Into the Final Stretch...

I cannot tell you how excited I am about this weekend! I'm going with a couple of my girls on the SGA sponsored trip to NYC!!! Now, it's not for any special interview like Liz Farry or Mister Pat Sandora, but we do get an NBC Studios Tour. I've got tons of plans, and I can't wait!

BC This Week: It's almost time for the Capstone Broadcast Festival (April 25!) , so I have been thinking about what I want to put together for my presentation. Unlike Miss Megan, I haven't a clue how I want to organize it yet, and she already has hers done! Geesh! Maybe I should get her to do mine too...hehe.

I had a really great DJ shift on Tuesday, some resume material. Radio news would have been totally awesome if Mangino (Lawrence County D.A.) would have called back, but he never did, grr. I really need an awesome newscast to update my resume! Morning show tomorrow should be fun.


Career Planning: I need to apply to some more places, I haven't really turned up much lately. I haven't heard back from anything I applied to yet either, which is kinda sad. I'm getting a little worried, it would be nice to have a job lined up! Or at least potentials. I sent an email to RC at WTAM to see what date would be best to meet with him, I'll just miss a day of classes to drive home and meet with him. Hey, it could help land me a job!

Also, I really want to go to this job fair next Wednesday, but I feel bad missing class. I think I will go anyway. Anyone else planning on going?

In the 'biz: This week I found an article abut American Idol adding an Instant Messaging service to target their viewers. It's called The American Idol Experience Messenger. Oy vae.

And Then It Was Spring.

Yay Spring! Although I enjoy fall temperatures much more, and April is usually dreary, gray, and rainy, especially at "Wet-minster", spring is warmer than winter, so YAY! This just wasn't a nice winter. It was either too cold or too icy to go sled riding any time I was free, so I just wanted winter to be over. And I haven't worn a coat in over a week!

Enough of that. I left a message for RC at WTAM, hopefully we touch base and I can head in there to talk over my newscasts and such.

Other than that, the job search/paper writing/relaxing breaktime is being put on hold, because my mom decided we're making the trek to Bethlehem, PA to visit my aunt and gramma for Easter, since we haven't seen them in a few years.

I also need to remember to submit my "senior speech" effort! *note to self* Like it or not - Graduation, here we come.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

or, The Week I was Packed For Spring Break.

That's right girls and boys. I've been mentally packed for Spring Break since about Sunday, and now I'm just about completely physically packed as well. But I always have this nagging feeling that I'm forgetting something....

This Week In BC: Radio news was decent as always, we got some good sound. My DJ shifts went well, and Brian and Laura in the Morning had an All-Irish St. Patricks Day and it rocked! We had a lot of fun and I think I got some more good material for my resume tapes.

Career Stuffs: Speaking of resume tapes, RC from WTAM wants me to stop by sometime with newer material to go over my newscasts. He says I have potential! W00+! So I emailed him back that I am doing basically nothing over spring break, so maybe I can stop by and play some raw 'casts off my aircheck tape. Unfortunately I don't have any decent wraps or lives so far this semester. Anyone got any ideas for me? LOL.

In the 'Biz: This article talks about how Viacom might split into two businesses. CBS and Infinity Radio would be one company, while the MTV Networks would be the other. Viacom already split from Blockbuster, last fall. Interesting...

Laura's take on tapes.

Resume tapes, that is.

My approach? Simple. It starts with airchecks. Aircheck all of your on-air material.

To create radio resume tapes: I start by going through my aircheck material. Everything I like, I save onto a minidisc. Then I can go through the minidisc, which takes less time than the aircheck tapes, and pick out my best breaks. I like to keep updating my tape with new material as well. Tandi pointed out that it shows Program Director's that you keep up with current events and it is a push in the right direction! Then, using SAW, I put my material together and burn it to CD.

Basically the same goes for radio news. My November resume tape has a live, a wrap, and a newscast that are all related, which was nice. However, it's time to update, and I'm really not sure what I'm going to put on it.

