Alumnus helps launch nationally broadcast NBC News program

Marcus Harun ‘14, MBA ‘15, debuted a nationally broadcast newscast available from coast to coast online and across local affiliates.

The broadcast, “NBC News Daily,” airs at noon Eastern Time on multiple NBC News streaming services as well as local affiliates across the United States.

Harun, a line producer on the broadcast, spent about a month preparing the new broadcast. It will replace “Days of Our Lives” in many viewers’ TV lineups.

The Hamden, Connecticut native began his career as a teenager at a local public access news station after he pitched to his employers that he wanted to produce a news segment. Until enrolling at Quinnipiac six years later, he contributed news stories to the channel and crafted a TV show in his basement.

When it was time to pick a college, Harun’s decision was easy: Quinnipiac.

The convenience of being so close to home, the abundance of opportunities at the university and Quinnipiac’s acclaimed journalism department.

Harun completed six internships throughout his time at Quinnipiac and learned a great deal from Adjunct Professor Kenn Venit and Associate Professor Ben Bogardus.

“The skills I needed, I learned from my great mentors such as Professor Kenn Venit,” he said. “He is a former TV News anchor and had a lot of great experiences I was able to learn from.”

Venit engaged his classes by bringing videos of his own work, introducing guest speakers and incorporating current events into his assignments, Harun said.

“The TV producing I do today is what I learned in Ben Bogardus’ class. It’s really cool how everything started from there,” Harun said.

Harun would go on to earn his master’s in business administration and eventually launch his national broadcast career in New York City. Along the way, he also worked at Fox 61 in Hartford, Connecticut and News 12 Connecticut.

He was determined to make it to the national level and have a bigger impact on communities throughout the country.

He quickly became interested in the ways COVID-19 changed the journalism industry. “I made a documentary on this topic in 2020 because I had never seen anything like this in the journalism industry before,” Harun said.

“I interviewed more than 30 journalists around the country on how COVID impacted their lives,” he said. His work earned him a Telly Award. “Millions of people were watching the content I was producing for NBC. It felt like a really big responsibility to be able to deliver the best health information interviews with Dr. Fauci,” Harun said.

After working his way up, Harun became a line producer in June 2021 — which ultimately allowed him to help launch “NBC Daily News.”

“With the ‘Today’ show, everyone is still waking up. There isn’t too much news happening in the moment when the 7 a.m. show is happening,” Harun said.

“Our news show is in the middle of the day. Congress is in session, and President Biden may be giving a speech. There is a lot that is going on.”.

Harun said he is grateful for the opportunities he has received throughout his career — and said he is proud to have been able to give back by mentoring students who are looking to pursue a career in journalism.

“You can be a reporter any time, any day, if you act like one,” he said. “There is no reason to wait to get a job to do reporting. The more initiative you take, the more it will help you get ahead.”

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