GET SOME EXPERIENCE!!!!

Wow, it's been a crazy three weeks since spring break.  Interviewing candidates, enrolling students, working on final projects with my classes, attending a conference in Las Vegas (no, I did NOT lose my shirt), shuffling game broadcast schedules because of the weather ...

Now I'm back.  And I have three words for all you students:  GET SOME EXPERIENCE!!! Yes, I know you have heard this soap box before.  But every pro I heard from or talked to at the Broadcast Educators Association conference in LV said the same thing:  I don't want a student who did great in the classroom but didn't do anything outside of class.  I want students who have gotten their hands on the equipment and practiced.  We had a highly energetic (albeit, um, colorful speaking, shall we say) alum visit my sports broadcasting class yesterday and he advised students to get as much practice as they can because they aren't competing against their classmates; they are competing against students at OTHER universities who are doing the same things.

Two former students who took sports broadcasting are now employed, one with the Missouri Mavericks (she started as an intern and now it looks like she might get a full-time job), the other with KOMU-TV in Columbia (he also worked with KMOS on campus).  Three of our students landed internships with the Springfield Cardinals this summer, another got an internship with Fox4 in Kansas City (another student who has worked with KMOS also landed one of these internships.  A fifth is doing a postgraduate internship with the Sedalia Democrat; he also is sports editor of the school paper and has provided ready analysis for local high school sporting events.  He is a truly converged journalist.

Why did they land these primo opportunities? Because they didn't settle for going to class, writing papers and taking tests.  They took advantage of the opportunities afforded them while on campus.  They honed their sklls, they put what they learned in the classroom into practice in the field.

It's like I always say, if you don't have time to get experience right now, wait until you graduate:  You'll have all kinds of time because you won't have a job!

Great time to be a journalist

I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon.
Tom Stoppard

I just saw this quote.  LOVE IT!!!  Fits right with what I teach about the business.  I begin every semester by telling my news students how valuable the are in our democracy and what an awesome responsibility they have.  THEY are the individuals who are to inform and educate the masses. THEY are the individuals who are responsible for sharing heartwarming and inspiring human interest stories. THEY are the individuals given the task of providing the details about upcoming election issues and candidates, scientific breakthroughs, and developments in health and fitness.  And, unfortunately, THEY are the individuals who are expected to uncover corruption and serve as the watchdogs of society.
When I ask my students how many branches of government there are, they always say, "Three:  legislative, judicial and executive" (see, your tax dollars are paying off).  I always answer, "Nope, there are four: legislative, judicial, executive and the media."  Because, while the generally recognized three serve as checks and balances for one another, the media serves as a check and balance for all.
So, while you may poo-poo the job and complain about the "liberal" media, think about where the U.S. would be without it!