Edna Ruiz: Multimedia reporter at 41NBC
By Jaclyn Ramkissoon
As a little girl, Edna Ruiz said she dreamed of being on television.
“I’m not going to lie. I wanted to be Britney Spears,” Ruiz said.
But she didn’t think it was possible being from Plant City, Florida — a small town just outside of Tampa.
“I thought there’s no way,” Ruiz said. “But there is a way. My parents have always told me if you want something, you work hard for it.”
Ruiz is now a full-time multimedia reporter for 41NBC in Macon, Georgia. She graduated from the University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and a minor in political science.
During her time in college, Ruiz did on-air promotions for the New York Yankees and landed internships with Univision and Fox 13 in Tampa.
“That was a very amazing experience. I grew up watching [Fox 13],” Ruiz said. “So it was really cool and definitely reaffirmed the fact that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.”
Ruiz graduated in May of 2016, but she didn’t jump into the field just yet.
Ruiz took a few months off to attend family events, but she never took a break from producing journalism. She worked at Focus, a local magazine in Plant City.
“I wrote articles for them. They also wanted to do kind of an online thing, so once a week I’d do like three packages,” Ruiz said.
Near the end of the summer, Ruiz started applying for jobs. She said she picked Macon not because of the pay, but because of the news director.
“He was like, ‘I know this is a starter market. My goal in these next two years or three years or however long you decide to stay, is to make you the best reporter that you can be,’” Ruiz said. “Those words kind of stuck out to me.”
Looking back, if she were graduating now, Ruiz said she would’ve taken more opportunities.
“I applied for internships and stuff, but I feel like I would have wanted to look more into taking work sessions or little classes to perfect my skill,” Ruiz said. “And reaching out more to those reporters that I shadowed at the internship.”
It was college and those internships she said equipped her with technical skills, like operating a camera, editing video, and writing. Ruiz said it is also important to be personable.
“I think that’s a big factor in this job because you’re going to go knocking on random people’s doors, and you’re going to talk to people that you wouldn’t normally talk to,” Ruiz said.
Since starting at 41NBC, Ruiz said she has grown in her storytelling and pitching story ideas, but that growth didn’t come without some challenges.
Ruiz said she was the sole reporter working for a time at the station.
“I would be turning like two to three stories a day,” Ruiz said. “If my story falls through, I need to figure out how to get a new story. Nobody is going to help me.”
One thing she said she has gained from that experience is efficiency.
“I can do a lot of things faster,” Ruiz said. “I don’t think I’d be that great at that if I hadn’t been in the situation and the circumstances I’m in.”
Through those struggles, Ruiz said she enjoys being a voice for the voiceless.
“I just want to know that I’m making a difference in people’s lives by telling these stories,” Ruiz said.
She felt she made that difference when she produced a story on Trump’s decision to end DACA, and its effect on one local college student. Being Mexican-American, Ruiz said the story meant a lot to her.
“Being a child of immigrants, I learned that it’s kind of my duty…. the Hispanic community I feel doesn’t really have a voice here,” Ruiz said.
According to Ruiz, the story received a lot of negative feedback. But she said it was the support from the Hispanic community that made her proud.
“It was like two positive comments verses ten. I would take that any day, that was probably the most important piece for me personally to do,’ Ruiz said.
Ruiz is inspired by NBC News Correspondent Morgan Radford. She said she admires Radford’s work ethic and the vibrancy she brings to her job.
“[Morgan] does all of this stuff and is just everywhere. One day she’s in Florida, and the next she’s in New York,” Ruiz said. “And stuff like that gives me motivation. It’s like ‘ok, I can relate to her.’”
Ruiz is nearing the end of her contract with 41NBC. She will have to apply to new jobs soon, but she said she still struggles with self-doubt and listening to her own advice.
“Don’t have that self-doubt. Don’t think what if,” Ruiz said. “Because then you could always think like, ‘what if I didn’t apply for it? What if I didn’t take that chance?’”
Ruiz said she dreams of being in a big city, but misses her family in Florida. She said she’s not sure where she will go, but hopes to be doing more feature stories on the morning news.
“I say I don’t know because I didn’t know it was going to be in Macon,” Ruiz said. “But it worked out and I’m doing what I love.”
As an adult, Ruiz is on television. But she knows it’s much more than the glamour she dreamed of as a kid.
“This job, this industry is going to throw so many curve balls at you…. but don’t forget why you bought into the industry to begin with,” Ruiz said. “You have to actually love it. Don’t forget why you love it.”
