29. Meredith Kennedy, Marketing Operations Manager at BuzzFeed

Meredith Kennedy is the Marketing Operations Manager at BuzzFeed, and is the brand's former Editorial Chief of Staff. Before that, she made the rounds in the television industry: She was a Booking Producer at the Today Show, was Katie Couric's assistant, and has worked for all the major TV networks, including NBC, ABC, and CBS. She's a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and offers up some great advice in this episode for people who want to get into media, publishing, and the ever-changing digital space. She's also a speedy runner! Meredith is a 3:18 marathoner who runs for the Central Park Track Club in New York City. On this episode, Meredith shares what it was like working with Katie Couric, and how she survived those super early mornings—while marathon training!—during her time at Today. She discusses the news stories that most impacted her career in television, and explains what it's like to be the person who has to call family members after tragic situations and ask them if they'll come on the show. ("It's pretty much the worst phone call you have to make," she says.) Plus, Meredith talks about how what it's like working at BuzzFeed (and what to do if you want to get hired there), shares her take on "don't read the comments," and talks about her favorite recent BuzzFeed quiz. Stuff We Mention on the Show: Hamilton College: https://www.hamilton.edu/ Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism: https://www.hamilton.edu/ Broadway Bodies: http://broadwaybodies.com/ Today Show: http://www.today.com/ CBS Evening News: http://www.cbsnews.com/evening-news/ The time I was on the Today Show with Celine Dion: http://www.aliontherunblog.com/2016/07/22/the-day-i-met-celine-dion/ Today's Puppy With a Purpose program: http://www.today.com/pets/today-puppy BuzzFeed: https://www.buzzfeed.com/ Rockefeller State Park: https://parks.ny.gov/parks/59/details.aspx New York Road Runners: http://www.nyrr.org/ Central Park Track Club: http://www.centralparktc.org/ Airbnb Brooklyn Half: http://www.nyrr.org/races-and-events/2017/airbnb-brooklyn-half Bank of America Chicago Marathon: https://www.chicagomarathon.com/ Boilermaker 15K: http://www.boilermaker.com/ Kara Goucher: https://twitter.com/karagoucher Meb Keflezighi: https://marathonmeb.com/ "Do You Actually Know the Right Way to Eat Sushi?" quiz: https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahloewentheil/do-you-actually-know-the-right-way-to-eat-sushi?utm_term=.vhN8MdQWZ#.veoPaVybg Follow Meredith: Instagram @meremat: https://www.instagram.com/meremat/ Twitter @meremat: https://twitter.com/meremat Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1: https://www.instagram.com/aliontherun1 Twitter @aliontherun1: https://twitter.com/aliontherun1 Blog: http://www.aliontherunblog.com/ Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/13333410 Thank you for listening to and supporting the Ali on the Run Show! If you're enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Spread the run love!