NPR features broadcast stories on KWBU from Iazzetti’s class

Professors seek out opportunities for students to gain real-world experience.

By Sharon Gripp

Iazzetti said. They are education, government/politics, healthcare, culture and the arts, and business and the economy. Iazzetti said students were given those five pillars and pitched stories based on that framework.

“Part of the class content is to pitch stories and come up with story ideas,” she said. Each student is doing two stories over the course of the semester.

Iazzetti approached Brodie Bashaw, the station manager and Joe Riley, president and CEO of KWBU, about her students producing audio stories and was there a possibility of them being aired on KWBU.

Seeing your byline in print, having your broadcast story aired or hearing your audio story/podcast for the first time is a feeling most of us have never forgotten. Faculty understand this and look for opportunities that not only give students a boost of confidence, but also give them published content to put in their portfolios.

Students in the Broadcast Reporting & Writing class had the opportunity during the spring semester to have their stories broadcast on KWBU, the local NPR affiliate.

“I was over the moon about the idea,” Bashaw said. For the most part, the stories have fit with what KWBU is looking for, she said. “Most are about a minute and a half with entry level reporting. They are airing during ‘Morning Edition’ or ‘All Things Considered,’ ” Bashaw said. The stories also get posted on the website.

Media Programming Class Creates PR plans for NHRA Drivers

Baylor and KWBU have had a long-standing relationship. KWBU is not a college station, they are a community station, but Baylor supports KWBU by providing them with office space and business services.

Professor Matthew Brammer’s Media Programming class had the unique opportunity to develop and present public relations’ plans for National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drivers. Students were divided into four groups and each group met with their driver to discuss their public relations’ needs.

“Sydney Shaw is completely new to the drag racing world and has zero sponsors,” said Rachel Harsley, a student in the class. “My group’s goal was to put her on the map and jumpstart her media presence in order to gain sponsorship.” For other groups, their drivers were more established in the NHRA world and had different communications goals.

“It was a really cool real-world experience,” Harsley said. “Going from knowing nothing about drag racing or the NHRA to creating a comprehensive public relations plan that a client will actually use was so awesome. I truly felt like I was applying all my knowledge that the department had granted me in order to help create this project,” she said.

Instructor for the course, Professor Emily Iazzetti, knew her students were doing some excellent work, but she wanted their stories to be more than a class assignment. “I am an advocate for public radio, and I knew that our local station wanted to broadcast local content,” Iazzetti said.

KWBU has five pillars that they like to focus on,

KWBU has also had interns from the department, but this takes the relationship to a different level. “I think this is the first time we have worked with them on a bigger scale,” Iazzetti said. And students are reaping the rewards of this expanded relationship. “I think this helps them see the true effect it has,” Iazzetti said. “It is not just a project for class. They are really thinking about who the audience is, who actually needs this information. I think it helps make the importance of journalism more front of mind.”