The T-shirt project that launch a thousand (60,000 actually) views.

Rachel Weeks ran away with the blog traffic race in Professor Blachford’s magazine staff writing course this semester. Her blog Dollars, Sense & More reached a worldwide audience (one day’s tally included visits from Canada, England, Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Australia, Spain and the U.S.), thanks to Pinterest and an old purple T-shirt.

Read more about Rachel’s blog success and check out the analytics.

The JMC173 Producers

A 12-newscast production schedule that began Feb. 2 concluded with a special half-hour Relays Edition, April 26. DrakeLINE began in 1993 as a capstone experience for Broadcast News and Radio-TV Producing seniors. In its early days, SJMC scheduled the activity every two years. More recently DrakeLINE has been an annual offering to viewers of The College Channel in Central Iowa and the Worldwide Web. JMC193 class members not only produced, they also reported and prepared content for  radio newscasts and DrakeDigitalNews.com.

The JMC194 Directors

Students enrolled in JMC173 Broadcast Reporting taught by adjunct Instructor Mark Tauscheck contributed stories while technical expertise was provided by seniors in JMC194. Our 15th production cycle is scheduled to begin Feb. 14, 2013. See you then!

Read more about their presentation and watch video at the MagStudies website.

Studio-Hopping with Reinert

The Des Moines Radio Group welcomed JMC67 Digital Audio Writing and Production students. Monday’s visit was coordinated by 2004 Radio-TV graduate Lindsay Reinert, Marketing & Promotions director for 93.3 KIOA and STAR 102.5. What began as a facility for two radio stations now houses seven stations, five FM and two AM. Class members visited with KIOA Program Director and afternoon host Tim Fox, a 34-year radio veteran, and copywriter extraordinaire Annie Meacham. Students learned that DMRG employs a two-person Web team and concentrates significant creative effort on promotion and event-planning. Reinert outlined differences in primary audiences among DMRG’s stations and how programming adapts to serve those audiences. KIOA was named a 2011 Crystal Radio Award winner by the National Association of Broadcasters.

An Electronic Media capstone newscast “DrakeLINE” produced last spring won first-place Student TV Newscast from the Iowa Broadcast News Association.

Meeting in Coralville April 28, samples of the winning entries played to a convention audience of about 150 journalists and their guests. The winning newscast was produced by Jessica Nguyen (BNews’11) and anchored by Jess Hoffert (BNews’11).

Also winning first-place for her radio In Depth/Series submission was junior broadcast news major Lauren Ehrler. Her segment was produced for the J73 Radio News class in fall semester.

IBNA received 531 student and professional entries.

94-1 Kragie-Newell Studio Coming Together

Progress continues on moving KDRA-LP’s “remote” studio from Olmsted-Pomerantz to the Kragie-Newell Media Lab on Meredith Hall’s first floor. The facility should be active by fall semester.

As hours for Olmsted were reduced, the broadcast faculty sought an alternative location for that gear. The new location increases exposure for the Drake-licensed, 80-watt station, and also solves some networking difficulties.

94-1 operates from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. weekdays and all day Saturday. The station also live-streams 24/7/365.

The primary studio remains in Meredith Hall’s basement. Students in JMC67 Digital Audio Writing and Production will train downstairs, normally between the weekday hours of 4 and 7. Student-funded DBS announcers generally fill board shifts starting at 7.

A Sausalito, California, company manufactured the 10-foot, 300 pound table. It can accommodate an operator and as many as four guests.

We’ve configured for talent and two guests.

(From right to left) Katherine Fritcke, Annika Peick and Ankita Dhussa talk to a fellow Drake student about reading for IRIS, a free service for the blind, in the Media Responsibility Over Time class.

Six journalism courses were invited to present their service-learning success stories on Thursday, April 19, at Drake University’s first Experiential Learning Showcase. The showcase, which included 19 entries, was held in the Olmsted Center.

Students put together posters and PowerPoint presentations explaining their work with organizations and their service to communities through their classwork. Organizations benefiting included Habitat for Humanity, the Polk County Juvenile Detention Center, and the Iowa Radio Reading and Information Service (IRIS), to name just a few.

The SJMC courses featured at the showcase were:

Advertising Campaign Strategy

Bateman Team Competition for PRSSA

Media Responsibility Over Time

Public Relations Writing

Public Relations Research

Publicity

Walters points out some finer points in TV Master Control

WOI-TV Sports Director John Walters told the JMC100 Field Photo class when he begins his new job with Iowa State University in June he’ll be able to spend more time reporting. The 1984 Drake E-Media graduate was recently introduced as the director of Broadcast Programming for a new digital network, cyclones.tv. Walters told the class during their tour and conversation he also looks forward to more regular family hours after 30 years in traditional sports reporting and anchoring, first for KCCI and, for the last 16 years, at ABC5.

Walters said stations increasingly rely on the Internet and mobile media for field reporting. ABC5 reporters routinely use a self-contained backpack that connects with one cable to the camera and provides broadcast-quality feeds.

The three-time Iowa “Sportscaster of the Year” continues into his 9th year as play-by-play voice of Iowa State football and men’s basketball, an interest developed while attending high school in suburban Chicago where he “wasn’t good enough to make the team but always loved sports.”

ABC5 named 2005 E-Media grad and sports staffer Dave Zawilinski to take over as sports director and lead anchor. 2007 E-Media grad Joey Donia fills out the full-time sports staff.

“You want to be the solution to a problem the employer’s trying to solve,” KCCI (TV) News Director Dave Busiek advised two Electronic Media classes April 16. Busiek celebrates his 33rd year at TV8 this month. Following three years as a reporter-anchor at WHO-AM, he accepted a reporting job at KCCI that led to anchoring and then management.

He said positive first impressions on a resume tape are vital. Appearance and voice are both important. “Would I watch this person” on a daily newscast, he asked the 20 JMC67 and JMC173 students gathered in the Digital Palace?

He advised students to begin their audition tapes with a montage of 3-5 stand-up segments that ideally feature the reporter doing something. “Lead with your best,” he cautioned. Applicants must display their story-telling abilities in the handful of stories included in a reel.

Busiek said he receives 80 applications for a typical opening. “It’s just a business. I have a ‘yes’ pile and a ‘no’ pile” into which he sorts materials within a short time. “We  are looking for assertive people, but not pests,” he responded to a question about followup to an application. He told students to be sure to contact their references.

“I’ve really learned to listen for ‘red flags’ from references. Busiek said he receives a majority of applications electronically with links to video.

The University of Missouri graduate is a former RTDNA chairman and SJMC National Advisory Councillor, and IBNA Jack Shelley Award winner. KCCI was recently named a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award winner for Overall Excellence.

Ankeny first-graders from Troop 245 enjoyed a field trip to Drake March 9 that included a tour of the radio and television studios, and a pizza party in Olmsted. Scout leader Jenny Irlmeier and her Troop were hosted in Meredith Hall by Katherine Fritcke, KDRA-LP’s announcer manager. The Daisies also visited Cowles Library, a residence hall room and Hubbell Dining. “We wanted the girls to see a local college campus and I thought they would be interested in the radio/TV set,” Irlmeier wrote.