Recent graduate returns with some sage advice

Posted on March 29, 2016 by kellyat
Cameron Teague Robinson

Cameron Teague Robinson, ‘15, talks with students in the reporting class .

Former BG News editor Cameron Teague, who is now working at Coshocton Tribune as a sports reporter, spoke with journalism students in the reporting class about his life after graduation.

Teague,’15, shared stories of the good and bad of working for the small daily that is part of USA Today Network.  He talked about having to the write roughly nine stories in one day as part of the paper’s election coverage as well finding stories about student athletes that go beyond the game coverage story.

He took questions from the students who are enrolled in one of two sections of the reporting course taught by Kelly Taylor and Julie Hagenbuch. The visit from Teague took place on March 21 during the 10:30 a.m. class time.

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Opportunities in college with student and professional media launched the career of Emmy-award winning journalist

Posted on March 29, 2016 by kellyat

by Brody Sell
Reporting Student

Thanks to involvement in student media in college and the opportunity to work in the professional world simultaneously, 1998 alumnus and Emmy-award winning journalist Jeff Cook gained much success after graduation.

The moment Cook stepped foot on campus freshman year he joined several student activities. He got involved in musical theatre but developed a love for journalism after joining BG24 News.

“It’s a great organization and it’s a great way to learn about broadcasting,” Cook said. “I think it’s what makes BG one of the best schools for broadcast journalism in the country.”

Cook served BG24 News in many roles, trying everything from prompter to anchor. He even served one semester as the weathercaster.

Jeff Cook

Jeff Cook, 1998

Former BG24 News faculty adviser Jim Foust said at a time when the broadcast news organization was still new, it was this group of students that attributed to its success.

“He was among my first group of students,” Foust said. “Jeff was always an energetic person. He really always cared about journalism and about the news, and he’s always been aggressive in that way where he wants the organization to cover the news in the best possible way it can.”

During his freshman year Cook also began working at Channel 13, an ABC affiliate in Toledo, first as a floor director and live truck driver, then a producer during his sophomore year.

“I was kind of way ahead of my time,” Cook said. “A lot of the classes I took I was kind of already doing.”

Cook worked at WTVG-13 for the rest of his college career, simultaneously taking on the roles of a student and a professional journalist. He was there during the station’s format change to 13 ABC Action News.

“He was one of the people that was trying to bring the things Channel 13 was doing to our newscast,” Foust said.

Cook said he had to sacrifice many typical college experiences, but the professional experience he gained made it worthwhile.

After graduating, Cook continued at Channel 13 then jumped to multiple stages across Ohio. This included WLIO in Lima, NBC24 in Toledo, WTOL in Toledo, and WOIO in Cleveland. He eventually landed at WANE-TV in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he is today.

Cook won an Emmy Award for his work as a producer at WTOL and was nominated for an Emmy at WOIO. For Cook, this meant he achieved a lifelong goal.

Cook said it was his time in Cleveland where he gained one of the best experiences in his career.  Working in Cleveland showed him the fast-paced market that comes with living in a bigger city.

Moving to a smaller area like Fort Wayne with less competition meant having to adapt to a different audience and market.

Cook said learning to adjust his expectations to the people he works with at a station has been pivotal to his success in journalism.

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Photo alumnus is big league photographer

Posted on March 25, 2016 by kellyat

by Paul Duncan
Reporting Student

John Grieshop has taken pictures at some of the biggest sporting events in the world.

Working for well-known companies such as Sports Illustrated, Getty Images, Major League Baseball and baseball card company Upper Deck, Grieshop, ’90, has photographed events like the Olympics, the World Series, the NBA Finals and the NHL Finals.

John Grieshop

John Grieshop, ’90

Grieshop started his career by studying photojournalism under the late James “Jim” Gordon.

“John was always one of Jim’s favorite students,” Bob Bortel, director of student media, said. Bortel advised Grieshop during his days working with the BG News in the late 80s and early 90s. “He was very involved with us, had a good eye and was very responsible,” Bortel said.

