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Bullhornthe

University of South Florida School of Mass Communications Alumni Magazine

Issue 4

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Contents4

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710

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The Winds of Change

Breaking Good

Rick Wilber - In His Own Write

A Journalist’s Story

This Wey to the Top

Advertising and Advice

Stephanie Hayes: From Obituaries to Novels

CIS After Dark

Less Is Best - Dr. Mario Garcia

3Bullhornthe

director

art director

designers

writers

faculty

Contributors:Avery Quinn, Hayley Zimmerman, Kelsey Howard, Justine Figueroa, Paige Rushing, Stephanie Byrn, Carly Hobbs, Rachel Drummond, Clint PeardonLayout & Design:Danielle Davis, Adam Fenster, Arielle Giordano, Stacey Marquis, Mary Mathews, Melissa Moreno, Brittany Mulligan, Clint Peardon, Andrea Romero, Corrie Seabrook, Matthew Seidel, Terrence Smith, Traci Stevens, Mark Tas Photos:Adam Fenster, Désirée Fantal, Mary Mathews, Aimee Blodgett Editor in Chief:Shaunda Wickham

Under the direction of Prof. Kevin Hawley (layout) and Dr. Rick Wilber (copy).

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Graduate program embraces new faces, opportunites The Winds of Change

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It’s an exciting time of change for the mass communications graduate program, and program director Dr. Kelley Werder, says that she and the faculty have chosen to embrace it.

Werder was the director of the program for three semesters in 2010 before taking a sabbati-cal for a couple of years, and has just resumed her post this past August.

Although there has been confusion over the recent accreditation situation for the undergradu-ate program, Werder pointed out the fact that the graduate program has remained competitive de-spite its proactive decision to forgo accreditation seven years ago.

“Honestly we’re right in line with many gradu-ate programs in the country right now, that… in the past several years, have made the same decision because the current environment really is moving in a different direction perhaps, than the traditional journalism mass comm focus. Our program is dif-ferent, so it doesn’t really work with that accredita-tion,” Werder said.

Students who wish to pursue academic careers at the Ph.D. level, and those who wish to embark on a professional career after they graduate, have the opportunity to pursue a balanced curriculum which offers both theoretical and applied courses. USF’s graduate program strives to give students the chance to work on real campaigns for real clients.

Three alumni have decided to take advantage of these opportunities: Tiffany Schweickart, Alan Avac-bard and Melanie Formentin. Both Avacbard and Formentin have secured fellowships in their research fields at Texas Tech University and Penn State, re-spectively. Formentin will complete her Ph.D. study-ing strategic communication management.

Schweickart recently accompanied Dr. Werder as a coauthor to the annual congress of the Eu-ropean Public Relations Research and Education Foundation. Together they presented research that was selected for consideration for a special issue of the journal of communication manage-ment. She is currently studying at the University of Florida, where her four-year paid fellowship has offered her to teach as well as devote a significant amount of her time to research.

Opportunities such as these are what keep the program brimming with new possibilities. The

Graduate program embraces new faces, opportunites

by Avery Quinn

The Winds of Change

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graduate faculty has also begun holding a “brown bag lunch series” alongside their colleagues in the School of Information. At these events, students of both schools have the opportunity to learn about not only the faculty but also their research inter-ests, and are encouraged to engage in discus-sions about current research trends.

The first meeting was held September 25, and included presentations by two assistant professors: Moonhee Cho and Edd Schneider. Schneider’s research presentation was a fun and interest-ing look at media use and the media effects of video games. Cho’s presenta-tion focused on strategic communication for both for-profit and nonprofit or-ganizations, social media, public engagement and empowerment. Werder has expressed interest in the possibility of a future collaboration on the topic.

Around 15 students showed up to this first meeting and opened up channels of communica-tion while also breaking down misinformation and misunderstanding. The next meeting is scheduled for the end of November.

“Hopefully we’ll be facilitating research rela-

tionships between colleagues so that we can ex-plore interdisciplinary connections with strategic communication management and information sci-ence,” Werder says.

Other students of the graduate program who are not pursuing their Ph.D.s after graduation, are instead getting jobs at managerial positions, local-ly, nationally and even internationally.

