RTE’s DriveTime host Katie Hannon gave her first talk as adjunct professor at the University of Limerick in the Glucksman Library.
Hannon delivered a talk titled “20 Things I Wish I Knew About Journalism When I Was 20”.
She told the class to “be a six year old… keep asking why,” explaining that people often ask complex questions to seem intelligent, but good journalists keep things simple and keep asking.
Growing up in North Kerry in a farming family, she said she had little exposure to journalism.
“The only journalists I saw were on TV. They were either very seedy or very elegant, and I thought I would never fit in.”
Instead, her early influence came from her mother, a talented writer. “When she wrote letters, she could fit so much news into one paragraph. She would have made a great journalist.”
Hannon’s career has taken her from subbing international wire copy into short scripts, to covering entertainment news in Los Angeles, and now to co-hosting DriveTime.
Her first piece of advice was simple; “read, watch and listen to everything all the time.”
She said that reading across a variety of genres is just as important in journalism as it is in writing.
“In a time of AI slop content, a trustworthy byline is worth its weight in gold.”
She considers her radio documentary ‘Women of Honour’, which exposed abuse within the Irish Defence Forces, as an example of the power of asking the right questions.
Institutions may appear “invincible”, she said, with uniforms, marble lobbies and large legal teams, but “if you have the right questions, you can blow all that authority out of the water.”
She revealed investigative journalism takes time,“the whistleblower within An Garda Síochána went on and off for five years.”
Working against well-resourced institutions can make stories feel out of reach, but it is worth sticking with it.
“Persistence is the real skill,” she said, adding that journalists must stay with a story and find new ways to tell it.
Hannon was recently appointed as Adjunct Professor in University of Limerick’s Department of Journalism.
Commenting on her appointment Ms Hannon said, “I am thrilled to get this opportunity to join University of Limerick and contribute to its outstanding journalism programmes.