After getting his photojournalism degree, Grieshop made the decision to move to New York City to work as a lighting and traveling assistant at Sports Illustrated. It was a difficult move for him he said because he “didn’t know a soul” in New York City, but the prestige of SI made it an easy decision. With Sports Illustrated he traveled to many events and learned from Walter Iooss and some of the best sports photographers in the world.

“The opportunity to learn from the best in the business it really allowed me to get where I am now,” Grieshop said.

When thinking back to his time at BGSU the one thing he truly misses is Myles’ pizza. He told a story about a time when he and his office mates at Sports Illustrated argued over which city or place had the best pizza. Grieshop told them that Myles had the best pizza he’s ever tasted, and to prove it to them he ordered Myles’ pizza all the way from New York City. The pizza was delivered in a Fedex truck and when it arrived he said he felt like “the hero of the office,” and his co-workers agreed that Myles’ Pizza really is the best.

After five years honing his skills and gaining experience, Grieshop moved on from Sports Illustrated.

Grieshop moved to his hometown in Dayton and took jobs traveling the Midwest taking pictures for the MLB, baseball card company Upper Deck and occasionally for Sports Illustrated.

Grieshop said he really enjoyed that period of his life because he loves to travel. “I enjoyed the work so much it didn’t feel like work,” Grieshop said.

His favorite time to shoot pictures for was spring training for baseball. He said he thoroughly enjoyed the greater access to the players and the “ability to take really creative pictures.”

Grieshop’s favorite shot was one he took at the 2015 Home Run Derby in Cincinnati. Reds player and fan favorite Todd Frazier was competing. Grieshop said he “timed his picture perfectly” with a remote-controlled camera placed between the pitcher’s mound and the batter’s box.

After more than 15 years travelling for work, Grieshop took a government job because it allowed him to spend time off the road and with family. “The skills I developed in a private sector transitioned well to the public sector,” he said.

He still takes pictures of big events for the MLB and Getty images but in a smaller more manageable role.

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Alumnus promoted to chief of public relations

Posted on March 25, 2016 by kellyat

By India Duke
Reporting Student

From a photojournalism major to the chief of marketing and communications officer, David Kielmeyer, 1988, discusses just how he transitioned to such an important role at the university.

Dave Kielmeyer

Dave Kielmeyer, ’88

“When I was a student I don’t think I ever imagined that I would be involved with the university 28 years later, in this role,” Kielmeyer said.

Kielmeyer, a Marion, Ohio, native, began his college career at the university in 1984. He worked at BG News as a photographer, and for one summer as the managing editor. He was also editor of the Key yearbook his senior year.

After graduating he worked as a photographer for the Sentinel Tribune for three years. Missing the writing portion of journalism, Kielmeyer returned to the university to earn his master’s degree in mass communications.

“A challenge for me was going to be convincing folks that a photographer could write,” Kielmeyer said.

Writing lead to jobs in public relations in Toledo and then back to the university.

The chief of marketing and communications officer is responsible for the advertising and marketing for the university. “The nice thing about my job and PR and marketing in general is that there’s a lot of variety,” Kielmeyer said. The position can range from speaking with the media on behalf of the university, discussing strategies for advertising or making decisions for the campus public television station, WBGU-TV.

Because BGSU is a large university allocation of resources always comes into play when communicating among the various constituent groups, and he said, “can always be a challenge.”

Kielmeyer and his team assist with retention efforts through communications and helping to attract new students to the university all while being cognizant of the impact their decisions will have on students.

Facing resource issues isn’t the only challenge Kielmeyer encounters. “We’re a fairly large organization so things come up and its trying to keep up with the day to day and still manage the occasional challenge or crises,” Kielmeyer said.

The public relations aspect of this position includes crisis communication. “A crisis can be anything from a weather cancellation to a student death,” Kielmeyer said. Then there are some day to day challenges that can be described as a crisis that simply require the need to communicate quickly and effectively.

