"Passion for journalism, that can make someone go above and beyond”

Filippo Ferretti has spent the better part of 20 years in the journalism field. His work has taken him around the world. Today, he is a morning news anchor and senior news reporter with Univision — a major Spanish news network — in Tampa Bay, Florida. Here are some key takeaways that Ferretti reflected on while he sat down with the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA.

Passion for journalism makes all the difference. 

Ferretti’s drive to make it as a journalist started when he was just a child. He recalled carrying this passion for the work with him through school and university, and it has taken him around the world. 

“I always dreamed of being a journalist, of telling stories,” Ferretti recalled. 

Filippo Ferretti

As a child, he ghost-wrote newspaper articles for his hometown’s newspaper in Italy. Ferretti recalled convincing his brother to submit his work under his name: “I had to ask my brother if I could write and use his name,” Ferretti explained with a laugh. “That’s the way I started to tell stories.” 

Sometimes it can be scary.

Ferretti’s career in the field has taken him all over the world. Sometimes, his work leads him to some daunting situations in the area. After five seasons of hurricane coverage, his exemplary work earned him a Society of Professional Journalists’ (SPJ) Excellence in Natural Disaster Coverage Award. Despite the award-winning coverage, Ferretti recollected that this aspect of the job could be intimidating at times. 

“This was challenging, especially when you come from Europe, and you don’t see hurricanes,” he explained. “I tried to stay calm because [journalists] have to stay outside when everyone else is in a shelter or a house.” He continued, “And this is, really, really scary. But I think it’s a good way for journalists to make news coverage because you are where you have to be.” 

Despite the opportunity for an excellent journalistic experience, Ferretti said that this aspect of the job was not his favorite. He explained the importance of a routine to get himself ready to go out into the field during hurricane seasons. He recalled going through his usual motions pre-broadcast. Despite being outside, where no one else was around, Ferretti maintained the routine of putting on cologne five minutes before the broadcast started. 

“During the storm, routine helps a little bit, you know. It might not make sense, but I think this helped me a lot,” he explained. 

New experiences can help journalists see stories in new ways

Another daunting situation in Ferretti’s career was his time covering a war. After an attack on Italian troops in Afghanistan in 2011, he worked on coverage for two months. He has also spent time reporting in Latin America. He explained that these experiences opened his mind as a person and a reporter. 

“As a journalist, I met so many people. I saw so many different locations, different realities, different cultures,” he stated. “So, I think now that I am a news reporter, I can better understand my community, or when I have to approach a different kind of news.” 

Journalism is about more than just getting the story

In April 2019, Ferretti received an odd message through Facebook. Luis, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico in the Tampa area, described a dire experience with a man named Elvis Reyes. Reyes claimed to be both a local minister and an immigration lawyer, defrauding and victimized Luis. 

Ferretti recalled getting a bad feeling about the story as he dug more profound: “I realized this was a terrible story. So, I just started to listen and tried to help.” 

His newscast premiered at 6 p.m., and by 10 p.m. that night, he started to receive numerous messages on social media and calls to the Univision newsroom from other undocumented immigrants who had seen his broadcast. 

“So, I started to listen to other stories, and the stories were the same, and I was very worried about it because many [undocumented immigrants] didn’t want to call the police,” Ferretti explained. 

As he worked on the story, he got in touch with the local sheriff’s office to organize a day where people who Reyes had victimized could come and speak without fear. In the end, hundreds of people came forward with similar stories about Reyes, and he has been sentenced to twenty years in federal prison. 

Ferretti explained that he kept up with this story and communicated with affected families in Tampa until Reyes’ sentencing earlier this year because he promised his community. 

“I tried to help this community because I saw the fear. I realized this was a scam, and I saw the fear of these families that just had a dream to have their papers,” he explained. 

Speaking multiple languages is essential for connecting with sources

“I’m an Italian living in the United States working for a Spanish network,” Ferretti explained with a laugh. Throughout his travels as a foreign correspondent, Ferretti has lived in Italy, Spain, and the U.S. He has studied several languages and speaks Spanish regularly as a reporter at Univision. 

“I think the most important advice I can give to every young student is to learn another language,” Ferretti explained. “Because when you know another language, you have the key to another door, and this door will open a brighter future for you.”