I haven't really put any tapes together for TV, since I'm not sure I'm interested in that area, but I do have VHS's with old County Lines and packages and video essays that I have done for the department, in case I ever need to show examples of my work.

The next step, of course, is to start sending out applications. So... off to continue the job search!

I'm a senior?

Well it's official - the job search is on. I haven't been sleeping much at night, so I've been too tired to do anything productive in the daytime - but that all changes today! Ok Well, at least I'm working on it. The being productive part.

This Week In BC: Radio shift on Tuesday was fun, pretty good too. News went well, and I even caused commotion in the show notes folder so that was amusing. Morning show this morning with Brian went pretty well, and I was so exhausted and busy I even voicetracked my shift - but its okay because that means I learned how to voicetrack! I didn't make it to TCL tonight, but I'm looking forward to our capstone meeting tomorrow. (Since I'm the president and all.)

Career planning: Well, I found about 10 jobs so far that are worth trying for and could be fun. So today I spent an hour and a half printing up my new resumes and starting some cover letters. I'm really glad I bought the book to help with some samples, and I'm lending it to Megan soon so she can give it a try. I've been going through my aircheck tape to get new material for my resume tape, and I found some pretty good stuff. Tomorrow I'm gonna work on putting it all together. Then I can start sending out the material and keep my fingers crossed! Also, note to self: do not use MD 1 in the production room because it tried to eat my minidisc. Tear.

The 'biz: There's a post on Lost Remote that says basically...if news stations don't update their websites during the day, why would they expect people to tune to them for news at night? It shows how the Internet is becoming an integral part of our lives.

Morning Show Goodness

This is me, workin the radio.





This is me with my co-host Brian. He's probly losing a bet. He does that a lot. Plus he's jealous because I win our karaoke contests.

Update

Senior Project:
For my senior project I will be re-doing my resume cd's from last semester. I want to get a lot of up-to-date material to replace my older breaks and newscasts, and make sure I present myself at the best of my abilities. I also want to put in place the tips I recieved from my off-campus contacts. Both suggested that I slow down a little on my news delivery, so I am working on that. Also, just a few "style" tips that I can easily incorporate since we changed the "Titan Radio News" format, following my professional's suggestions.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to send them out again to have them re-critiqued, but I would like to try, just so I know that the resume tapes I'll be sending out for job applications have the best chance possible of showing my skills. I'm shooting to have great material and everything put together by early April, and that will give me a little time to send out cd's to other contacts if I choose to.

I'm also working on my resume. I need to add my WBT Internship on, and I have literally NO lines left to fit it. So, part of my project will include messing around with my resume so I can fit all the stuff I want and all the stuff I need on there. I also might try messing around with the e-portfolio a bit, although I'm not sure people in our business really have time to look at those. It could be fun to see what I can do with it, thought. Kinda like an added bonus for those who take the time to pop the disk in. ^_^

BC This Week: I had a really good DJ show today, unfortunately my aircheck tape ran out in the middle of an awesome break *sad face*. I also think my newscast went well today, and we had some decent sound. We would have had some great stories if people ever stopped in to their offices! I swear no one is ever around, they are avoiding my reporters. Lol. I have my morning show coming up Thursday, and I learned how to voicetrack today, so that's good times. I also helped out on The County Line last week and planned on it this week as well. Unfortunately I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it since my boyfriend's father passed away and I'm gonna try to get out there to support him Thursday and Friday.

Career Search: I've been supporting my boyfriend while the family makes arrangements, and trying to get some classwork done (what happened to my easy last semester?) so the job search is on hold.

The 'biz: Remember Watergate? Deep Throat was a key figure in the unraveling of the scandal...it will be interesting to see what happens if he does indeed pass away. A lot of people still wonder who he is...

