Woah, congrats! On the girl bit, too. :p I have a similar story like yours. While I am not a "journalist", I am in that field, and my work has, increasingly over the years, demanded that I go out and speak and approach people and get shit done. This has helped me by leaps and bounds. I am far more confident then I was at school or college. I have also learnt to give less shits about my stutter when I do indeed stutter in front of someone. I can't help it, and if they can't deal with it, I will take my business elsewhere. Congrats on the achievement, mate. Great going!