September 9, 2004

Rain, rain, go away!

This week has been CRAZY! Everything in the world is going on! This morning I was awaken by a phone call from Mr. Weaver saying he needed a reporter for TV coverage of the flooding in the area. So I jumped in the shower and hit the road! I think I have some really great footage and interviews from the scene of the flooding, and I can make a really nice package for The County Line. I ruined the 4pm newscast on Tuesday, but that's beside the point!

My short term goals are to get The County Line ready to go for next Thursday. Everyone on staff is fairly new and just generally rusty from the summer. I have a feeling is going to be SWEET though, because the new guys are very anxious to sink their teeth into everything. I'm pumped.

Long term goals include producing quality packages and shows of The County Line and really cleaning everything up.

I have my capstone speech about my goals in a little bit. Maybe I'll update soon!

PS- IWantMedia.com is reporting that Howard Stern could issue uncensored versions of his E! television show.... that could be interesting to see! Check the article.

September 2, 2004

40 Weeks, huh?

So today in Capstone we figured out that we have 40 weeks of college left... yikes!

This week has been pretty crazy getting back into swing of things. We had a radio, radio news, and morning show meeting. I'm having The County Line meeting on Monday. This week I've been getting everything squared away so I can figure out my schedule and figure out when I'm gonna have free time to work on packages and also do work for my other non-(important)broadcasting classes.

I'm starting to reevaluate my goals as a broadcaster and what I want to accomplish this year. My focus is definitely going in two directions... I guess I have foci. *nerd alert* Part of me needs to focus on my reporting/producing/directing role for The County Line and the other part wants to focus on the "talent" portion of radio and getting better so I can get a job.

My ProScout experience was really great, even though I didn't get any contracts or anything. I was number 889, so I thought I would have some extra luck but nope. Haha. I got some REALLY nice head shots and modeling shots taken of me that I can use for future auditions and things like that. There were about 50 talent/modeling/acting agents there and it was a busy weekend. It basically went like this. Saturday was all workshops and speakers... they were all really good and very informative. I did my acting monologue infront of this hollywood acting coach named Chambers Stevens and he REALLY liked me and so that meant I got to audition in front of the agents on Sunday. Sunday morning I walked the runway in front of the agents, showed them my pictures, and then did my monologue. I didn't get any call backs, but it was a really worthwhile experience and I definitely learned a lot.

I was checking out IWantMedia.com and found a story about how the Fox Network is saying that they're completely unbiased. The problem came up because critics are saying that the Network is devoting too much time to the Republican National Convention vs. the DNC. Fox is generally described as a Republican/Conservative network.

Me and my blog are friends.

August 26, 2004

Adios, Summer!

Today is my last day of being a summer DJ on Titan Radio. It's bittersweet *single tear* Haha. In all seriousness, working here all summer was a GREAT experience and has really helped me to hone my skills. Several people that I'm not even that close with have told me that they noticed that I had greatly improved over the summer. This coming from people who were gone the entire time. That's defintely a good feeling, because you tend to not notice changes in yourself from day to day. I think I am MUCH more confident in my ability to broadcast. I feel comfortable with my voice, my technique, and my ability to connect with the listeners. Many people are too timid to call in during my shift, but I get comments almost daily from people who want to talk about something they heard me say on air. Kinda cool.

I've also learned that I am a person who needs some sort of reaction from their work. Whenever people call in it always makes me more motivated and more excited for my next talk break. The two remotes we did this summer also boosted my morale and got me excited to be on air. Radio can be difficult because you're never even sure if anyone is actually listening- so feed back is a great thing!

It's not quite hitting me that classes start in a few days. I'm going to need to do a mental shift from summer/paid to fall/learning, which I think might be hard since I never changed locations like everyone else. I need to start buckling down on my senior project and getting The County Line underway.

I found an article on IWantMedia.com about how the IOC isn't letting Olympic athletes give reports from the games. Seems like a little bit of censorship going on... but the Olympics aren't in the US so I guess the rules don't apply! Here's a snipit:
"The International Olympic Committee is barring competitors, as well as coaches, support personnel and other officials, from writing firsthand accounts for news and other websites... (more)"

I'm going home tonight to prepare for my trip to Columbus to see if I can get famous! Haha. I'm a little nervous about my trip, but my mom is going with me so I'm sure it will be fine. I had to take a head shot and body shot of myself, and I will preform a 30sec monologue in front of talent scouts to see if they like me. It's really intimidating, but I just need to remember my favorite quote:

"People with little failure in their lives are people who aren't taking enough risks."

August 18, 2004

The end is near!

The end of summer, that is...

It looks like Western PA is a great place to pick up stars for reality shows! Here's my story from the 4pm News:

PS- MaryAnn called, she wants her look back!Another local woman is looking to out wit, out play, and out last other contestants on a popular reality show. 25-year-old Dolly Neely of Mercer will star on the next season of Survivor. Neely was born in Clarion and now is a shepherdess to 40 sheep on her 90-acre farm in Mercer. Along with taking care of her sheep, Neely enjoys outdoor activities like water skiing, mountain biking, hunting and trapping. She’s also a member of the National Rifle Association. Survivor Vanuatu – The Islands of Fire is set in the South Pacific and will premiere on September 16th at eight P-M on C-B-S.


This week has been fairly normal for me. Just donig my DJ thing in the afternoon and doing the 4pm news live. It's working out well and getting me geared up for the rest of the staff to come back. I'm getting several new stories each day and updating ones from days past, which was the goal of having a live 4pm newscast. Tandi has been doing "live" drops from the Lawrence County Fair and they sound EXCELLENT! That girls works harder than anyone I know!

In just over a week I'm going to Columbus for my ProScout interview with the agents. I have to take some photographs of myself to show them, plus work on a monologue to perform in front of the talent agents. I'm not getting my hopes up too much for this event, but hopefully something great will come from it; if not a contract, then at least experience.

Mr. Weaver and I have been talking up lots of ideas for this season of The County Line. I think it's going to be a great year, despite my earlier apprehension. This whole semester is going to be CRAMMED with extracurricular activities, rather than class work... but I don't it too much.