Being a “lifetime Ohioan” and involved with the university for almost 30 years serves Kielmeyer well when handling situations and interacting with the public. “I understand the area, I understand the institution and I understand the people,” Kielmeyer said.

Robert Bortel, director of student media, said: “I think its an advantage. I like having a guy who came from our side of the fence working in that position because sometimes chief information officers and student media operations cannot see eye to eye and bump heads.”

Kielmeyer spoke highly of the people from the journalism department who helped him along the way including, Jim Gordon, Jim Bissland and Bortel.

Bortel served as Kielmeyer’s adviser while he worked on the yearbook. “He’s an easy person to work with, very responsible and a good sense of humor,” Bortel said. “He was always well liked because he was easy going, available and down to earth.”

Bonnie Blankinship, manager of internal communications, has worked with Kielmeyer for about eight years. Though he took on this new position, Blankinship said, “He’s still exactly the same.” She added that being the chief has given him an even broader perspective now that he is continually dealing with upper administration and needs to have more awareness of everything that happens on campus.

“His skill at evaluating things and using his judgement has maybe gotten deeper,” she said. She said even as the boss Kielmeyer continues to create a positive working environment for his staff.  “He’s always been great about not blaming us if we make a mistake,” she said.

Kielmeyer said, “I don’t think that’s where I envisioned myself being but its worked out very well and I enjoy it.”

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PR graduate stays involved with student media

Posted on March 23, 2016 by kellyat

by Molly Duraney
Reporting Student

We’ve all heard the age-old advice to get involved on campus, but 2000 graduate Sarah Bednarski-Hartigan is proof that campus involvement truly can lay the groundwork for future success and professional involvement.

Sarah Bednarski-Hartigan

Sarah Bednarski-Hartigan, 2000 graduate

As the most recent professional media appointee to the Student Media Advisory Board, a university standing committee, Bednarksi will be working to ensure students in student media have many opportunities.

She said it is extremely important for all journalism students to be involved in some media. “I got involved,” Bednarski said. “BG has so many opportunities to get involved. If it wasn’t for those opportunities, I wouldn’t be where I am. My experience at the BG News was invaluable.”

Bednarski was appointed to the advisory board by President Mary Ellen Mazey on the recommendation of the Director of Student Media, Bob Bortel. Bortel worked with Bednarski as an undergraduate on the BG News.

Bortel said the board chose Bednarski because of her involvement in student media, the surrounding area and in the public relations field. Even though she graduated in 2000, he said she has remained involved at BG and always comes to the BG News tent at Homecoming.

“[Bednarski] had passion for journalism and writing and she pursued that vigorously,” Bortel said.

Bednarski also contributes to the professional public relations community as a whole, specifically as the Chair of East Central District Board for the Public Relations Society of America. She has been part of the board for four years, working her way from secretary to treasurer, to chair-elect, and now chair.

When Bednarski came to BG, she started in the print journalism sequence but changed to public relations at the end of her junior year.

She joined the BG News her first year on campus, but during her junior year she said she had a revelation. “Not that I didn’t love newspapers,” she said, “but when I saw myself post-grad I didn’t want to do news reporting.”

She continued her involvement with the BG News and added the Public Relations Student Society of America to make connections in the field.

The summer before senior year, Bednarski landed an internship with the Toledo Lucas County Port Authority. The PR internship continued as a part-time job throughout her senior year and led to full-time employment after graduation. Though she only stayed two years, this position helped solidify her passion for public relations, and internal and external communications.

She then moved to public relations for Mercy Health, where she is now Director of Community Relations as of this past January. Originally she worked on the internal communications team, and about three to four months in, she became the media relations specialist.

Bednarski said there is no typical day in her role as Director of Community Relations. “You never know what to expect from the external world in media relations,” she said.

She said the biggest challenge she faces is trying to represent the organization in the best way possible to each public. There are over 8,500 people to communicate with internally at Mercy Health; some are nurses, doctors, secretaries, janitors, etc. They all need the same message in different ways.

While communicating with so many different groups can be a challenge, Bednarski said she enjoys it because it allows her to be creative every day.

