Maria Aspan is the financial correspondent for National Public Radio. While Aspan always loved writing, her journalism career took off after she connected with the New York Times’ bureau chief in Paris when she was studying abroad and working as a nanny for her kids. Aspan started as a fashion reporter and transitioned into business reporting, now focusing on economics and the world of finance.  

The Hawk sat down with Aspan following her Oct. 28 visit to Hawk Hill, where she discussed economics and journalism at “Ripped from the Headlines: Economics in the News,” a fireside chat-style lecture. 

What does your average day as a financial reporter in New York City look like?

I wake up, check my email, my Slack, my text messages, carrier pigeons. If nothing is breaking that I need to jump on immediately, I will skim all the newsletters, see what’s going on in the world, see what’s going on in the markets. Check in with my editor. I’m usually working on a longer-term story but then also may be available for whatever breaking news happens. 

You work for NPR, which is one of many national news organizations. How do you distinguish your reporting from other national financial coverage? 

There is one of me versus the Wall Street Journal financial team or the Bloomberg financial team. So even though a lot of my job can be breaking news, it’s also slightly more of a feature-y sensibility … The NPR audience is different from the Bloomberg audience. It’s different from the Journal audience …Their audience is coming in as a financial or business professional first. 

You’ve reported everywhere from Saudi Arabia to Delaware County. How does where you’re located influence your reporting?

I think it’s really important to look around and to experience what it’s like to be in a place, not just to necessarily fly in, do the interview and fly out … Having several days to spend [in Saudi Arabia] and making an effort to get out and see and talk to people beyond just the people I was there to interview, it gave me nuance and texture. 

What’s one story you wrote that you especially felt the impact of after writing?

It was about the breast implant industry. There had been a series of recalls, government-mandated or government-requested recalls, because women were dying from a kind of cancer that has been linked to a specific type of breast implants made by a for-profit company … I found the widower of one of the women who had died from cancer [and he] was willing to speak with me and shared his story … It was very heavy, but I was happy with the results. The family of the woman who died, who was my main subject, was happy with the result. And the [Food and Drug Administration] took action against the company that had made the implants. 

If you could tell your younger self a piece of advice you’ve learned over your career, what would it be?

My general advice is look for places that will challenge you to grow and learn.