CNN producer Andrew Seger got his start at WFUV as a reporter and podcast producer. (Photo by Tom Stoelker)
CNN producer Andrew Seger enrolled at Fordham knowing he wanted to major in international political economy. But his interest in journalism came later, thanks in large part to a U.S. presidential election.
“I was a sophomore when it was happening, and I was glued to CNN,” he said. “It was the first election I was ever voting in. … I didn't know what I wanted to do as a career, and then I realized, ‘News media is really important in a time like this.’”
Seger said he was inspired to apply for an internship on CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper’s show but “got rejected because I had no experience whatsoever.”
That’s when he decided to learn more about WFUV, Fordham’s public media service.
Andrew Seger hosted the Prickly Politics podcast at WFUV with fellow Fordham student Kacie Candela. (Photo by Tom Stoelker)
Becoming a Reporter Through WFUV
Seger, who is now a political producer at CNN, said his distinct combination of Fordham experiences—majoring in international political economy, minoring in philosophy, and gaining on-the-ground reporting skills at WFUV—set him up for success.
“You can learn a lot of the hard skills on the job—interviewing, setting up equipment, cutting video,” he said, adding that his coursework gave him a deeper understanding of global political issues. “The U.N. General Assembly is happening in New York. What does that actually mean? Who are these people? Why is that important?”
In his current role, Seger said he relies on both his Fordham studies and WFUV reporting chops to cover pocketbook issues, like how tariffs impact farmers in the Midwest or how supply chain issues affect local businesses, issues he reported on as part of a CNN series on the economy.
“The coolest part about working at WFUV is the way that you're thrown into the New York media landscape—and I don't mean that in a way that WFUV isn't preparing you, because they are—but you're out there in the field, asking questions next to Marcia Kramer for CBS, or The New York Times,” said Seger, who worked as a WFUV reporter before becoming an anchor and a co-host of the station’s Prickly Politics podcast.
The show’s second season dove into a sexual harassment crisis in New York politics, in light of the #MeToo movement, and it earned Seger an Edward R. Murrow Award. In his senior year at Fordham, he finally landed that internship on Anderson Cooper’s CNN show, and he’s been with the cable news network ever since.
At CNN, Seger said he’s been “flexing all these muscles I used to use at WFUV.”
“What WFUV taught me best was how to do those interviews and get people comfortable and willing to talk with you,” he said. “It's a polarizing election season, and so being able to get people comfortable talking to you is tough. But it's stuff that you learn just by doing it every day at WFUV.”