Another aspect of her role includes checking local and national news as well as following health trends in order to prepare for questions or proactively pitch ideas to media.

To this day, Bednarski still looks back on her time at BG fondly. “I made lifelong friends,” she said. “My friends who I was on the BG news with are my closest friends today and they continue to be my support system.”

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Two recent alumni hired by the Columbus Dispatch

Posted on March 21, 2016 by kellyat

Alissa Widman Neese has accepted a job as a general metro reporter. She had been with the Sandusky Register since January 2013 following her graduation in December 2012. Widman was the winner of the department’s Waugh trophy that year.

Eric Lagatta, who graduated in 2014, has been hired by the Columbus Dispatch as a features writer. He had been working for Gannett in Coshocton and Zanesville since his graduation.

Both had done summer internships at the Dispatch as undergraduates.

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New additions increase Falcon presence on Findlay Courier staff

Posted on March 21, 2016 by kellyat

Kathryn Rubright ’15, has joined the Findlay Courier as a copy editor and Danae King, ’14, has moved from the Lima, Ohio, paper to take a job in Findlay as education reporter.

Rubright and King join former Falcons Bobby Waddle, copyeditor; Brian Szabelski, multimedia editor; Max Filby, city reporter; and Allison (Dunn) Reamer, police and courts reporter.

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Panelists explore what it means to be a journalist

Posted on March 21, 2016 by kellyat

Lecturer Kelly Taylor was part of a panel discussion March 18 titled “What is a Journalist in the Digital Age,” sponsored by The Press Club of Toledo at the Toledo Lucas County Public Library.

The panel discussion was part of a series of Pressing Issues forums designed to discuss issues of relevance to regional media and public relations practictioners.

Kelly Taylor

Lecturer Kelly Taylor (second from left) joins local media representatives on a panel sponsored by the Press Club of Toledo held at the Lucas County Public Library on March 18. Photo by Bob Bortel.

The panelists discussed wide-ranging topics related to how the digital world today provides anyone the opportunity to be a publisher and how social media is rapidly changing the information landscape.

The other panelists were Anthony Knopps, news director at Toledo News Now/WTOL/Fox; Kate Fineske, assistant executive director of Mom-mentum; and Mark Jacobs, co-publisher and CFO at Adams Street Publishing. Marlene Harris-Taylor of The Blade moderated the discussion.

 

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Alumna balances motherhood and journalism with humor

Posted on March 18, 2016 by kellyat

by Megan Wimsatt
Reporting Student

Parenthood often steers people in directions they had not anticipated. Melissa Linebrink, Chronicle-Telegram journalist for the Grafton and LaGrange areas of Loraine County, is well versed in this situation. Linebrink, who graduated in 2000 as a print major, didn’t start at the Chronicle-Telegram, but she made the switch after her son her was born.

Melissa Linebrink

Melissa Linebrink

“I couldn’t support putting him in daycare and me working because the pay would have been nothing, so they actually asked me if I would work freelance for them,” she said. “I did that for about three years for my first company and then I got hired at the Chronicle newspaper in 2006.”

Now, Linebrink is in charge of a Friday page for the Chronicle-Telegram. It was not long after she started working there that Linebrink faced another conflict involving work and her child, which lead to her freelancing and part time job at the paper.

“I worked there for two days until I realized I couldn’t put my kid in daycare and go to work. I just couldn’t do that,” she said.

Julie Wallace, managing and metro editor of the Chronicle-Telegram, is also a BSGU graduate and mother. Wallace and Linebrink have worked together for eight years, and Wallace understands balancing work with being a mother.

“My people work a lot of hours and we work a lot of crazy hours. We try to figure out ways to make up for some of that lost time with the kids whenever we can,” she said.

Wallace also personally faces the struggle of balancing work with being there for her two daughters.

“I’m not a very good mom during the week. I really am not. I try to make up for it on the weekend,” she said.

