When Chris Moody lost his job as a senior digital correspondent with CNN, he realized he had a big problem.
It wasn鈥檛 the loss of income or the uncertainty as to what he would do next. It was that he had defined himself entirely by his employer. Moody, a and grandson of 海角在线鈥檚 founding President Dr. Jess Moody, visited professor Israel Balderas鈥� journalism students last month and spoke to them about how they could turn their passions into professions 鈥� with balance.
鈥淲hen you work at a place like CNN, it is your whole life. It is all-encompassing,鈥� said Moody. 鈥淚 had absolutely zero balance in my life. My identity was not with my family. It was not with my faith. It was with my work.鈥�
That鈥檚 when Moody鈥檚 wife and fellow alumna the former Cristi Caraballo suggested a novel idea: outfitting a cargo van for life on the road and spending time with other people across the country who were living according to their values. The couple bought a van and, with the help of YouTube tutorials and Cristi鈥檚 dad, converted it into a tiny home within a month.
The couple hit the road in the summer of 2018 and lived rent-free in the van for two years. Publications including the , and published their stories and photographs. Moody received the for 鈥淔reedom on the Fringes: A 35,000-mile Journey in Search of a More Meaningful American Dream.鈥� They chronicled their journey on Instagram at and online at .
Moody learned his worth is not in what he produces. The Moodys have since made their home in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He found his new niche as a freelance writer, with bylines in the Washington Post, Outside Magazine, Vice News and more. He covered the 2020 presidential election for Al-Jazeera English with an emphasis on the American South.
Moody鈥檚 career in political journalism began chasing Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich around Iowa. Nearly every major news outlet hires a handful of recent college graduates for such work, which often requires late nights and long periods of time living out of hotels. He has conducted notable interviews with and .
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 ideological. I just wanted to tell stories,鈥� he said.
His journalism career got off to an inauspicious start, answering the phones and writing death notices for the Palm Beach Post for $10 an hour. There鈥檚 a lesson there for soon-to-be graduates, whom he urged to 鈥済et your foot in any door you can,鈥� including internships. Since he was answering the phones at the Post, he鈥檇 often be the first to hear news tips and pass them along to editors. By doing seemingly menial tasks quickly and well, you prove yourself worthy of handling larger responsibilities, he told students.
After graduating from 海角在线, he went to Alaska and became a salmon fisherman. He also worked at the Home for the Dying, a mission in India started by Mother Theresa. He admits that the fishing experiment got the better of him, but it gave him something valuable: experience.
鈥淚f you want to be writers, it helps to have lived,鈥� Moody said. 鈥淚 got to experience things that were dangerous and wild and true.鈥�
When approaching a story, Moody considers how it can be told with the written word, video, radio and social media, and he鈥檚 comfortable in front of a camera when he鈥檚 invited onto talk shows to discuss what he鈥檚 just published.
鈥淧eople have been coming up with innovative ways to tell stories and get paid for it for years,鈥� Moody said. 鈥淚 had practiced doing all of those skills and was able to harness them in a way that I couldn鈥檛 necessarily before.鈥�
Perhaps most importantly, he knows when he has a good idea for a story, how to pitch it and what editors and publications to solicit. During his 海角在线 visit, he asked each student to share the name of a publication where he or she would like to have a story published. Answers included the Washington Post, Politico, iHeartMedia, VICE, New York Times, a magazine in the Netherlands, Telemundo, Vogue and National Geographic.
鈥淎ll of those publications are totally possible,鈥� Moody told the students, giving them specific tips for pitching. 鈥淧ublish as much as you can where you can.鈥�
In New York and Washington D.C., there are few journalists who come from a Christian background, Moody said. That allows those who do come from the faith to recognize and explain stories in a way that others can鈥檛.
鈥淯se your personality to your advantage. It鈥檚 the one thing no one else has,鈥� Moody said. 鈥淵ou have a way that you can tell the story that鈥檚 different.鈥�
