RORY: I’m gonna be a journalist.
JESS: Paula Zahn?
RORY: Christiane Amapour.
Paula Zahn (born 1956) [pictured], award-winning journalist and newscaster who has been an anchor at ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, and CNN. Although in 2002 she had already scored dozens of interviews, and covered stories like the Waco siege and the September 11 attacks, her career really off took the following year.
Christiane Amanpour, previously discussed.
Jess seems to suggest that he imagines Rory being a journalist like Paula Zahn – an attractive, smart woman who starts at the bottom, probably at a local level (like Zahn did), and gradually works her way up to the major broadcasters and news services. It’s far more realistic than what Rory plans to do.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 