My Senior Project Proposal

My senior project involves the incorporation of a number of aspects. This year I will serve as the public service coordinator for Titan Radio. I am also a disc jockey for the station. In addition, I spend time working with Digital 88.9 News as a writer, reporter, anchor, and producer, as well as working crew for The County Line. I plan to develop an audition tape in all of these areas.

One area that I will not be able to produce an audition tape for is my role as public service coordinator. However, that is something that I can list on my resume. My position entails typing up activity card liners, recording PSA's, taking care of the Sunday programming, distributing the station mail, and completing the stations quarterly issues report. I plan to have at least two PSA’s completed by the end of the semester for non-profit organizations.

As a disc jockey I will receive feedback from the Program Director, as well as Dr. Barner, about my radio shifts, and produce an audition tape of my best material. I want to be sure I touch on what a PD is looking for when they hire new staff, and that I exceed those standards.
In the newsroom I will work to write excellent scripts, produce interesting and timely wraps and acts, and produce quality newscasts. I plan to contact sources in the field and find out what they look for in an audition tape. I will then put together a “news” audition tape as well.

I also plan on looking into other possible jobs, such as Assignment Editor at a television station. I will be working as a crew member on The County Line, and assisting as a spot reporter or filling in when the talent is unable to do so. I will create a resume tape in this area, including past work from my stint as talent and contributing videographer for the show.

I will send out both my “news” audition tape and my “DJ” tape to different professionals in the field to gather an assessment on my work. Since my write-up on the project is due December 17, I would like to have heard back from the professionals by no later than December 8. Therefore I will send the tapes out by November 19, so they will have enough time to receive and evaluate the tapes. I will most likely use compact discs, not cassette tapes, for better quality.

I think i can I think i can....

What I Did In Broadcasting This Week: I had my radio shifts on Tuesday and Thursday as usual. I think they went really well this week, except I hit a wrong button today and had to pot up the minidisc player really quickly, whoops. I caught it right away though, so it was okay. I had a lot more energy this week because I'm finally getting over the "WC Plague." I'm still working on getting my own personality to shine through during the shift. Working on the morning show with Joy it was easier because we're both very sarcastic and we bounced off each other really well and we had a lot of fun and we were funny, to boot. Now I have to have that same energy and impact by myself. I'm still struggling with that a lot. But Tandi (Program Director for Titan Radio) is going to have "air-check weeks" where she collects our air-check tapes and offers some suggestions and constructive criticism, which will really help me focus. I have tapes from when I started up through now, but no one ever really had time to critique them for me, so I'm really glad Tandi is taking the time to do so.

I also anchored my first newscast of the semester this week. Shannon and I anchored and Alana produced. We got a lot of sound, including the nat sound burst and reader I dropped in the station about the band festival. Our stories really meshed well together and the newscast had really good flow. I stumbled over a few words, but I think we sounded pretty good! It's been a few months since I anchored, but it's like riding a bike, so no worries. Megan (Radio News Director) is also going to have "air-check weeks."

Career Planning ("evolving"): Mr. Weaver and I have talked about many different options for me. I'm getting in contact with Sarah Bowers, who is working with Melissa Batulis, at WTAE. She's working the assignment editors desk, which might be something I would enjoy. It has a lot to do with organization and management skills. I'm also going to continue building my radio news and d.j. portfolios, making sure I have really great stuff to use for resume tapes. I may try to do another internship somewhere over Christmas break, although since I didn't make much money all summer because I was doing an internship at WTAM, and I really need to make some money over break to pay for WC expenses and everything to get through my last semester here. That's the main thing I hate about this - wanting to get lots of BC experience, but having to make a dent in the $80,000.00 in debt I'll be for the pretty piece of paper I'll get at the end of it all. That's why it's important that I find a good job to pay bills - but also a job I'll enjoy!

This week in the 'biz: I'm taking a class in Broadcast, Cable, and Web programming and promotion so I've been reading a lot of different material lately. I found an article at this site that talks about CBS-TV and Paramount Network Television. Viacom bought CBS in 1999 but the two (Paramount and CBS) never got along. Things are changing now because Viacom co-president Leslie Moonves is cleaning things up in Paramount's TV operations.

The article says ""Paramount is a great name in the history of television; it's a great studio when you look back in the history of television — with Frasier, Cheers and back further to Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley. We think it's a terrific name and it makes sense. No question, it still has some value."

But the people running it will be CBS people."

It will be interesting to see what happens there, because if a lot of the Paramount staff lose their jobs, and with the economy the way it is, well that could be pretty bad.

