Gwen Ifill, moderator and managing editor for “Washington Week” and senior correspondent for “PBS Newshour,” spoke about her work in the journalism business and in the political world Thursday night.

Ifill was excited to talk about the news business in the presence of the ISU community.

“We approach the news with a pretty simple presence,” Ifill said about “Washington Week” and “PBS Newshour.” “We decide that you can decide what to think about the news that we give you.”

Ifill shared her theory on politics in journalism and why the public hears about the “rouge” politicians more than the more honorable people in the business.

“If a chicken walks across the street, no one notices,” Ifill said. “If a chicken flies everyone notices because it’s unusual.”

Many college students are Jon Stewart fans and his show, “The Daily Show,” is a major source of news for them. Ifill, a fan of the show herself, spoke about the reality of news today.

“All too often the slogans dominate and the reality fades,” Ifill said.

Ifill watches Stewart when she can stay awake long enough.

“I may watch him, but I know that he watches me,” Ifill said with a chuckle.

Ifill talked about the ambition gap with women in politics and why women have seemingly fallen behind, citing reasons including the non-profit sector, raising their families or not wanting to be in a government office position.

Ifill said it’s hard to balance work and a personal life.

“It was hard to get in the door, but I took that job that gave me the stepping stones to advance my career,” Ifill said about her first job working for a company that had racist employees.

This experience may not have been ideal in her mind, but Ifill knew what she wanted and where she wanted to go in life and found a way to get it. Much of this, as Ifill said, can be accredited to her upbringing.

“Not taking ‘no’ as an answer has served me well in my career,” Ifill said, a lesson her father taught her.

As well as her family, there were prominent female figures in the world, including Carrie Chapman Catt, that fed her desire to become a journalist.

“What I always wanted to do was to be in a position to ask better questions,” Ifill said. “It’s because of these visionaries that I became a journalist.”

Ifill also talked about the struggles women endure to live proud, productive lives and give their children the opportunities society feels they deserve.

“We all carry a hammer in one hand and hope in the other,” Ifill said about herself and the other women she knows and how they deal with the youth in their lives.