A conversation with Christine Dobbyn, veteran journalist and entrepreneur

Did you know what you wanted to do as a career when you were 12 years old? Christine Dobbyn did.

Her parents thought her love of reporting was a phase. It wasn’t. She went on to travel the world as a television journalist, working in stations across the country.

Her first job paid $18,000 dollars per year. She was persistent.

“At the very beginning (my dad) was doing my taxes and he said, ‘You know you’re eligible for government subsidies. I mean that’s how the pay is, and I don’t think it’s really changed that much since then. It’s a labor of love. I always tell students that if you really want to do it, just stay on the path and the money will come. You just have to be patient.”

Her career has provided some pretty unique experiences, like playing basketball with the Harlem globetrotters, riding in helicopters with the Coast Guard, traveling to London to cover the Royal Wedding and to Cuba to cover a visit from the Pope.

She spent almost 15 years — most of her on-air career — at the ABC-owned station in Houston, Texas. It was in Houston when the stirrings to try something new became too great to ignore. The innate curiosity that served her well as a reporter was pushing her in a different direction. She listened.

In fact, Christine feels pretty strongly about listening to yourself and to others.

“I’m not here to talk politics, but I do think that a lot of strife our country is going through right now is a result of no one really listening to one another. And I think that’s something I learned to do as a reporter. And I think a lot of people, they listen to respond, they don’t listen to learn. The whole time they’re not listening to the person, they’re thinking, ‘what I am I going to say next’ or ‘what is my comeback gonna be?’

Christine left television news, went back to school mid-career and earned an executive MBA from Rice University. She founded Dobbyn Digital Media, and now she’s leading a multimedia campaign called Houston Fights Covid, working with doctors and scientists involved in an ongoing vaccine trial.

Christine has a lot to share about sticking to your morals and values in an industry that can sometimes challenge them and following your passion, even when it surprises you.

Here are 5 takeaways from our conversation, available for download now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

1. On what she’s most proud of “These big events are amazing but I really think the stories I’m most proud of are usually something that was local. And seeing the impact that journalism can have on an individual person or family or whole community.”
2. On sticking to your values “As time went on, I became more comfortable with being who I am. I have a certain set of morals and values that I am not going to compromise, no matter what that means for my career or job. So I think I got more bold as time went on to be able to say, “No, I’m not doing that,” (…) and there usually was a reason.”
3. On reporters as humans “ If I could say something to every person and family I’ve ever interviewed, ‘You have no idea how much I’ve thought about each and every one of you over the years. I don’t just do the story and forget it. I have never forgotten you.’ So if (people) think a reporter is just in and out the door, not the case at all.”
4. On changing careers “It certainly wasn’t a light switch, something that happened overnight. It took me probably 3–4 years from the first time I started thinking maybe I don’t want to do this my whole life to actually making a plan, moving forward with the plan and it was a process. And I feel like I’m still in that process.”
5. On the goodness she saw despite the tragedy “There are silver linings, and sometimes you see people rise to the occasion and do things you would never expect.”