Kurt Siegelin
March’s Adjunct of the Month Department of Communication What advice would you offer to students interested in Broadcast Journalism? Write a lot, become a very good videographer and editor, and watch a lot of broadcast or digital news. From watching, you’ll start to pick up on industry standards and realize what will be expected of you. Here’s another one – don’t wait for class assignments to do the work. If you’re passionate about it, storytelling and editing should already be “hobbies” that you’re doing outside of school time. Lastly, internships. They afford tremendous networking opportunities. It’s been a disappointing year in that regard as a lot of companies ditched internships altogether because of COVID, but you really do need to immerse yourself in a culture of where you’d potentially want to work: 1) To see how you fit in: Do you like it or not? 2) For the people you will meet - these people will write letters of recommendation for you and/or make a difference in whether you get a job or not. So, when you get that internship, make an impact. Meet people. Get to know them all and (hopefully) make a good impression on them all. You just never know which relationship is going to pay off for you later. I don’t say that to be calculating. You should want to be doing this. At its core, broadcasting is about connecting and communicating with others, right? So, this should be a given. Share one of your most memorable stories that you covered? Being a journalist provides for many unique opportunities. No two days are the same and you will be allowed access to places the general public will not. So, understanding that, there’s no question what’s number one for me. A few years ago, the Air Force Thunderbirds were flying at the Atlantic City Airshow. The NJ Air National Guard wanted to publicize their visit so they were giving media people backseat rides in an F-16. How to describe that! I got to experience the life of an Air Force fighter jet pilot for a couple days: the training, the briefings and a flight. We went up with another plane, practiced dogfighting, pulled 8Gs and “strafed” the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. Just incredible! I’ve always been a huge fan of military aviation so I just don’t know how that experience will ever be topped. On News 12 NJ, you cover a segment, 3 Things to Know. In your opinion, what are 3 things that Broadcast Journalism students should know? Three things every broadcast journalist should know include the following:
1. Become the best videographer and editor you can be. The days of having some other person handle those jobs are gone. Your entry level job will most likely be as a multi-media journalist, meaning it’s all on you. Those technical skills will elevate your storytelling. 2. Broadcast journalism is a learned skill so reps are very important. It’s like training to be a good golfer. You have to
practice. So, practice! Go write and shoot stories on your own. Do not wait for it to be assigned in a class. You should be doing stories daily/weekly on your own. Write stories about friends and neighbors. Cover events in your town - just for practice. You’ll develop good work habits and you’ll be surprised how much of a better storyteller you become.
3. If you want to be an on-air broadcaster, be ready to move. This is a tough reality. You live in the number one media market in the country. Reporters and anchors all over the country want to move here. It’s very hard to find entrylevel on-air work in the tri-state area. Those jobs are going to go to people with many years of experience. So, you have to go get that experience, which means you might need to move to Rochester, MN or Beaumont, TX. After you get those small market reps, you can start to think about getting back here. That’s a hard reality given family considerations. If you want to write or be a producer behind the scenes, you can absolutely start in this area. It’s a difficult challenge, however, if you want to be in front of the camera. There’s a sense of adventure in it, though. I grew up in Las Vegas. I’ve lived in Reno, Spokane, Detroit and of course, New Jersey. As a west coaster, living and working in NJ for 25 years, I couldn’t possibly have imagined it way back when. In class, I point to students and say, “You could be a main anchor in Phoenix one day” or ‘You could be a sports reporter in Houston.” You have to be open to those possibilities. SPOTLIGHT WINTER 2021 13
