WEST ORANGE, NJ — West Orange High School Class of 2013 graduate Kristie Keleshian has joined the CBS news team as a freelance reporter, bringing her another step closer to establishing the career she has dreamed of for years.
Keleshian attended Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School, moving on to Edison and Liberty middle schools, then West Orange High School. She credits the Write on Sports program, which is offered to students as an extracurricular activity in grades six through eight, and WOHS TV36/45 for igniting her interest in news reporting.
“Write on Sports is what sparked my love for the media industry, even though I didn’t — and still don’t — care much for sports. I made the most of it by writing about less-talked-about sports, like competitive eating and sumo wrestling,” Keleshian said.
At WOHS, Keleshian utilized the skills she began developing with the WoS program, which included producing, filming, writing, editing and anchoring.
“This gave me such an advantage in college and beyond. I can honestly say I’ve been doing what I do since middle school,” she said. “I am beyond grateful to have had the opportunity to be involved in TV36/45. Every morning during second period, I felt like I was walking into my dream job. We would have our pitch meetings — exactly what I do every day at my current job at CBS2.
“My experience at WOHS was incredibly helpful. The theatrical productions and TV36 chiseled me into the journalist I am today, still learning with every story I cover. The diversity in West Orange is also something I’m happy to have grown up surrounded by. It’s helped me become a more understanding and knowledgeable reporter in the melting pot that is the tristate,” she added.
As part of the AVID —Advancement Via Individual Determination, which is now the Collegiate Institute — program, Keleshian was able to assist in TV36/45 productions outside of class.
“I want to thank Marty Kale and Nick Marmo; they knew me already and were able to trust me before I even took the class,” Keleshian said, adding that she loved reading the morning announcements in her junior and senior years with WOHS Class of 2013 graduate Jesse Lab, who is currently a history teacher in Cedar Grove. “I would always sign off with ‘Make it a great day,’ which I picked up from my junior year English teacher Ms. Mary Ann McGonigle. It’s still used every morning to close out the announcements, which is so cool to me.”
In addition to the media, Keleshian was part of the theater program. She was involved in every theatrical production and competition at the school for her four years at the high school.
“They were the highlight of my high school career,” she said, “and I wouldn’t be who I am today without my experience in theater.”
Keleshian and her twin brother were first-generation college students. She attended Montclair State University and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in television and digital media with a concentration in electronic journalism in 2017.
During college she developed her reporting, filming, producing, pitching and editing skills. She traveled to Greece with a small group to report on the refugee crisis still taking place in the country today. She had several internship opportunities, including with Write on Sports; “NJTV News,” now “NJ Spotlight News”; Sesame Workshop; the “Rachael Ray Show”; “Dateline” on NBC; and “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon.
“These internships were easily the highlight of my college career,” Keleshian said.
For the past two school years, she has mentored students in MSU’s School of Communication & Media, and has spoken to WOHS students, participating in several WOHS journalism alumni panel discussions.
Following her graduation from MSU, Keleshian found her first job on Craigslist in two months. She was hired as a reporter at a small news station in West Caldwell called WMBC TV. As a multimedia journalist she shot, edited, wrote and reported her own stories for a year in New York City and New Jersey. In 2018, she worked at FiOS1 News until the station was closed in 2019. In 2019, she was recruited by WCBS Newsradio 880 as a freelance reporter and continues to work there. She also worked for News12 New Jersey until she took the job with WCBS-NY in November.
“I made connections with the leadership there during my senior year of college. Since then, I’d been persistent in sending my work to them up until this fall, when they had an open freelance opportunity. I now freelance for both CBS2 and WCBS Newsradio 880,” Keleshian said, adding that it feels “unreal” to be a reporter for WCBS. “I work on a freelance basis, so I’m on whatever shift they need me on — my shift could start at 2 a.m. or 2 p.m. and anywhere in between — covering any and every story across the tristate as a general assignment reporter.
“The job entails pitching, writing and reporting on stories with a photographer, although I still shoot and edit as well. On the radio at WCBS 880 I do the same thing, except I do it all myself on an audio recorder and edit my news pieces, which are typically less than a minute long. I also edit more than one version of the story, which is challenging and has greatly enhanced my writing,” she continued.
Even though her freelance career keeps her plenty busy, Keleshian is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild as the result of her work, and she has acted in a number of network television programs as a news reporter.
“I have been on ‘Law and Order: Organized Crime’ twice, ‘The End Game’ on NBC and ‘Blue Bloods’ on CBS,” she said. “Who knows what’s next! I’m so grateful to be where I am now, immersing myself in the No. 1 news market, and working on two platforms while also getting the opportunity to act as a reporter. My goal has always been to just be happy. It hasn’t come easy by any means, but so far so good. If I were to stay in the news industry, ‘60 Minutes’ would be the absolute dream job, or a fun morning show. I’d love to continue acting and expand into other roles beyond being a reporter.”
After acknowledging her parents for their support, Keleshian concluded, “Getting the opportunity to anchor and overall bring my ideas to life is what’s kept me interested in journalism and broadcast media as a whole. At first, I just found it fun. Little did I know of the stress and sacrifice that would eventually come with being in the industry. It’s tested me for sure, but it’s only made me a better journalist and person overall.”
Photos Courtesy of Mike Nash and WOSD
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