From 1986 to 1993, Julie worked at the Wall Street Journal as a reporter in the Philadelphia bureau. She covered telecommunication, management issues, Donald Trump's forays in Atlantic City and the occasional human interest stories - such as bug museums, telephone pole climbing and kissing.
She was also an Associated Press reporter from 1984 to 1986 in the San Francisco bureau. She worked as a general assignments reporter, covering mudslides, San Francisco 49ers revelers, serial killers and more.

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Julie worked five years at The Arizona Republic, from 1994 to 1999. She covered the business community, worked on long-form features and was made a columnist. During her 5-ear tenure at the Republic, she earned many awards for her work from the Arizona Press Club and the Associated Press.

Arizona Republic Wrongful Firing

​On Aug. 20, 1999, Julie was wrongfully fired by The Arizona Republic. She had been accused of fabricating sources for a human interest column, even though she had been assigned to be "fly on the wall" and as such was not required to gather names or confirm identifications. Julie did routinely gather and publish the names of her sources, though she did not confirm the identity of her interview subjects (including in multiple instances in which editors and colleagues gave her sources to use for her stories). Julie consulted with a local attorney, but she was advised that the cost to defend herself against the Republic’s accusations would be exorbitant. In an attempt to defend herself, Julie asked that she be allowed to use her files and reporting materials to track down her sources. She was denied access to those materials and given 24 hours to track down her sources. She asked the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) to conduct an independent investigation into the Republic firing. NAHJ Board President Cecilia Alvear in turn asked the Center for Journalism Ethics to conduct that investigation, though the Center said it lacked adequate resources to do so.