Pay attention to the faces around you on campus, because some of them may be the next big media personalities. Some students of Tri-C’s Journalism and Mass Communication department attended two separate media visits at iHeartMedia and Fox 8 in October. The visits were meant to give students an idea of how some local radio and television broadcasters operate and provide an opportunity for JMC students to pose questions to professionals in the industry.
The first visit was to the iHeartMedia offices in Independence on October 17. Students spent more than an hour touring the studios of six major radio stations that broadcast across northeast Ohio. Tom Moore, news anchor for WTAM-AM, guided students through a labyrinth of offices and explained how a single building is the headquarters for radio stations with formats ranging from news/talk to country to classic rock.
iHeartMedia is a Texas-based company that owns and operates 858 radio stations in more than 150 markets nationwide, according to the company’s website. Moore said the company not only reaches listeners via traditional radio broadcasts but also promotes mobile apps, digital content, and live concerts.
“I noticed how people do multiple things,” said Joey Bryson, a student at Tri-C’s western campus who attended the iHeartMedia tour. He seemed surprised to learn that on-air personalities were also responsible for gathering and producing content that is broadcast over-the-air. “Even if you have no interest in working there, it was cool seeing how it’s all done,” he said.
The second visit was to Fox 8, also known by their call letters WJW, in Cleveland on October 18. General manager Paul Perozeni, who once taught journalism at Tri-C, led the group across three floors of office and studio space while staff members produced the station’s 5 p.m. newscast. During the nearly two-hour visit, students met on-air personalities during a commercial break, toured an active newsroom with more than a dozen reporters, and were even able to witness the perils of live television–along with the quick recovery of true professionals both on and off camera.
WJW-TV dates back nearly 70 years and currently employs more than 200 people. It is one of 42 local broadcast stations owned by Chicago-based Tribune Media. Much like iHeartMedia, Tribune Media has diversified holdings across television, radio, and even studio productions in 24 states and Washington, D.C., according to its website.
Despite being owned by a nationwide company, assistant news director Marc Singer said journalists in his newsroom must have their finger on the pulse of local viewers. “We are very big, obviously, on hyperlocal news,” Singer said. “You can get national [news] anywhere.”
With a media industry moving in directions few can predict, students at Tri-C have been offered a unique glimpse into how local businesses are adapting. Whether a student plans to work in journalism, production, or even banking, Singer recommended a rather traditional path as part of one’s education.
“Follow your interests, but don’t come out of school without interning,” he said.
UPDATE: A previous version of this article improperly identified the position held by Tom Moore