I Think He Really Does Know Everything!

I have to admit this is one of my favorite entries, yet! The one upcoming Westminster Broadcasting Major who I know and admire is Andrew Borts. I have been in many classes and practicums with Andy because although he is a year younger than I am because I came into the major late so I was with first year students during my first year as a Broadcast major. Long Story..I know! Anyway the first time we met we were in a high school football remote. He came walking down bragging about how he worked at a big radio station, and in high school he did a lot of work with cameras and other related equipment. I am not going to lie I was pretty intimidated! He is pretty big into radio, and although he does a little bit of television, its obvious radio is his passion.
Andy is not only great at what he does; he’s a great friend too! Although he intimidated me at first, last fall we had a shift together anchoring the news and he showed me the ropes. I had never been on the radio before and I know it didn’t sound very pretty at first, but Andy never once made me feel like I was terrible even if I was. Whether you need help writing, editing, shooting, or just have a question in general Andy is always eager to help! He has such a bright future ahead of him! He is someone who I look up to, and am not afraid to admit it.
One of my other fondest memories was when Andy spent 2 hours helping me fix an audio problem that I had tried fixing on one of my packages. I tried day after day, hour after hour, and could not figure out the problem. Instead of letting me take a zero Andy helped me until the problem was resolved! When he makes it big in radio one day, or even maybe television I know that he will do a fantastic job! He knows so much, yet doesn’t let it swell his head! When in comes time for him to apply for jobs, any station would be crazy not to hire him!

Sports 101!

I know that I didn’t have to choose a Broadcast Major for this prompt, but I had to. The Westminster graduate that I know and admire is DJ Yokely. DJ was a transfer student who was a broadcast communications major. He was the host of our "Coach’s Corner Segment" in which he would interview the Head Football Coach at Westminster and a player. I really admire him for doing that show. I know what it is like to host sports show, but mine deals with every sport, and gives me the opportunity to do feature packages. His show focused on football. He had to do tons of highlights, play-by-play, and set up an interview segment for both the coach and player. He did an exceptional job!

DJ was also in my sports broadcasting class that was taught by Bob Hannon! DJ was an intern for the same station and before the merger was working there part-time. One of the greatest memories I have is when DJ and I were teamed up for a feature package for our class. He wanted me to do a stand up and pitch the story as if I was hosting sports show live. It was the first time I was ever in front of the camera in college and let me tell you I was so NERVOUS! He guided me along, and made sure that I was comfortable and that was something that I always remember when I step in front of the camera. Funny story is that he is back at the station doing some "VJ"work! No matter where I go, or what I do, I will always remember that first opportunity he gave me to stand up in front of the camera! I have loved it ever since! He could have done that stand up or pitched that story himself since he had so much experience, but he gave me that chance! I am forever thankful!

Student By Day, VJ & Anchor By Night!

Well I know that you would never guess in a million years what my capstone presentation would be about, right? Actually, I bet you would guess it…. Sports! My presentation is on Monday November 10th, 2008 at 7 PM. I debated on where I should do my presentation, but I found the perfect spot. I am going to present in the field house conference room.

Have you ever wondered if sports anchors shoot their own packages? As the anchor for our cable show Titan-Town Sports I can answer that question for you, I do! Its called being a video journalist or "VJ." Stations can hire fewer people to do more work and save money in the long run. I know that I have talked about this in previous blogs because the station that I interned at was doing this. I know that it was a lot of hard work, but everyone there seemed to get everything accomplished and didn’t have to worry about it being a crazy news room because of all of the people. I am going to show examples of how I went out every other week and not only shot my video for my packages, but I put them together and anchored them as well. The packages range from 1:30 to 2 minutes. If you aren’t a football fan no need to worry as I have worked very hard to do a variety of feature stories. Focusing on other sports such as high school soccer and the Special Olympics. No matter what your interest is, everyone can relate. I have taken all of these packages, as well as the episodes that I anchored Titan-Town Sports to my mentor Bill Castrovince for feedback. Bill is from WYTV33 the station that I interned at, and is a great story teller and video journalist. His input helped me to work hard to improve everyday not only on my editing and shooting skills, but my anchoring delivery, too!

I Bet You Will NEVER Guess Who I Chose?

Many of you may not know who the great and legendary John McEnroe is. If you don't I must say that I am disappointed but will get you up to speed. McEnroe was one of the most accomplished players in the history of tennis. For four consecutive years he was the world's No. 1 player. He also reached the No. 1 ranking in doubles. Total he captured 77 singles titles, including four US Open titles and three Wimbledon championships. McEnroe also won five times playing doubles at Wimbledon and four times at the US Open. He also won the mixed doubles title at the 1977 French Open with CBS analyst Mary Carillo. http://www.usanetwork.com/sports/usopen/theshow/characterprofiles/mcenroe/index.html
These are just his major accomplishments as an athlete. McEnroe is also lead tennis analyst for USA Sports. In case you did not know this, USA Sports covers the US Open.

