🎙️ From Anchor to Attorney: Hema Mullur’s Reinvention Story
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Jason joins this week from Arkansas, where he’s helping his parents through health challenges and he opens the episode with a blunt reality check about the state of the news business.
Layoffs are accelerating. Nexstar. The Washington Post. CBS.
If you think it won’t happen to you, think again.
The canary in the coal mine is gone.
Jason challenges everyone still in the industry: Make a plan. Whether it’s building a niche, transitioning into communications, becoming an entrepreneur, retiring early, or pivoting entirely, you need to prepare for your life after news.
He points to past guests who did just that:
* Bart Feder, who prepared for years
* Aundrea Cline-Thomas, who built a three-year transition plan
* Fernando Hurtado, who found his niche covering U.S. Latinos
* Josh Rubinstein and Sumi Das, who moved into communications
* Laura McLaughlin, Lisa Breckenridge, and Liberty Chan, who built brands as influencers
Your skills are transferable. But you have to use them.
Then, Jason sits down with former Austin anchor Hema Mullur, whose path took an unexpected turn after she was laid off.
Hema Mullur: From Breaking News to Employment Law
Hema traces her journalism calling back to the 2000 presidential election, the chaos of hanging chads and late-night coverage that showed her the power of real-time storytelling.
She built a 17-year career:
* Started in Midland, Texas, earning $21,000 and covering Friday Night Lights
* Worked in Denver
* Returned home to Austin, where she anchored for nine years
Then life shifted.
After returning from maternity leave, her second day back coinciding with the Uvalde massacre, her perspective changed. The demands of the newsroom, the emotional toll, and growing misalignment with station leadership led to her departure.
But here’s the twist: she had already started law school.
What began as intellectual curiosity during the pandemic, a desire to “exercise her brain,” became her second career. Today, Hema is an employment attorney advocating for workers, including journalists navigating contracts, layoffs, and toxic workplace environments.
Key Takeaways from Hema’s Story
Journalists Are Built for Law
Hema argues that lawyers are storytellers, or they should be.
Journalists already know how to:
* Translate complex information into plain language
* Build narrative structure
* Lead with a compelling hook
* Advocate through facts
Those skills translate directly into legal writing and courtroom advocacy.
You Don’t Have to Practice Law to Work in Legal Spaces
Law firms need:
* Storytellers
* PR professionals
* Media strategists
* Communications experts
A law degree isn’t the only path into the legal world.
The Bigger Message
Many journalists don’t leave because they’re bad at the job.
They leave because the industry pushes them out.
But the skills don’t disappear.
Hema’s journey is proof that reinvention is possible even after 17 years in one career, even with a newborn, even when the decision to leave isn’t yours.
What’s Next
Jason returns to California next week with a conversation featuring former KCBS and KARE anchor Paul Magers.
Until then:
Start your plan.
Figure out your niche.
Know your worth.
Build your life after news.
Let Life After News inspire your next chapter. Because leaving the news doesn’t mean the story’s over—it means a new one’s just beginning.
