by Yasmine Dabash

This is part two of a five-part series for Yasmine Dabash’s Fall 2017 Honors Project, where she interviews five journalists about their careers in journalism. Here, Dabash interviews Chris Gallant, associate professor of Digital Media and Communications and Division Chair of Arts and Sciences.

Two-time Emmy winner Chris Gallant is a Hilbert College associate professor of Digital Media and Communications and Division Chair of Arts and Sciences. When Gallant went back to school for his master’s degree, he was invited to teach as a guest lecturer for a class, and that is when it “clicked” for him and he decided to pursue to field of education.

Gallant’s favorite part of his job is “video journalism and journalism in general.” He says one of the things he has done, or at least tried to do, during his tenure at Hilbert is revive Hilbert’s student newspaper. His least favorite part of his job is “dealing with problems and issues.” Luckily, however, Gallant says he “hasn’t had a lot of problems, really.”

When asked about distinctions in his career, Gallant says that “people always point to the two Emmys he’s won for news documentaries. Gallant describes his secret to success, so to speak, as finding “interesting stories.” Adjunct professor Wendy Guild Swearingen responded to the same question (What do you think you did or what do you think you put into your work that has made it achieve so much?) in this project with much the same answer: she believes “if you’re not of service to the reader, you’re not doing anyone any good.”

Gallant could not pinpoint his favorite project he has ever worked on in his career, but his favorite kind of projects are documentaries. “I do have a love for documentary work,” Gallant says. “That’s kind of what I won my Emmy’s for.” Gallant claims “truth is sometimes stranger than fiction” as being the appeal of documentaries over fantasy and other fiction genres.

When asked what advice to would give to Hilbert College students pursuing a career in video journalism, Gallant said, “take advantage of the opportunities put in front of you, and don’t wait for things to come to you.”

Gallant plans to stay at Hilbert for the next twenty to twenty-five years so if you would like to reach out to him, don’t hesitate to contact him by his Hilbert email, cgallant@hilbert.edu, or stop by his office in 155 Paczesny Hall.