtor\u00ading Pro\u00adgram on Sat\u00adur\u00adday, Oct. 14, 2023 in Chica\u00adgo, Ill. Pho\u00adto by Made\u00adline Pap\u00adcun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Made\u00adline Pap\u00adcun | UConn Jour\u00adnal\u00adism
April 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a jour\u00adnal\u00adist for near\u00adly 40 years and a moth\u00ader of two, Sana Siwolop<\/a> was adamant the solu\u00adtion to her \u201cbal\u00adanc\u00ading act\u201d of rais\u00ading chil\u00addren while being a jour\u00adnal\u00adist was \u201cnot whin\u00ading about it, but mak\u00ading sure every\u00adone got on board\u201d \u2014 even if that meant occa\u00adsion\u00adal\u00adly tak\u00ading her kids along with her for a sto\u00adry. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
Sana Siwolop has been a journalist for nearly 40 years, including 15 years as a regular contributor for the New York Times. During that time period, Siwolop was also balancing raising her two kids. \/ Photo courtesy of Sana Siwolop. <\/p>\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/files\/2024\/04\/SANAHeadShotIIMG_20140305_192222_998-576x1024.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/files\/2024\/04\/SANAHeadShotIIMG_20140305_192222_998-150x150.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-206\">
Sana Siwolop has been a jour\u00adnal\u00adist for near\u00adly 40 years, bal\u00adanc\u00ading work and rais\u00ading her two kids. Pho\u00adto cour\u00adtesy of Sana Siwolop<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI hand\u00aded them a note\u00adbook, stuck them in the back\u00adseat of the car and off we went,\u201d Siwolop laughed, lean\u00ading back in her chair in a gath\u00ader\u00ading room at Colum\u00adbia Col\u00adlege in Chica\u00adgo between ses\u00adsions at 2023 JAWS CAMP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If she brought her kids along, Siwolop said, it was for jour\u00adnal\u00adis\u00adtic obser\u00adva\u00adtion\u00adal work \u2014 she was not con\u00adduct\u00ading sen\u00adsi\u00adtive inter\u00adviews with a young child in tow.  Siwolop found this prac\u00adtice helped her chil\u00addren under\u00adstand what she was doing to bal\u00adance the demands of fam\u00adi\u00adly life and jour\u00adnal\u00adism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d say, \u2018You guys have a note\u00adbook, so you take notes!\u2019 and they just got it,\u201d she added. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Siwolop holds a Master\u2019s degree in sci\u00adence com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adtion and start\u00aded her career as a sci\u00adence and med\u00adical writer and edi\u00adtor for a few dif\u00adfer\u00adent mag\u00ada\u00adzines. She\u2019s also been a free\u00adlance jour\u00adnal\u00adist and taught jour\u00adnal\u00adism. For about 15 years, she was a con\u00adtrib\u00adu\u00adtor to the New York Times, which was a \u201creal\u00adly intense place to work, even as a reg\u00adu\u00adlar con\u00adtrib\u00adu\u00adtor.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If writ\u00ading for the New York Times was not intense enough, right around that time was when Siwolop had her two kids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt about the same time I start\u00aded work\u00ading for the Times I got preg\u00adnant and had two kids pret\u00adty close to one anoth\u00ader,\u201d Siwolop said. \u201cI was an old\u00ader mom, 38 and 40, which actu\u00adal\u00adly worked out well because I sort of knew who I was.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siwolop said she con\u00adsid\u00adered her\u00adself \u201clucky\u201d while writ\u00ading for the Times because her arrange\u00adment was flex\u00adi\u00adble. She worked from home with two young kids and had help from a full-time babysit\u00adter who \u201csaved her life\u201d dur\u00ading those years.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey were there from 9 to 5, but after 5 o\u2019clock I was on my own with the kids,\u201d Siwolop explained. \u201cSome\u00adtimes I was on dead\u00adline, and that was tough.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sim\u00adi\u00adlar to bring\u00ading her kids on some report\u00ading assign\u00adments, Siwolop not\u00aded part of her suc\u00adcess in man\u00adag\u00ading her career and kids in those years required being hon\u00adest about her sched\u00adule with her chil\u00addren. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI def\u00adi\u00adnite\u00adly let my kids know from ear\u00adly on \u2014 they knew that when I was on dead\u00adline, mom was on dead\u00adline,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd they got it. There was no knock\u00ading on the door, scratch\u00ading at the door like \u2018Mom where the hell are you?\u2019 or any of that sort of thing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siwolop made a point to stress that care\u00adtak\u00ading not only applies to hav\u00ading young chil\u00addren. On top of her job writ\u00ading for the New York Times and tak\u00ading care of her kids, from about 2007 to 2013, Siwolop\u2019s moth\u00ader was sick with demen\u00adtia. While her moth\u00ader was even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly placed in a nurs\u00ading home, she still faced a high care\u00adtak\u00ading bur\u00adden regard\u00ading her mother\u2019s med\u00adical needs as the stages of her dis\u00adease pro\u00adgressed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these con\u00adflict\u00ading forces all need\u00ading her atten\u00adtion, Siwolop han\u00addled it on her own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI nev\u00ader told them,\u201d Siwolop said, refer\u00adring to her employ\u00ader, though she did cut back slight\u00adly on her work for the Times. \u201cI nev\u00ader unbur\u00addened on any\u00adbody like, \u2018I can\u2019t do this,\u2019 I just jug\u00adgled.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siwolop sug\u00adgest\u00aded this was sim\u00adply the nature of jour\u00adnal\u00adism \u2014 a lack of a set time\u00adframe nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly makes the \u201cjug\u00adgle\u201d dif\u00adfi\u00adcult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou may have sources call\u00ading you at the end of the day that you\u2019ve been try\u00ading to reach all day long,\u201d Siwolop explained. \u201cSo you have to talk to them.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jour\u00adnal\u00adism may be \u201caround the clock,\u201d but it isn\u2019t impos\u00adsi\u00adble, at least in her expe\u00adri\u00adences, Siwolop added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou kind of just do what you have to do, don\u2019t whine too much, and see the help you can get.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for what might have made her care\u00adtak\u00ading roles a bit eas\u00adi\u00ader, Siwolop said she wished she\u2019d known oth\u00aders in her sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion \u2014 oth\u00ader moms work\u00ading in jour\u00adnal\u00adism with young kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mean this may sound crazy but I didn\u2019t even get to know my neigh\u00adbor\u00adhood until my kids left the house. I didn\u2019t know my neigh\u00adbors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While she described this peri\u00adod of her life as \u201cpret\u00adty relent\u00adless work,\u201d she still looks back on it fond\u00adly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo I regret it? No. I just had to do what I did,\u201d she explained. \u201cFam\u00adi\u00adly was real\u00adly impor\u00adtant. I want\u00aded them to have a par\u00adent who was even sort of around.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
NEXT: Solu\u00adtions<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Made\u00adline Pap\u00adcun | UConn Jour\u00adnal\u00adismApril 2024 As a jour\u00adnal\u00adist for near\u00adly 40 years and a moth\u00ader of two, Sana Siwolop was adamant the solu\u00adtion to her \u201cbal\u00adanc\u00ading act\u201d of rais\u00ading chil\u00addren while being a jour\u00adnal\u00adist was \u201cnot whin\u00ading about it, but mak\u00ading sure every\u00adone got on board\u201d \u2014 even if that meant occa\u00adsion\u00adal\u00adly tak\u00ading\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":908,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-55","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/908"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":242,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55\/revisions\/242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/journalism-mothers-caregivers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}