Week 1, Spring Semester

Welcome back to lovely New Wilmington, PA as we enter the final semester here at Westminster College. And I mean final. This is it. Oy vae....

What I did in BC This Week: Well, I already had 2 radio shifts and a *yawn* morning show, I think everything there is going smoothly. The problem so far has been setting the news schedule, since I have such a tight afternoon schedule of classes. And here I thought this semester would be easy and maybe even *gasp* relaxing. HAHAHA....


My career goals: I'm not too sure which area of broadcasting I want to focus on as I apply for jobs. So that makes it hard to narrow down what I'm looking for. But I'm still in contact with Bowers and I'm trying to explore some other areas and find something that I'd like to at least start out doing. Who knew life would be this hard? LOL.

This Week in the 'biz: I know I mentioned this before, but this summer on UPN there will be a show during which T-boz and Chilli (formerly TLC) will be looking for that new "L" to replace Lisa Lopes, who died in an accident in 2002. I think that whatever the turn out of this hip-hop American Idol, so to speak, TLC will not have the same sound or anything as they used to. Also, they havent really been able to put any albums out in these past few years, so it may not be the TLC we remember. OF course, the article says there's no guarantee the winner will get to be a permanent member of TLC...it's just a ploy for attention and album sales. Oh, I mean the winner gets to record and to go on tour with TLC.

Growing Up (and getting older)

Well I thought it was cool for me to manage 2 1/2-hour road trips down to Pittsburgh alone, or 4-hour drives to Niagara Falls (Canadian Side)....But I just completed my first 8-hour trip, alone, and without getting lost. *Pats herself on the back*

Well, I drove down yesterday, found the hotel, and met up with Marshall Adams and his girlfriend, a Reporter for WBTV, for dinner. Then, exhausted, I slept, and was not ready to wake up this morning to come to the station. However, I did. And as usual, I got here waaaaay early because I planned extra time in case I got lost, and I didn't! Yay!

So far today I have :

- impressed Marshall with my WC skills, lol
-Helped produce the weekend edition of WBT's Charlotte's Morning News by tracking down and booking guests
-begun to learn the Newsroom 4.0 Computer System
-cut up CBS National Feeds
- written two wraps (and been told they were good!)
- seen a bit of the city!

Later Today I Will:
Sit in on Mike's newscasts
sit in on Don's talk show
get lost trying to find something to eat for dinner? i havent even passed any fast food places yet...how odd...

It's only 4:30 and its been a heckabusy day!

I'll keep you updated...

Oh yes, and as for the growing older...in 10 days I'll be 22! Yikes!

The real Last Week...

Well it seems no one but myself and Mr. Weaver appreciated the aesthetic value of my last posts. I shall live. However, it seems my truck shall not. I waited two hours for a tow truck today to come and haul it away to Phil Fitts Ford. Phil Fitts, by the way, is a WC alumni. I met him about 4 yrs ago when our transmission blew on Hwy 60 on our way to visit this school. Nice guy.

What I did In BC This Week: In essence, nothing and yet everything. No radio shift or radio news or TCL since it is Finals week, and Titan Radio is playing continuous Christmas music 24 hours a day. However I'm still settling my internship, and the fact that my truck may not survive finals week puts a serious hitch in my driving 8 hours to Charlotte NC plan. Eh, things will work out. I've also been thinking about my resume tapes for next semester and what I'd like to have on them.

Career planning: see above, mostly focusing on my upcoming internship.

Article: With all this talk about blogs in our capstone class, i found an article here about a high school student who shot himself in front of his school in the middle of a schoolday...and the media is asking if his blog is fair game for the public. His parents took it down shortly after the incident, but a newspaper used some information (but not personal details) from the blog in an article. The web is public domain...so what happens when lines blur?

Good Luck to Amy and Julie, our overachieving December grads. Keep in touch, let us know how the job search goes!

BC Bonding

I couldn't make it, but I saved some of the awesome BC Bonding pics that Julie posted from last week. Here is a group one!

