Elizabeth Campbell works on CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’

The producer lays out the process for earning the public’s trust.

By TCU Magazine

February 15^th, 2022

Growing up in Washington, D.C., around the whirlwind of political news, Elizabeth Campbell ’18 said she knew she wanted to study journalism.

At her Maryland high school, she was editor-in-chief of the newspaper. One of her mentors was the paper’s adviser, who Campbell said always pushed her to “find the story and find what was news about it.”

“Mrs. Knarr really taught me to love the interview process and the tracking down of facts that good journalism provides,” Campbell said.

After spending most of her time growing up in the eastern part of the country, Campbell said she wanted a change of scenery for her college years. TCU caught her eye.

“My father went to UT so I grew up being a Longhorn fan, but then TCU popped up because of a big fall football season in 2014,” she said. “I’m a big football fan and TCU offered that and a good journalism program, so they blended together pretty well.”

TCU’s student media hired Campbell when she was touring the university — before she was officially a student.

“Other than internships, student media is the absolute best experience you can get to prepare you for the real world,” she said. “Taking what you’ve learned and putting that into real-world skills of going out and talking to people outside the classroom was a standout for me.”

While Campbell was a student, one of her goals was to work or intern with a local news station, she said. Jean Marie Brown ’13 MS, assistant professor of professional practice in the department of journalism, hosted local media at an event in Moudy South. After the event, Campbell said, she chased KTVT’s hiring manager to the elevator and told her: “Whatever floor you’re going to, I’m here to talk with you.”

Campbell kept in contact with her and ended up getting an internship at KTVT, the Fort Worth CBS station.

“They were very good at giving me a day with a different role inside the newsroom. One day I was shadowing a producer, the other day I was writing stories and sometimes uploading content to the web,” she said. “That was a great opportunity because it gave me a taste of what the real newsroom would be like.”

Elizabeth Campbell, on set at CBS' Face the Nation, is a producer and TCU journalism alumna. Photo by Lisa Helfert

After interning with KTVT, Campbell earned a fellowship with News21 in Phoenix.

She ended up back in Washington, working on CBS’ Face the Nation as well as producing special events for Bob Schieffer ’59.

“To learn from Bob Schieffer was absolutely great and special,” she said. “He’ll always say that we have the best job in the world, and I couldn’t agree more with him.”

CBS News hired Campbell as a broadcast associate after she graduated in 2018. Two years later she was promoted to a producer.

Elizabeth Campbell, a producer for CBS News, is in constant communication with reporters and crew. Photo by Lisa Helfert

Richard Escobedo ’16, associate producer at CBS, said Campbell’s repertoire of skills enhances the newsroom. He said her emotional intelligence is “genius level,” and her intellectual flexibility makes her different from other producers.

“She has a range: One minute she is working with our anchor on an interview with the president of the country, and then she glides effortlessly into producing Super Bowl-themed segments and managing an entire remote production,” Escobedo said. “She makes it look easy and does it with style.”

Escobedo said Campbell is a leader inside the newsroom.

In terms of work, Campbell’s journalistic skills have evolved since her early days in student media. Escobedo said she’s become “a master storyteller.”

“Watch the first package of Face the Nation each week — the one that sets the table for the rest of the broadcast — and you’ll see a narrative she’s helped craft,” Escobedo said. “It’s sharp, informative and great television.”

Campbell offered these lessons learned along the way:

Take that extra step and verify your sources. In a world where distrust toward the media is constantly growing, being accurate with information is one of the many things that can make news organizations regain the people’s trust.

Fact-checking is so incredibly important. Especially in my show because we’re questioning government leaders and policymakers, so we’re going to need that follow-up of the facts. If a Congress member said something, I’m going to talk to their staff. I’m going to talk to other people and make sure that it’s really them who said that.

Elizabeth Campbell's journalistic skills have evolved since her early days with TCU student media. Photo by Lisa Helfert

Take a deep breath and process what you’re reading and think about it a little bit. I’ve experienced being called fake news by viewers in my career. People want to believe what they want to believe.

Journalism is all about informing. People love confirmation bias, but my job is to tell you purely the facts and hope that you use them responsibly. I’m never going to change someone’s mind if they’re convinced that they’re right.

Just like in sports, the referee — in this case, the media — is always the one to blame. Making the process transparent and explaining why we did everything we did helps people reach their own conclusion about what we’re doing.

The media should always be objective.

The more you read, the more you know. Check multiple sources, because if multiple reputable sources are saying the same thing, that’s a good indicator that they did their due diligence.

To current journalists: Take that extra step in pursuing the truth when you’re reporting.

Current journalists should think of different perspectives to frame a story. It’s all about making that effort to make your source the standout of why people should come to you for news.

Take advantage of every opportunity along the way. Don’t be afraid of taking that extra story, extra internship or extra role in student media because all the hard work will eventually pay off.

As soon as you get out of school, you’ll realize you need more sleep and you’ll have less time for everything, so enjoy the freedom of being a college student and say yes to every opportunity.

Edited for clarity and length.

— As told to Oscar Saravia

Elizabeth Campbell says current journalists should think of different perspectives to frame a story. Photo by Lisa Helfert

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