In addition the Friday page, Linebrink writes a column for the Chronicle-Telegram called “The Mommy Wars.” The column runs every other week and features stories from her life as a mother to her three children: a 13-year-old son and 7-year-old twins, a boy and girl.

“I really have to make my column focus on not only me being 38 and being a mom, but I know that the readers I have could be in their 60’s. So, I have to make sure what I write about they could also relate to,” she said.

Although there may be an age difference between Linebrink and her readers, the material and anecdotes in her column can be related despite the age gap.

“It’s weird because parenthood changes over time but what our kids do really doesn’t,” she said. “They still don’t listen, they still don’t like rules, they still don’t agree with you, they still argue with you.”

Linebrink also runs her own blog on the side. Her blog, Parenthood: The New Crazy Train, features highlights from her life as a mother as well. Sometimes Linebrink finds it easier to write posts for her blog.

“There are times when it’s easier to blog because I can get it done in 10 minutes,” she said. “The idea is just with me. I can run with it and not have to worry about the language I have to use.”

Linebrink said she enjoys being able to write more freely on her blog. Her blog allows for her to get her uncensored anecdotes to her readers.

“I’m one of those people who I guess I just keep it real with my blog. I think it allows for others to realize that they are not alone in the situation,” she said.

Writing both a blog and a column at the same time, however, poses a minor problem for Linebrink.

“I have to be careful because if I have a really good idea for a column and I want to blog about it at the same time, I can’t do that even though I own the column rights because it’s my own page,” Linebrink said. “I don’t want the people who subscribe to my column, my blog online, and those who get the papers to read the same stuff over and over again. I want to make sure that I keep it fresh for them.”

Linebrink has been featured as a blogger on the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop site. She has won two Cordelia Robbins awards for honorable mention for two of her feature stories from 2015.

Linebrink is glad to have found a balance between work and being a mother.

“I have the best of both worlds. I’m still able to stay home with my kids and still able to keep my foot in journalism,” she said.

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BG News group gains insight on the future of college student media

Posted on March 15, 2016 by kellyat

A contingent of five BG News editors and advisers participated in hands-on workshops and interactive lectures on where college student media might be headed.

The group attended “The Future of College Student Media,” a two-day summit hosted by the College Media Institute at Vanderbilt in late February. The summit featured a multimedia training workshop for students and multiple sessions discussing innovations and change in campus media geared at collegiate advisers.

Michele Mathis, Holly Shively and Samantha Sharp pose in the lobby of the hotel in Nashville. The three BG News editors attended a multimedia workshop at Vanderbilt March 24-25. Photo by Bob Bortel.

Michele Mathis, Holly Shively and Samantha Sharp pose in the lobby of the hotel in Nashville. The three BG News editors attended a multimedia workshop at Vanderbilt Feb. 24-25. Photo by Bob Bortel.

Prior to attending the workshop, Samantha Sharp, a first year student and Pulse Editor at the BG News, had limited experience with multimedia packages having shot only one video segment. “When they gave me a tripod and a camera and let me loose on the street I was terrified!” Sharp said. “However, the instructor of the workshop, Jim Hayes, told us that nothing is ever perfect in video, and that ‘good’ video is what everyone should shoot for.”

After the workshop, Sharp said: “This trip has given me a good starting ground for incorporating more video pieces with print based interviews. I immediately started thinking of different ways I could start weaving videos into the entertainment section.”

Holly Shively, a sophomore multiplatform major and City Editor at the BG News, said the workshop was extremely valuable. “In the fast paced and quickly changing world of journalism, I can’t put a price on having these multimedia skills,” she said.

After returning from the trip, Shively talked with BG News Editor-in-chief Annie Furia about different ways The BG News could use multimedia components, specifically video, to enhance the content. “I will now be taking the role of head of multimedia, assigning projects to our multimedia intern and completing some multimedia myself,” she said.

Michele Mathis, managing editor at the BG News also attended along with Bob Bortel, director of student media, and Kelly Taylor, chair of the Student Media Advisory Board.