Last Week!

Hello everyone out there in blogger-land!

Tonight was the last County Line of 2004! Unfortunately I missed out on the broadcast bonding afterwards.. .*sad face*

What I did in BC this week/Career Planning: As is the theme this week, I had my last radio shift, news shift, and county line of 2004! It's happy but sad. "On the Road" with Ian and Aidan was really cute tonight! They did an OTR/TCL version of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Meanwhile, I heard back from both my contacts about my senior project (resume tapes)! I'm pretty excited, their feedback was mostly positive. I'll try to post some more about it later. Right now I'm finishing up some classwork and getting ready to head home for Christmas break. Also, turns out the dates we were planning on at my internship might not be the best time in the WBT newsroom, so we're working on finding better dates.

What's happenin' in the 'biz: An article here talks about shows that may not be continued for the rest of the season because of low ratings. One is called "Life as we know it" and is reminiscent of "My So-Called Life" (which I personally used to love!). It's the least-watched show on ABC this season! "The network has ordered four additional scripts, and the show will get one final push in January. If the audience levels don't rise, it will be gone as fast as you can say "February sweeps." according to the article. I just thought it was interesting to point out how one show can excel while a sort of "knock off" can just flop. It's kind of the opposite of the way all the reality shows have taken off for the networks.

And now I leave you with... pictures of me on the radio!





18 days to go...

Maybe less, I haven't actually counted for myself yet. *edit* 15 days, for me. I only have one final, and it's Thursday December 16. Yay! *end edit*

Anyway, as you can tell, Christmas break is drawing near. Time always flies after Thanksgiving break. I'm ready to be done with this semester, but its a little scary because it means that I only have one semester left before I'm "on my own" in the "real world."

What I Did in BC This Week/Career Planning: Well Dr. B cancelled my radio shifts because he needs that time to teach the audio production class Master Control. But it's okay, because I'm going to fill in for Tandi and co-host the morning show with Sebastian on Friday, which I'm looking forward to a lot, even though it means I'd have to wake up early, yuck. hehe.
Also, I emailed my "off campus contacts" to find out if they listened to my tapes yet, so I could get them back and finish off my capstone project with the little write-up I have to do. Kayleigh at the radio station said she was going to pass mine on to the program director! (she's the music director and a midday personality). Both contacts said they would get my critiques in the mail by the end of the week, so I'm anxious to read what they had to say!

In the news: "A mostly dry-eyed Tom Brokaw signed off from the NBC Nightly News for the final time on Wednesday night" the article I found here says. After 22 years, he's leaving the show and Brian Williams is taking over. Some of his competitors even had something to say about Brokaw. Peter Jennings said ""Friends we are, but compete we do. And we love the competition" and Dan Rather, who is also stepping down in a few months, also offered a salute to Brokaw's work in the business. The world of evening news is changing, my friends!

Winding down...

Yup that's the truth, the semester is finally winding down. I never did understand why all professors assign big projects that are all due around the same time immediately before or after Thanksgiving break, but oh well. I'm just about finished with all of them, so I'm doin' just fine.

What I did in BC this week: The aircheck is back! It hasn't been working for most of the semester, but now it's fixed and I can continue airchecking my news and dj shifts! Unfortunately I kept forgetting my tape this week. All the usual stuff went well, though. I was especially hyper during my radio shift Tuesday, and our newscast Wed went great; good stories, good flow, good sound!

Career Planning: I talked to Marshall Adams yesterday about my internship. I'm really looking forward to it, it sounds like I'm gonna do a lot of fun stuff. Since I don't live in the area, I'm free to spend all day in the newsroom. I'm gonna sit it on some newscasts and talk shows, go out with the reporters, and get to know a lot of the staff and stuff. I have to work out the details still...I've been focusing so much on my schoolwork that I need to take a day to settle the exact dates that I'm going and where I'm going to stay and such.