Werder says that the faculty is “…reflecting on our curriculum at present time, making sure that it’s doing the job, continuing to be current or conducive to our students meeting their goals, either for a professional or academic career.”

Keeping in mind that the deadline for the fall 2014 enrollment appli-cation is February 15th, Werder says she hopes to see an increase in the in-ternational student popula-tion. “The diversity just re-ally adds to the class room and really adds to the edu-

cational experience for everyone,” she said. Since its establishment in the late 1980s, the

graduate program for the School of Mass Com-munications has been a rapidly evolving curricu-lum with an emphasis on strategic communication management as well as media studies. Werder is looking ahead to all the opportunities this change provides, hopeful that the spring semester will bring the next generation of future alumni.

USF’s graduate program strives to give students the

chance to work on real campaigns for

real clients.

Dr. Kelly Werder displays the latest edition of the Journal of Strategic Communication, a quarterly peer-reviewed publication for which she is an editor.

p

By: Hayley ZimmermanPhoto Credit: Désirée Fantal

Stephanie Hayes:From Obituaries to Novels

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I’d heard that the University of South Florida graduate Stephanie Hayes was a sweetheart. I looked through the glass doors at 10:52 a.m.

and saw a woman walking in the opposite direc-tion wearing bright blue pants and a coral blazer. I thought to myself, “I love that outfit, I bet that’s her.” It was. I found out that Hayes is not only a reporter for the Tampa Bay Times and the TBT, but also a fiction writer and fashion blogger. Hayes happily took me into the newsroom and showed me around. I had never been inside a newsroom, let alone the newsroom of Florida’s most well-known newspaper. I expected bustling reporters pounding away at their keyboards try-ing to meet deadlines, interns frantically making copies and passing out coffee, reporters yelling down hallways and phones ringing off the hook. To my surprise it was actually calm and serene. Most of the reporters were quietly sitting in their cubicles focusing on their computers. There was no yelling and the atmosphere was anything but tense. After a quick tour through the newsroom, Hayes and I ventured into the break room to sit down and talk. After graduating Countryside High School, Hayes went to St. Petersburg College and then transferred to USF. What she told me next made my jaw drop.

In a very humble and genuine tone, Hayes said that at only 19-years-old she was hired at the St. Petersburg Times. She wasn’t even enrolled at USF or in her first semester when she started her writing career for a professional newspaper. It was clear she had talent well beyond her years. Dr. Rick Wilber and Dr. Randy Miller, the two professors for the newspaper sequence in 2003, had a meeting about Hayes. They decided it would be best to not get in her way. They were flexible with assignments and allowed her focus on reporting for the St. Petersburg Times. Hayes remembers all the rich experience she was able to have and how her professors helped her. Working 32 hours a week for the newspaper, she decided to slow down her course work and graduate a little later than she had planned. She finally graduated with her degree in 2006. In 2003 Hayes’ career path began in a bureau as an editorial assistant doing office administra-tion work, with a little writing on the side. She did calendar listings and traffic reports. She received her first real crack at writing when she got the change to write a neighborhood story. Soon af-ter that, the bureau gave her a real reporting job covering the Westchase Area. A few years later Hayes did a rotation in the Floridian section of the newspaper, which placed her in front of the people in the St. Petersburg office. They were looking for someone to write obituaries full-time. To soften the blow to the readers, The St. Petersburg Times wanted Hayes to write a feature that expanded on obituaries and made daily stories out of them. This new high profile job moved her from the bureau to the St. Petersburg office downtown. She did that for a year and a half and in total wrote about 350 obituaries. Aside from writing about death every day, Hayes said that it was a great experience. After writing obituaries, she became a gen-eral assignment reporter in St. Petersburg. She later made the switch to an entertainment and pop culture reporter for TBT. Nine months ago Hayes found herself in the Tampa office newly re-named The Tampa Bay Times. She now covers higher education as her beat, USF specifically, and also has the occasional general assignment. Hayes does not have a negative comment about any of the jobs she has described to me. The way she explained them seemed like she gained

