Recap Of My BDJ Graduate Career So Far…
Well, I’ve made it to the end of the fall semester. I knew I would make it this far, but I really didn’t make it on my own. It’s now been six months since I’ve started in the Broadcast and Digital Journalism program at the Newhouse School for my graduate career, and I’m still shocked. I came from Atlanta, Georgia, graduating with my high school diploma from a class of 55. I left home and achieved my Bachelor’s degree from Jackson State University, and with a dream, I got accepted into Syracuse University.
Five months ago, I started what SU calls “Summer Bootcamp.” This is six weeks of hell compared to what recent graduates had told me. “Days of tears, no sleep, no eating. Over and over.” I laughed it off then, but once I started, I definitely understood why.
We had to create daily live radio newscasts and had day-of turnarounds. We were assigned our positions every day (producer, anchor, day-of reporter, assignment reporter, and so on and so forth) and had two shows each day. We had to quickly familiarize ourselves with the city of Syracuse and surrounding cities for localized A-block and B-block stories. Doing this every day without missing a deadline was hard, but somehow we made it.
I learned to always come prepared and also come with backups. Do your research as early as you can and really know what your angle is. If you have a good story, think of three or more ways to tell the story in the same compelling way; if one source falls through for a specific course, you can still keep the story and just move on. For this, you must also be very creative in your thinking. Think outside of the box and think of what the viewer doesn’t know.
From doing stories every day to now doing television production was a struggle at first. We had to learn the Canon 300 cameras and Satchler tripod setup, master them in less than 5 minutes and start shooting almost like a “pro” within the first two weeks. To be efficient in learning the setup, just take notes as much as you can when going through the training and ask as many questions as possible. Play around with the settings and really get to know the camera. It’s like your baby. It’s what creates the magic, so if something goes wrong it’s not on the camera, it’s on you for not knowing what went wrong.
We create a one-minute and 30-second package once a week (what you see on the news when the reporter is telling a story) and a live lab exercise (when someone reports live on the news) each week as well. We get treated like reporters because that’s what we are. We have multiple deadlines and we don’t dare miss one. Missing a deadline at Newhouse results in an F, but missing one in the real world could result in you being fired, so we just don’t miss them at all. We have to create story pitches for a deadline with contacts already confirmed and a strong pitch as well. We still have to attend morning meetings and only have one day to film, edit and produce the story. We have a deadline of 11:59 each Friday for the package, two tweets out “in the field” (optional), a live stream or video component on social media, and a Saturday 8:00 a.m. deadline for our web post story with a different angle and audio component, the YouTube link attached.
I have gone through just this process for one class alone, took 10 other credits, and also worked 15 hours a week as an instructional assistant.
If there’s anything I took away from this semester, it’s that if I can work, I can always work harder. I can always make time to push a little bit more on what I need to in regards to my work and even just effort towards my projects in class. Also, if you really don’t know or are confused, just ask your professor questions and converse during office hours. They love that.
All in all, push hard until the end. You can work now and play later. I’ve been working since July and now I’m coming into December for a well deserved break back home with my family and hometown friends.