I would do anything to meet McEnroe. He has accomplished so much in his life so far. He has not only played tennis for a long period of time he has also excelled in my dream job....a tennis analyst. Tennis has been a major part of my life. It is the sport that I know the most about and the sport that I have the most passion for. I admire him in so many ways. One that seems to stand out to me is that he was accussed of steroid use. Wheather he did or did not use steroids is irrelevent. http://www.cnn.com/2004/SPORT/01/11/mcenroe.steroids.ap/ I admire him for not letting it affect his love for the sport. He could have just walked away or disappeared but he didn't. He has went from being a fantastic player to an even better analyst. He has proved this by being nominated twice for a Sports Emmy Award as "Outstanding Analyst" from USA, CBS, and NBC, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July 1999. I know that I will never make it to play at the US Open or Wimbledon, but as long as i enjoy playing and can teach it to others I am the happiest person alive. No matter where this journey after college will take me one thing is for sure I will always have tennis in my life.

Yoga Stretches in a Voice Class?

There are a lot of faculty members at Westminster that have had some impact in my life in one way or another, but there is one who stands out. When the spring semester came around during my sophomore year I couldn’t believe I had to take a class taught by a theater professor. All I kept thinking was that I was going to have to get up in front of people and act, dance around, or pretty much just make a fool out of myself. Scott Mackenzie’s Voice and Diction class turned out to be one of the best classes that I have taken at Westminster. I mean I will admit that when he had us do stretches, or yoga type warm up’s, I was a little skeptical on how that would help me dictate better and help me to be a better broadcaster, but it did.

Dr. Mackenzie was not what I expected at all. He wasn’t out to embarrass people or make them feel uncomfortable. Instead, he wanted to help shape us to be great speakers, and for our “accents” to not hold us back from getting a job. We did have to do some odd warm-up’s like rubbing eachother’s backs, stretching our legs, or putting our hands on our partner’s diaphragm, let me tell you what this stuff helped. These exercises helped to open up and expand our diaphragm, and helped us to regulate our breathing. Breathing is very important to how we speak. Dr. Mackenzie made it a point that everyone, no matter what their speaking experience was, learn and demonstrate the importance of breathing and articulation.

Everything that I learned from him in his class will only help make me a better broadcaster. I mean some of my family members make it a point to tell me how much I articulate the ending’s on my words. I actually think they get annoyed by it, but its habit for me, and a good one if I must say. This is a class that I hope they never get rid of at Westminster, and I hope Dr. Mackenzie will continue to teach it for a long time. He knows so much, and is really concerned with what his students learn and how they retain that information. These are the kind of classes and professors that should be at every learning institution.

A Role Model.....A "Valley" Legend!

I know I say this from time to time, but this blog entry was quite easy for me. I knew exactly who the person was that influenced, helped, and shaped me the most professionally during my years at college. My internship was such a great experience. I can’t think of a better influence than Bob Hannon.
Being a women isn’t easy in the broadcasting field, let alone being a women in sports broadcasting. I thought to myself that if this is seriously what I want to do, I need to know the in and outs of sports. So an idea popped into my head….why not take a class. Bob Hannon was teaching a course about sports broadcasting during the fall semester. I learned so much from him. He taught be not only everything I needed to know about sports, but he taught be that even if I am a girl I can be just as knowledgeable and professional than any male sports guy. I even proved it, because I know for a fact that I had one of the highest grades, if not the highest in the class. He helped to make me feel comfortable and confident going in to sports broadcasting.
During class Bob had mentioned that in the spring they would be looking for interns. I guess you could say I was just a tad bit eager, because I sent him an e-mail right after class. That is how I landed my internship at WKBN/ WYTV. While going to my internship, Bob was a great role model. He was always on time, professional, and a prominent figure in the “Valley.” No matter whom he saw in public, whether he knew them or not he always greeted them with a smile and hello. To the people of Ohio, and even sports fans in Pennsylvania, Bob was the guy to inform you about sports. He taught me so much in such a short amount of time. All things I am going to take with me when I leave Westminster. I want to be like him, but a girl of course, but not exactly like him. Although, he was great at what he did, one thing he taught me was to find my style and stick with it…and that’s just what I am going to do! I’m sad that Bob is no longer in the Sports broadcasting field because he was an excellent person to learn from. I’m even sadder because future broadcasters will not have the opportunity to learn from him. I will never forget everything he has taught me and when I make it big one day, hopefully in ESPN, I can thank him for everything he helped me accomplish!

One of my best professional experiences....my internship!

I know that my main focus last semester was informing you all about my internship at WYTV 33/ WKBN 27. So why would you think that my first entry would be any different? The reason I am writing about my internship right now is because it truly was on of the best professional experiences that I have ever had that helped shape me.

My internship at the station taught me the importance of being on time (or even early), how to dress, shoot video, edit, and overall just how to be a professional while being out in the field. I'm not going to lie, most of the time I am an early bird and am always on time, but there are the occasional times when I was a few minutes behind. While interning at the station I learned the importance of being early because in news or even sports there is always things that can happen and throw everything off. PLUS it really impresses your employer when you are on time!

Being out in the public it's really important to dress your best and look professional! Being a college student, I'm sure most of us are used to wearing jeans and sweats, but this is not the job field for those articles of clothing. Being a broadcast major at Westminster we are give plenty of opportunities to shoot video and edit our packages. The only thing that made it more different when I would do those things at the station was that I felt pressured to complete everything in a timely manner and do the best that I could do because these were actual sportscasters who were going to critique my work!

All of these things are going to help me with hosting Titan Town Sports this year! My capstone project is to make a montage of all of my packages that I do (Bi-weekly) for Titan Town Sports! Since I want to be a sportscaster all of these things are only going to help me even more! Not only am I going to look and sound more professional, but I'm going to gain hands on experience which is a great pay off!