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Pulitzer Prize winner talks journalism strategies with senior reporting class

Posted on March 15, 2016 by kellyat
Group photo of Katherine Boo with the Public Affairs Reporting class, spring 2016. Sitting in front: Lily Bartell and Hannah Benson. Back row: Sami Fisher, Megan Kraft, Katherine Boo, Audrey Quinn, Jessica Speweike, Annie Furia, Aaron Parker, Marissa Barenbrugge and Nancy Brendlinger. Photo by Catherine Cassara

Group photo of Katherine Boo with the Public Affairs Reporting class, spring 2016.
Sitting in front: Lily Bartell and Hannah Benson. Back row: Sami Fisher, Megan Kraft, Katherine Boo, Audrey Quinn, Jessica Speweike, Annie Furia, Aaron Parker, Marissa Barenbrugge and Nancy Brendlinger.
Photo by Catherine Cassara

Pulitzer Prize winner Katherine Boo talked about reporting and finding ways and using technology to cope with your weaknesses when she visited the public affairs reporting class on Feb. 23.

For example, she knew from the beginning that she was shy and did not like small talk or chatting up bureaucrats, and so she learned to ask for and use public documents extensively in her work, in addition to interviewing.

Because she has problems with her hands she uses video, still photos and audio recordings when interviewing, and by doing so, she discovered she can include more details.

Boo and the Washington Post won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for public service for investigating abuses in the public housing group homes provided to people with mental disabilities in Washington, D.C. She also won the 2004 National Magazine Award for Feature Writing for her article “The Marriage Cure” in The New Yorker.

She has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 2003 and was a reporter and editor for the Washington Post.

Boo was on campus as part of the Common Experience, which used her book “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” as the Common Read. This book won her a 2012 National Book Award for Nonfiction.

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PR students rally against heroin

Posted on March 2, 2016 by jfoust

IMG_2134Students from the senior capstone public relations campaigns class in the Department of Journalism and Public Relations participated in a rally against heroin sponsored by Team Recovery.  The rally took place on Sunday, Feb. 21 at the Zepf Center in Toledo.  The students in Dr. Terry Rentner’s class are working this semester with the Wood Co. Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Services  Board  (ADAMHS) to create a campaign to address the stigmas of heroin addiction, provide help for those with heroin and prescription drug addictions, provide support for their families and friends, and reduce  the heroin epidemic in Northwest Ohio.

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Ohio Pulitzer website created to honor winners in the last century

Posted on February 23, 2016 by kellyat

ONA Ohio Pulitzer website header

A team of students and three faculty members from the department of journalism and public relations created a website honoring Ohio Pulitzer Prize winners as part of an initiative conceived by the Ohio Newspaper Association in conjunction with the centennial celebration of the Pulitzer Prizes.

2016 marks the 100th awarding of the Pulitzer Prizes, and journalism professionals all across the country are celebrating the centennial of journalism’s most prestigious award with four marquee events, several campfire initiatives and many smaller state programs and activities.

Dennis Hetzel, the executive director of the ONA and a life-long newspaper journalist, approached BGSU about creating a website and Ohio University about creating a video on Ohio’s Pulitzer Prize winners that would be unveiled as part of panel discussion to be held during the group’s 2016 annual convention on Feb. 17-18.

Pulitzer Prize winner George Rodrigue moderated the discussion on where journalism is going in changing times. Panelists were Kurt Franck of The Blade, who directed the Pulitzer-winning series on Tiger Force; Wesley Lowery of the Washington Post, who was part of the Pulitzer-winning team at the Boston Globe who covered the Boston Marathon bombing; and Doug Oplinger of the Akron Beacon Journal, who was an editor on two of the paper’s Pulitzers.

Student journalists and web developers from the Department of Journalism and Public Relations included Marissa Barenbrugge, a senior in the multiplatform sequence; Sami Fisher, a senior in the multiplatform sequence; Annie Furia, a junior in the multiplatform sequence; Lindsey Gump, a sophomore in the public relations sequence; and Rob Stephens, a journalism and public relations minor.