What's happenin' in the biz: Ugh, has reality tv gone too far? I was glancing through tvweek.com and saw an article about UPN. They're planning a reality-based show to pick a female singer and merge her into TLC . Surviving members T-boz and Chili are planning on making a new record, and this show would add their winner to the group for the new record. This is interesting on a number of levels... it sort of takes "American Idol" from Fox and raises the stakes ...also... what will TLC sound like with someone new? A lot of TLC fans may not like this change. I also wonder if they'll change their name (which I doubt) because the "L" is for Lisa "left-eye" Lopez, who passed away a few years ago. In any case, I'm not a big fan of this idea.

Progress Report

So this week our blogs are focusing on an update of our senior project. Well I'm happy to say that I am DONE! Well, for now at least. LOL.

I finished creating, editing, and burning to disc both my DJ resume tape and radio news resume tape. Yesterday I mailed them both to my previously identified "off-campus professionals." I included a cover letter and resume for good measure (and possible critiquing). Now I wait for them to critique the tapes and send back their suggestions! I think I did a really good job with my stuff and I am anxious to hear what my contacts in the business think.

As for registering for my last semester EVER.... YAY! Who could be sad about that? Lord knows I can't afford one more year here. I do enjoy the atmosphere though. If I could get hired by the college to hang out and continuing doing all the things I do with the TV and radio station and live in the "dorm" environment...yeah, it would be doable. For awhile at least. But at the same time, there are a lot of things here that I, like everyone else, have grown tired of and am ready to move on from.

I'm not worried about the future or anything like that. Right now I'm just taking things one step at a time, to make sure I do everything I want to do here and get through it all unscathed. To say that I'm not looking to the future would be a stretch, because I am working on my January internship and heading into final semester and narrowing down the job search and all...but we'll just say it's not weighing on my mind right now.

Everyone have a good weekend! Good luck to Pat in the musical, and come see the football game at home this Saturday at 1, because it's senior recognition and the last game of our college careers! Julie will be with the cheerleaders at pre-game, and Amy and I are at halftime with the marching band. Yay!

Election week

This was a very busy week for everyone everywhere, I'm sure. Especially for those in the news - and those of us working on the news here at WC were no different (except we didnt have to stay up and live until 3 am or so waiting for results. hehe.)

What I did this week in BC: Like I said, busy week. On Election Day I went to nearby Hermitage to do a live report on the iniative on the ballot that would consolidate 5 municipalities in the Shenango Valley. As expected, it failed. However, the live went pretty well. I also had my usual radio shifts - and some really funny material this week! And radio news went over just fine.

Career planning: Well, it's mostly official now that I'm going to spend a week in North Carolina as an intern at WBT- AM. I'm kinda nervous! But I'm sure things will go great. Also, I'm putting together my resume tapes and things are going pretty well there. I need to go buy some cds though, so I can burn them from minidisc to CD to get them sent out.

This week in the 'biz: This week's big story was of course, continuing coverage of the election. Part of this was speculation in part due to exit polls, which were showing Sen. Kerry ahead of President Bush. Most networks avoided announcing results until facts were checked and double checked, especially because of the mess last election, and obviously the exit polls turned out to be pretty wrong. Now, exit polls are not concrete evidence, but its interesting to see how they were misleading. This article talks about exit polls and people in the business's reactions to the way things happened Tuesday night.

Fall Break!

And we arrive once more at the illustrious fall break....and a much needed one, at that. Tomorrow afternoon we at Westminster head off for a 2-day (plus weekend) break. Pending rain, mine will be spent by first scaring folks at Hudson Haunted House, and then heading up to Niagara Falls (the Canada side)! It hasn't been much of a week so far (you'll notice it's only Tuesday, not my usual "Friday" post, thanks again to Fall Break) but let's see what we have in store for you today.

