The back story
In 2007 I was standing at the piano inside the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. It was there that I was bequeathed the name EricaAmerica from a jovial and creative GWU journalism Professor. Months later when I applied to MTV New’s Knight Foundation funded Street Team ’08 the lightbulb went on. “I’ll create a brand called EricaAmerica.” It stuck.
This site is an archive of citizen journalism reports and my ideas about the future of journalism from 2008-2010. At the time I was a freshly minted journalism graduate working a day job and moonlighting for MTV News and CNN iReport. I lived on coffee, adrenaline and the desire to make a positive change in the world. I still do.
Where I come from
I’m a proud Hoosier from Valparaiso, Indiana. Growing up I played basketball, soccer and ran the 100 meter hurdles. I delivered local newspapers and had a lawn-mowing business each summer. In 2002 I enrolled at Indiana University and earned a degree in journalism and a minor in political science. I took enough religious studies courses to get a minor. College was a trying time too for personal reasons. After six years of illness, my Mother passed away. I think about her every day and try to be the person she always wanted me to be. Honest, hard-working, healthy and happy.
In 2006 I left Indiana with a one-way ticket to Washington. I was optimistic that a strong work ethic and a passion to change the world, I could go far. During my time in Washington, I was fortunate enough to be mentored by the esteemed Helen Thomas. Helen generously shared her thoughts and concerns about the application of journalism standards in an ever-shrinking news cycle, encouraging my own thinking about how core principles could fit into new journalism forms. Her guidance is never far from my mind in my current capacity as manager of news at Twitter Inc. in San Francisco.
In the news
Twitter’s Erica Anderson on what you can’t find online
Huffington Post
Anderson making a name in social media
Northwest Indiana Times, December 2010
Media you may not have met yet
Washington Life, Power Issue 2010
MTV News still on the edge of political news
techPresident, April 2008
Young reporters, new tools and political reporting
Harvard Nieman Reports, May 2008
Alumna attends White House briefing
Indiana University, School of Journalism, May 2007
Journalists should take control of their personal brand
Personal Branding Blog, 2007
Talks
National Press Club, May 2010
Understanding the evolving relationship between PR and the Media
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Blogging 101 for researchers
The Washington Center
Citizen journalism and civic engagement
American Council of Young Political Leaders
The youth vote, social media and American politics
Women Information Network
Content, personal brand and professional development
Georgetown University
Citizen journalism techniques and MTV Street Team ’08
George Mason University
Visual communications in a multi-screen environment