Faculty journalists and web developers included Nancy Brendlinger, associate professor; Jim Foust, professor; and Kelly Taylor, lecturer.

Nancy Earle, at Columbia University, is the Pulitzer Prize Centenntial Project Manager. In an email to Hetzel after viewing the site and video, Earle wrote, “This is just great work, Dennis and a fantastic collaboration.”

Hetzel told Earle ONA is urging their publishers to take this into their buildings and out into the communities.

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Bradshaw selected for broadcasting exchange in Germany

Posted on February 23, 2016 by kellyat

Kathy Bradshaw has been invited to participate in the Radio-Television Digital News Foundation program in Germany and Belgium in June.
 A group of 12 American journalists spend two weeks in Germany and Belgium.

RTDNF partners with the RIAS Berlin Commission which was established in 1992 to maintain mutual understanding in the field of broadcasting and to promote the transatlantic tradition symbolized by Radio in the American Sector over the last 60 years.

“Last year there was a student in my class from Germany,” Bradshaw said. “His presence changed our conversations about news. I hope that my new knowledge about Germany will be a connection for students.”

The trip is organized and led by the head of the RIAS Berlin. More than 600 American journalists have been part of the German-American exchange program since the inception of the program.

Bradshaw said this program also presented the department an opportunity to host a German broadcast journalist. He will be on campus on  April 12 for a public talk as well as sessions with students. Bradshaw said he will likely talk about the Syrian refugees in Germany.

“It turned out a double benefit,” she said. “We’re hosting a German journalist, and I’ll return and share my experiences about German broadcasting, government, politics, and culture.”

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Toledo PR agency hosts students

Posted on January 25, 2016 by kellyat
On Jan. 22, journalism and public relations students visited Communica, a Toledo-area PR agency. Students met with former Falcons, Emily Loss,'13, now a public relations and digital coordinator for Communica, and Julie Pompa '74, Communica vice president, public relations.

On Jan. 22, journalism and public relations students visited Communica, a Toledo-area PR agency. Students met with former Falcons, Emily Loss,’13, now a public relations and digital coordinator for Communica, and Julie Pompa ’74, Communica vice president, public relations.

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SPJ event helps students refine their resume

Posted on December 6, 2015 by kellyat
Heather Golden, Jan Larson McLaughlin, editor of the Sentinel Tribune.

Heather Golden, assistant director of the Career Center, and Jan Larson McLaughlin, editor of the Sentinel Tribune, give job search advice to members of the BGSU chapter of SPJ sponsored the 2-hour evening  event on Dec. 6 in West Hall.

Members of the Society of Professional Journalists BGSU chapter learned how to improve their resumes and interview skills at the “Slice N’ Dice” event on Dec. 6.

Those who attended the event enjoyed pizza and asked questions to a panel that included Heather Golden, assistant director of the Career Center, and Jan Larson McLaughlin, editor of the Sentinel Tribune.

“I wanted this to be a relaxed environment so we could just discuss how to improve ourselves professionally,” SPJ President Hannah Benson said.

One of the discussion topics included the dreaded interview question “What are your weaknesses.”

Golden said you never want to say your weakness is something related to the job.

Larson McLaughlin suggested saying something that was once a weakness but you have since improved on to show your growth.

Larson McLaughlin stressed the importance of clips for someone going into journalism and said she does not take a closer look at the resume until she has seen what she likes in the clips.

“I don’t want to see you until you have four or five really great clips,” she said.

After the panel, students were able to individually talk with Golden and Larson McLaughlin about their resumes.

 

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PRSSA group gets behind-the-scenes tour at the Toledo Zoo

Posted on December 4, 2015 by kellyat
A group of BGSU PRSSA members pose for a photo with former BGSU PRSSA President Lucas Stall (center) at his job at the Toledo Zoo. Stall, who runs all social media for the Zoo, gave the group a behind the scenes tour of the Lights Before Christmas.

