“Working at WFUV was hands down, the best decision I ever made,” she said. “It changed the trajectory of my life. I was going to be a business major, and walking into WFUV, I just fell in love with journalism and people and news. And I did not see that one coming. We call it ‘the radio bug.’ And I definitely caught that.”
As an undergraduate, she began as a “day of” reporter, rising through the ranks to eventually become newsroom manager. Migliore reported on everything from gun violence to mold in New York City Housing Authority buildings, earning awards from the New York State Broadcasting Association, the Alliance for Women in Media, and the New York Associated Press.
After graduating from Fordham College at Rose Hill with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, she landed a job as an overnight news anchor and writer at iHeartMedia in New York.
What are some of the reasons why you decided to attend Fordham?
My story with Fordham actually started way before I was a senior in high school. My cousin had gotten married at Fordham when I was 16 years old. I wasn’t really thinking about college, and then I went to this wedding at Fordham’s church, and I was like, wow, this is beautiful. I love this place. It’s [in]the city, and the buildings are just so “old world.” Something about it just made me feel like it fit. I worked really hard in high school, because everybody was telling me it’s a really hard school to get into. As I got older, I recognized that it has a huge alumni network and it’s a [strong]academic school. Those were the three things that were really important to me when I was making my college decision—location, academics, and where I would go afterward.
What do you think you got at Fordham that you couldn’t have gotten elsewhere?
I know without a doubt, I would have never gotten the radio working experience that I did working at WFUV [if I had gone somewhere else]. Fordham has great programs—the academics, no doubt—but the icing on the cake was WFUV. And that’s something I’m super, super grateful for.
Did you take any courses or have any experiences that helped put you on your current path?
The journalism major paired with WFUV was fantastic. I had great, encouraging professors. The class sizes at Fordham are so great. My biggest class when I got into my major was nine students. When I was taking astrology or astronomy—I think that was the biggest class I had—it was maybe 45 students. So I think another thing I wouldn’t have gotten almost anywhere else is the teacher-student ratio and the small class sizes. I really built great relationships with my professors. And they’ve become great mentors to me. I also wrote a little bit for The Ram, and I was a part of the ampersand for a while. Once I got into journalism, I got into it and wanted to be a writer in any way that I could.
How did you get started at WFUV? Is there someone there you admire the most, and why?
I actually walked into WFUV [initially]and was like, “I’ll clean the toilet.” And they’re like, “No, we don’t do that here. If you want a job as a student, you can decide between news or music or sports.” “Well, I’d be interested in news.”
Somebody gave me the contact of George Bodarky [the station’s news and public affairs director], and I emailed him: “I would love to be a part of your workshop.” And he said, “Well, Natalie, we’d be happy to have you, but if you want to be a part of our workshop, are you willing to work afterward?” And I was like, “What? You want me to work? Absolutely!” So I took his workshop and then I jumped right in as an intern.
George and [Assistant News and Public Affairs Director] Robin Shannon taught me everything I know about news and really just [helped me build]that foundation to where I am today.
How did you land your current job? Can you paint us a picture of your responsibilities?
My current boss is a Fordham alumna, and she worked at WFUV. George encouraged me to reach out to her for freelance work, so when I reached out to her, she said, “Actually, we’re interviewing for a full-time position. Would you be interested?” And I said of course. I’m now an overnight news anchor for iHeartMedia Radio New York, which basically means that I write summaries for the metro area—so Hudson Valley, New York City, New Jersey, New Jersey shore, and Long Island. At the end of my shift, I anchor for Long Island, so I’m a news writer/anchor. It’s a funky schedule. I work from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. But it’s fun, and I really, really enjoy what I’m doing.
What do you hope to accomplish, personally or professionally?
I always wanted to be a long-form reporter from the work that I did at WFUV, so eventually, I’d like to get there. At first, I really wanted to stay in public radio, because WFUV is an NPR affiliate, but commercial radio’s growing. I would love to be able to work on long-form pieces and be a feature reporter or work on podcasts—I definitely find that really interesting.
Fordham has given me a great work life and personal life, because I met some lifelong friends at Fordham.
Anything else we should know about you, your plans, or your Fordham connection?
I’ve already joined the Young Alumni Committee to [continue to]be part of the Fordham community, either by mentorship or just trying to help Fordham students around the country, whether they graduated just recently or [will be graduating soon]. I would love to be a part and help in any way that I can.