What I Did In BC This Week: I had my radio shift today, it went pretty well. I'm really concentrating o n doing a good job so I can have material for a resume tape, but at the same time, I want to have fun. If I think too much about it, my words get all jumbled up and you end up hearing what's inside my head! Scary! Anyway, I also have my radio news shift tomorrow. Once again, I'm hoping for a good newscast. Things can only go up after last week's last-minute fiasco!

Career Planning: I gave my presentation in capstone this week about my internship and why internships are good and all that jazz. It went okay, but I kinda wish I had done it last week because I kinda forgot most of the stuff that I wanted to say. I was supposed to present last week but we ran out of time. We talked about resume/audition tapes, and we watched a few examples of television tapes....bad examples! Don't even ask, the one was so bad that I never want to think about it ever again. So wrong. Anyway, I really need to get into gear and create my tapes so I can get them sent out on time. I know what I want to put on my "news" tape, it's just a matter of getting the one live (election day) and editing down the bytes in one of my wraps. This will be a good tape for this semester...but I need to brainstorm ideas for another tape (later) that will be good for job applications, and stay timely and topical. As for my announcer tape, I'm still working through my air checks to find things I like that showcase my skills and would catch someone's attention.

What's Happening in the 'biz: ABC turns Lifetime? Well maybe it's not quite that extreme...but the network has been airing a lot of shows hoping to attract more women viewers (with shows like "Desperate Housewives" and "Wife Swap"). They're trying to pull themselves up in prime-time ratings..and so far, succeeding. That article at this site talks about the different shows that ABC is promoting this season and how their success so far has been a welcome change.

Homecoming Weekend!

Well I have to start off by apologizing for my late post this week. I've been feeling really sick again lately, and I haven't slept, oh, about all week. Ya know, nose, head, throat, cough, all the good stuff. I finally got some sleep today - almost all of today. So, at least I feel better now, right? I have a busy weekend ahead of me, and a pretty busy week behind me as well.
In other news - It's Homecoming Weekend! Sarah Bowers came by to watch The County Line last night, and Joy is supposed to come up tonight for the weekend. Yay for alumni. Homecoming also means the parade and game tomorrow - I'm Field Commander for Titan Marching Band, so it's going to be a busy day. Unfortunately, it looks like it might be a yucky cold rainy busy day.

What I did in BC This Week: Probly about the most fun thing so far...I went out with Liz this past weekend to film the Fall Festival at the Apple Castle. Liz had to most of the filming, since she needs raw video footage for video production class. But I helped point out shots that would be fun, and the folks we interviewed were great. It was a really enjoyable atmosphere, and I was SO excited that people knew what we were doing? The first guy we bumped into was like "Oh, are you guys with Cable 9?" I was like, yeah, totally! No one's ever known what I was doing before, wandering around with a camera and Sarah Bowers by my side! Plus, when Liz had me reach up like I was going to pick an apple, three other apples fell on my head. *makes mock-angry face*
I also had my DJ shift - Tandi gave us back our aircheck tapes and some notes. Mine were mostly good, and I tried to work on the other stuff that she pointed out, but nothing major. So that was good. My newscast on the other hand.... Just about the worst newscast ever. Don't get me wrong - we had great stories and pretty decent sound, with good story order/flow and all...but it took so long to get the last sound byte that I ended up running into the studio as ABC news was finishing. I forgot to stick the minidisc in the player, and Alaina had accidentally left my stories in reverse order when she was seperating them. I didn't realize it until the third story. Those are the times when I wish our station ran a little more like my internship - their stories and soundbytes are imbedded directly into a file on the computer and they just walk from the newsroom to the booth, and read off that computer! LOL. The important thing to remember from this situation is that I was strangely calm throughout the whole ordeal. Last year I would have been stressing out completely. So, that's growth!