A group of BGSU PRSSA members pose for a photo with former BGSU PRSSA President Lucas Stall (center) at his job at the Toledo Zoo. Stall, who runs all social media for the Zoo, gave the group a behind-the-scenes tour of the Lights Before Christmas. 

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Betsy Kling wins Chuck Heaton Award

Posted on November 17, 2015 by jfoust

“The size of Betsy Kling’s talent is matched only by the size of her heart,” noted John Betchkal at the annual Press Club of Cleveland Hall of Fame Awards on November 13. Kling, a 1997 BGSU broadcast journalism graduate, received the prestigious Chuck Heaton Award, which emphasizes sensitivity and humility, as well as journalistic talent.

Betsy Kling receives the Chuck Heaton Award plaque from Michael Heaton.

Betsy Kling receives the Chuck Heaton Award plaque from Michael Heaton.

“It is an incredible honor to be mentioned in the same context as the legendary Chuck Heaton,” Kling said. “I never dreamed I would be recognized by my colleagues in this way.” Kling is Chief Meteorologist at WKYC-TV in Cleveland and also works with several community organizations, including the Red Cross, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. She is also currently working at ten Cleveland public schools to help fourth graders become “mini meteorologists.”

The award is named after Chuck Heaton, a former sports writer at The Plain Dealer who passed away in 2008. Chuck’s son Michael presented Kling with the award.

Betsy Kling poses with members of her family before the awards ceremony. Left to right: her mother, Sue; her father, Tim; Betsy; and her husband, Paul Thomas.

Betsy Kling poses with members of her family before the awards ceremony. Left to right: her mother, Sue; her father, Tim; Betsy; and her husband, Paul Thomas.

During her time at BGSU, Kling was among the group of students who started BG-24 News, the campus’ student-run television newscast. She minored in Meteorology while at BGSU, and later earned a certification in Broadcast Meterology from Mississippi State University. Prior to returning to her home town of Cleveland in 2003, she worked at stations in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and Jacksonville, Florida. She has won three Emmys for her weathercasts, and she has also been recognized by the Ohio Associated Press.

In his introduction, Betchkal, who was the driving force behind creating the Chuck Heaton Award, summed up the traits that made Kling a natural choice for the honor:

In journalism terms, her five W’s and an H go something like this: weather forecaster extraordinaire; wonderful sense of humor; warm-hearted; willing to quietly, unselfishly help others; watchful, like a next-door neighbor for our well-being and safety on stormy days in this city; and the H that goes along with those five W’s is humble regarding all of the above.

Dr. Jim Foust, who was Kling’s adviser while she attended BGSU, was also at the ceremony and appeared in a tribute video shown before Kling was introduced. “Betsy was always very driven and she really worked hard,” Foust said. “It’s great that she has accomplished so much and done it while earning the respect and friendship of so many people along the way.” Kling was clearly touched by the response of her colleagues and family at the awards ceremony. “This is certainly one of the highlights of my career,” she said.

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PRSSA members visit Joe Louis Arena

Posted on November 9, 2015 by jfoust

by Rebecca Erwin

“In PR, you don’t know what to expect, every day is something different,” said Detroit Red Wings Public Relations Coordinator Kyle Kujawa to 30 PRSSA students from BGSU as part of a networking experience.

The venue of the meeting was unlike any other. BGSU PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) members sat in the Joe Louis arena bleachers as the junior league hockey team, “The Little Caesars” took the ice for practice. Students met with a variety of staff members such as Foundation Coordinator Kelsey Rentner, a BGSU Journalism and Public Relations alum and director of the Red Wings Foundation, Josh Sanborn and Public Relations Coordinator Kyle Kujawa. These professional individuals gave students advice about the career industry from their own perspectives. Continue reading →

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PR students make it a social media Halloween

Posted on November 4, 2015 by jfoust

PR Students dress up as social media sites

Left to right: Kristen Tomins, Anna Crabill, Alanna Nuessle, Bryant Miesle, Becca Barth, Hannah Tempel and Bree Sabin.


Several PR majors from the department decided to make Halloween a social media event by dressing up as various social media sites.

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