MBEA/MBA Career Fair Success!
Every year there is some big pronouncement about the future of communication. Print is dead, video content is king. Broadcasting is on its way out, and streaming services are edging their way in. Right? But the truth is that the media and broadcast industries are growing each year, and no where is that more evident than on the campuses of Missouri universities. A fantastic joint event between the Missouri College Media Association and the Missouri Broadcast Educators Association took place this past Saturday, at Missouri State University. More than one hundred students studying journalism, broadcasting, and related skills, sat in on sessions presented by professionals in these fields. And at lunch time, the MBA was excited to be a part of this fantastic event offering a career fair!
During the break, students were able to come and meet a variety of people who play important roles in Missouri’s amazing pool of dedicated broadcasters. Terry Harper, MBA’s Director of Member Services, said that the biggest thing she learned from the career fair is that students are amazed to learn exactly how broad the broadcast industry is. For example, some students seemed uninterested in the career fair, assuming that “broadcasting” meant being on camera – until they were introduced to people who revealed that digital and engineering skills are every bit as valuable to the industry.
After the career fair, and a few more sessions, the MBEA and the MBA teamed up to present the annual MBEA Awards, hosted at KY3 in Springfield. Students who entered and won in categories including audio, video, and script writing, were able to accept their award in front of family and friends. This is just one more way that future broadcasters are being encouraged to continue on in the field – and from the entries we saw, the future is bright indeed!
We would like to sincerely thank all the stations that participated in the career fair. Every station group that came went above and beyond to help us promote the broadcast industry to these students. And a special thank you to the entire team at KY3 – the evening news crew did a fantastic job answering questions and giving students a tour of the facility. One faculty member from a visiting university gushed over how excited his students were by the evening activities at the station. Our sincere thanks goes out to:
Chris Pridgen with SummitMedia from Springfield
Brian McDonough and Bridget Lovelle with Gray (KY3, KSPR, KYCW) from Springfield
Leo Henning with Nexstar (KOLR, KOZL, KRBK) from Springfield
Staci Tomlinson and Michelle Gallagher with Alpha Media from Lebanon/Waynesville
Dewayne Gandy with Radio Talon from Aurora/Monett
Kristi Spencer with KOAM-TV/KFJX-TV from Joplin
As well as Nickey Buzek from P1 Learning!
The MBA is looking forward to working with the MBEA even more in the future. Wondering how your station can get involved next time? Be sure to open those weekly newsletters from the MBA in your inbox – opportunities like this one are featured whenever they happen.
Be sure to stay tuned to the blog, or follow us on Twitter or Facebook for more events in the future.
