For all of those in broadcasting, communications, or really interested in video journalism, you probably noticed all the hullabaloo on October 27th in the Waterman Theater. The Lewis B. O’Donnell media summit is named after “Doc” O’Donnell who was the founding chair of the Communications studies department. The media summit was started by Oswego Alumni Louis Borrelli, ’77, who had help from his classmate Al Roker, ’76. The summit has grown tremendously since its creation in 2005.
This year, professor David Moody spearheaded the operation and organized student volunteers and interns. Preparation started in the spring semester, and continued over the summer. All the hard work finally came to an end in October. This year was the first year the media summit was taped by an all student crew and a student director. The media summit is not only an opportunity for students to learn, but it’s an excellent way for students to create and participate.
“The Media Summit helps our
students in the media figure out where media is moving and what’s the next step in media,” said Dr. David Moody as he opened the event. The Summit’s theme this year was “diversify yourself.” It’s a very powerful message; not just diversity in gender, age, and race, but media audiences and the media in the workplace.
The events started with a brief introduction from President Deborah Stanley and a quick video put together by Louis Borrelli and Al Roker. The panelists were some very interesting people with great messaged to share.
Dr. Michael Ameigh, the general manager of WRVO served as moderator for the panel. WRVO, the NPR station on campus, has served the Central New York Community for many years. Kendis Gibson, ’94, is a recently employed anchor at WJLA-TV, and ABC affiliate in Washington D.C. Ric Harris has served in media, mostly in sales and strategy, and is currently a manager and media strategist at Accenture. Adriana Waterson was another panelist representing the sales part of the media. She is Vice President of marketing and business development at Horowitz Associates Inc. Market and Multicultural Research. Sharon Newman, ’79, has worked as a television executive producer for more than a decade, concentrating mostly on news and politics. And Louis Borrelli, ’77, was President and Chief Executive Officer at NEP broadcasting. This panel was not only influential, but diverse in its own right.
The panel discussed current shifts in demographics and multicultural audiences. One question that was raised was the new word of monetization. How sustainable is monetization? How can it sustain itself? In this day and age, the media is no longer waiting for technology to catch up, but instead the people must catch up to it. Technology provides tools that everyone can use such as Twitter and Facebook to get the latest news. However, it does come at a price. What used to be the nightly news on an analog signal would produce lot of revenue. However, now everything is free on the Internet and these analog dollars have become digital dimes.
The panel urged the audience to embrace technology. The stories that come from the Internet and Twitter are what create the buzz around the Internet. What is Tweeting now can be news in a few minutes. However, businesses can’t thrive on free. The panel made an example of the Wall Street Journal that is now making readers pay to see their full articles, and have seen their profits rise. Many media organizations are charging for apps to keep their businesses afloat so you can keep current with the world around you.
The panel encouraged the audience to keep a diverse mind and to try diverse things. When going into a work place, or anywhere else, leave stereotypes behind and open your mind to new things. Get to know different people and different cultures, and be willing to push yourself out of your comfort zone.
The panel spoke to the audience about the importance of getting jobs in the economy. They stressed some of the most important things are to know how to read and write well. They also stressed to take a job where you can; your first job doesn’t have to be the one you stick with for the rest of your life, but in this world it’s best to take what you can. But the moral of the whole lesson was to follow your interests and become good at what you love. Take advantage of everything, but have fun learning what you can.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Oswego chapter.