Career Planning: I've been trying to understand not only what makes a great resume tape, but also just the basics of a tape (what to put on it, how long total tape should be, best first thing to hear, etc). We made an example tape in Broadcast Journalism, but I think there's more to it than what I ended up with there. For my capstone project I want to get mine sent out by mid-November...but I don't have anything to send yet. I have all my material from the past four years, yeah, but I don't really know what to do with it! So I've been talking to people in the business, and Mr. Weaver is sposed to address more details in capstone this week, because I guess some other people are at about the same place I am. I have to really get working on these tapes because the deadline for that is drawing near, especially with Fall break next week.

What's happenin' in the biz: Going along with what Sebastian was talking about a view weeks ago in one of his posts, the article I found here is about ESPN2 debuting it's new spanish-language production of SportsCenter. I found the headline on the Broadcast and Cable news site, but I didn't have an account to view the full story. The show will give latest scores and sports news and information, much in the same format as the English-language show. Lino Garcia is the general manager for ESPN Deportes. Garcia says this is a great chance for the rest of the world to check out the show and see what its about. Much as Sebastian hopes our country will someday do - there will be a focus on soccer and other sports that are not necessarily "mainstream."

In the swing of things

I'm finally motivating myself to get some of this work done. I've made a lot of phone calls and sent out a ton of emails lately. What can I say, I'm an organizer and a planner, lol. So I'm working on contacts in the business and generally making myself more knowledgeable about things. It's about time too - the semester is half over! It feels like it's been longer, and yet, where does the time go?

What I did in broadcasting this week: It feels like everything I did this week was broadcasting related. I've been doing some research for my "programming and promotion" class, because we're working on a group project where we have to create a tv show/radio program and do a mock "pitch" to a network. It's been fun, but it's hard to come at something from a new angle, a new take, and back it up with predicted ratings and all! The people who come up with some of these shows have to be super creative...an area where I sometimes lack skills.
I also had my radio shifts this week. Tandi still has my aircheck tape so I didn't get to aircheck myself, but that's ok. I'm pretty anxious to get some feedback about that side of my broadcasting goals. I did have some pretty funny things to talk about...and I also got a little more involved personality-wise, because I had some amusing blurbs that were more political in nature (but balanced - no cheap jabs at anyone on my show! except Joy!) so that was exciting.
The County Line is tonight. I've been serving as Floor Director, which is a pretty fun job for me. I have to communicate what's going on in the control room with the studio and anchors, and also make sure cameras are doing their jobs and anchors are doing okay, looking at the correct camera, etc. I just wish everything didn't happen on Thursdays here at Westminster! There are a thousand places I'd love to be, but they're all at about the same time. (TCL, Dance Theatre, Gospel Choir...and more).
My newscast on Digital 88.9 News yesterday was great. Shannon and I think it may have been our best newscast yet, and Alaina did a great job producing. I recorded it myself to save on minidisc after it aired, for potential use on my resume tape.

Career planning: I've been contacting a lot of people in the business as I start working harder on my Capstone project. It's a good way to network, but sometimes I feel like this little kid tugging on someone's shirttails, ya know? Well, ya gotta start somewhere. I got in touch with Joy to see about shadowing her over fall break, and I got sad news. She ended up leaving the radio biz because things weren't jiving with her ADD. She thinks she's gonna be a gym teacher now. I'm kinda sad now because I was hoping to get some more insight from her, since she graduated about a year ago now and she's been at that station ever since. But good luck with your new goals, kid!

What's a'happenin in the 'biz: I read an article from newslab.org that was titled "Could satellite be the new FM radio?" While I feel that the article was mis-titled because I thought it would be about one thing and it lead me in another direction, it was still worth reading. Howard Stern has signed a deal with Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. to get away from the FCC and such. Satellite radio is trying to get more listeners because they've never really profited, and Sirius thinks that Stern is their "ticket" to more subscribers. Personally, I never listened to Howard Stern, and I would never buy satellite radio just to listen to Stern and other shock jocks. I'll stick with the free and the FM, thanks!

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.