My Career Goals : Long and Short Term

Within the next year: Ideally a job will open up in either Cleveland with Clear Channel or Akron with the Rubber City Radio Group. I would like to work on the radio as a disc jockey, and also work with the news. Helen from WTAM even suggested I look into traffic to begin with - that's how she got her start. I want a job in the business that I enjoy, with decent starting pay, opportunity for advancement, and medical benefits.

Long term: I would enjoy working in Cleveland, which Arbitron ranks at 17 out of 287 markets in a Total Survey Area ranking. Akron is also a decent ranking, at 66. Another possibility is Pittsburgh, ranked at 21. I would enjoy working on the radio anywhere, really, so location is not a huge factor for me. I'd like to live in a suburb, but I can commute to the city if that's where the job is. As far as monetary issues go - I want to make enough that I can live comfortably without having to worry about stretching every dollar. I want a friendly work environment and I enjoy working on many different tasks.

Week 2

This has been a pretty long week, it's hard to believe I've only been in classes for two weeks. It feels like two months already. I got a case of the "Westminster Plague" from my roommate - it's a bad cold/sinus infection that goes around campus about the start of every semester. It hit me pretty hard - I spent Tuesday afternoon, all of Wed, and most of Thurs hibernating. I tried those "Zicam" things tho - I think they did help me beat the cold a little faster. I'm already feeling better, although I'm only at about 60% right now. It could be worse.

What I did in BC this week : Well, I had my radio shows again this week. My throat was really swollen when I woke up on Tues, and I didn't think I'd make it through my shift because I had a very raspy voice that was coming and going. But I think I sounded really good during my shift, and no one could even tell i was sick! (until I shut off the mic, lol). Thursday was an interesting time, I felt more like a board op than a d.j. because "Digital 88.9 News" kept "breaking in" with live reports about flooding, evacuations, and rescues in the area after Wed.'s storm. It was still pretty exciting stuff, and the first time we've ever done anything like that.
Unfortunately I was unable to do my first newscast on Wed. because I had no voice and was too weak to leave my room. I'm excited to get back into that next week though. I'm also working on getting things straightened out for the first "County Line" of the semester, next Thursday.

Career Planning: I gave my presentation in Capstone yesterday, but I felt a little false listening to everyone else, because although working as a d.j. and in radio news really are things that I enjoy, I don't really want to think about hunting down jobs in certain markets and becoming a top exec or anything like that. I just want to do what I enjoy and make enough money to live comfortably in the area that I decide to live in - an area that would be impacted depending on my relationship situation at the time and all kinds of factors in that area that would make a difference. I'm not really in this to go hunt down the best job in the world no matter what, you know? Don't get me wrong - I do want the best job for me - I guess to me that means just working somewhere with great staff and really loving the business.

What's happening in the biz: I think it's interesting how some stories talk about news anchors and such the same way you read about celebrities in tabloids and People magazine and such. A lot of folks in my Capstone class are interested in working in entertainment news, and from what I gather, rumor has it that Applegate may be moving from morning news in Boston...and looking to co-host "Good Day New York". ...in New York, obviously. The article says Applegate and Chris Gailus could be an exciting energy boost for the show.

And So It Begins...

Our first capstone meeting was today, and my brain is in information overload. I'm not overwhelmed - it was just too much to think about at one time. I'm a big fan of structure and organization, and today's class, although it started out that way, strayed a bit.

What I did in Broadcasting this week: Well I'm getting back into the swing of things. I had my first radio shift this morning, and I swear I can speak like a normal person. It just didn't sound like it today! The fact that I was also trying to use our "backup procedure" since the main computers are down didn't help any...but I think I still sounded professional and I will definately improve when I'm back in the rythym! It was strange having a shift in the morning, because I usually have evening shows. Also, I miss having Joy around (my co-host from last year), because our Morning Show was hilarious and we had a lot of fun. Now I have to have fun by myself again! It's not the same...but I'm working on it!

Career Objectives/Updates/Placement and Planning: I'm working on guidelines for a presentation in capstone class next week that discusses my career goals, both long and short term. I feel lost in a big city...I would prefer to work in a suburb. Location? I'm leaning towards radio, although I have to do some research to see what ADI (or DMA if I look into TV) I want to break into after school, or which I'd like to reach during my career. Once I know that it will also help to determine an area where I would be living. Like Dr. B's "Checklist for Success" says, my suitcase is packed!


What's happening in media this week: On this site I found a story about a certain TV anchor's coverage of the Republican National Convention. Basically, the article says this anchor is boring and seems to lack focus...and he shouldn't be! He has plenty of experience and should be able to provide interesting anecdotes and commentary for the viewers. This relates to me because I will be hosting the 5-minute interview segment of The County Line this year. Above all, I want to sound confident and interesting!