S T E P H A N I E H A Y E S

an abundance of valuable experience and knowl-edge that she still uses to this day. USF is her current beat, so I asked her what it was like going back on campus as an alum. She said she finds USF to be an interesting place. “I do have pride as an alumnus, but I also have a job as a reporter to cover the school, and so I can’t just always write fluff. I have to make sure that I am reporting the news whether it’s flattering or not. So it’s a strange line to walk.” Hayes actually has a leg up on covering USF. When inter-viewing students, staff or pro-fessors she makes an automat-ic connection with them. That connection puts Hayes and the interviewee on common ground, which leads to a more trusting and smooth interview. Hayes still keeps in contact with Dr. Wilber and from time to time is invited to speak to some of his classes. She shares her knowledge and real world ex-perience with his students, and gives them advice. For being so young, Hayes has accomplished a lot in her career. She just released her first book titled “Obitchuary” in September. It’s an entertaining and humorous murder mys-tery following Penny Perkins, an obituary writer who accidentally killed her date. Obviously pulling from her experience writing for the death beat, Hayes has cre-ated what seems to be an awe-some story. Her “pipe dream is to become a fiction writer, but that is a difficult thing to sup-port yourself in.” Overall Hayes loves to work at the Tampa Bay Times and plans to stay there for a while. Another one of her feats is Deal Divas, a fashion blog for Tampa Bay women looking for “hot fashion finds that won’t

leave [their] wallet in ruins.” The blog was created in 2008 by Hayes and Letitia Stein. It includes fashion advice, bargains and style news. When she’s not shopping, she’s writing for either the se-quel to “Obitchuary” or for her personal blog Ste-phInfections.com. She also enjoys hanging out with her boyfriend and beloved dog in Dunedin.

CISAf ter Dark

ou pack up your things after class and toss a piece of scrap

paper into the trash. You proceed out of the classroom, down the hall and into the bathroom where you wash your hands with soap and water before drying them off and throwing the paper towel in the trash. You continue out of the bathroom and to the double electric sliding doors where you exit the CIS building, drop your empty water bottle into the recycling bin and walk to the parking lot to find your car. You do this every day after class; the same routine at the same time and you have never thought anything of it.

There are people who have thought

story by Kelsey Howard, photos by Mary Mathews

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CISAf ter Dark

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of it and people who appreciate your cleanliness every day—the CIS custodial staff.

The custodial staff at CIS arrives at 6 every night and don’t leave until 2:30 in the morning. What the staff does in that time period can oftentimes be overlooked by students who are rushing from one place to another, mindlessly using facilities without thinking about why they have them. The custodial staff cleans the building, yes, but what they truly do is ensure that every student has a clean bathroom stall, a spotless floor to walk on and empty trash cans to use so that these facilities run smoothly and students can come and go with no delay.

The team tries to be as unobtrusive as possible, but a senior custodial staff member, Kenny Hermina Perez, said his favorite part of the job is building relationships with students and professors.

“If they have a personal question or just need a simple cleaning job, that is how we start building a friendship,” he said.

Shimeeka Jarrett, a custodial staff member, has only been on the CIS custodial team for four months but also said her favorite part was get-ting to interact with the students and staff in the building.

Humberto Rodriguez, a custodial staff member, said that his favorite part is building a relationship with his fellow team members.

“Ever since our specific team came together, the building has been in better conditions overall,” he said.

Hermina-Perez is growing anxious as Halloween arrives because that seems to be the “creepiest time of the year,” he said. He said it seems like a Star Wars convention is going on because so

many students in the CIS building dress up as the characters on Halloween. He never knows why that seems to be a trend every year, but he said it “freaks him out” because sometimes you see them and then all of a sudden they’re gone—like they “vanished.” “We are lucky in this building though,” Hermina-Perez said, “Some buildings have creepier stuff going on.” Rodriguez said sometimes in the CIS building he may be the only one in there, but he can hear footsteps on another floor. “That doesn’t even compare to the stuff I have heard about other buildings,” he said.

Rodriguez said he hasn’t seen anything like that, yet, but he did walk in on a person sleeping in the closet. “He was laying there and he wasn’t moving …so I got closer and he jumped up really fast and scared both of us,” he said. Rodriguez said he opens closets slowly and cautiously now.

The CIS custodial staff cleans the building for the students and staff who use it daily. They ensure that your day goes smoothly by preparing the building from the evening into the early morning hours. While they have seen some pretty crazy stuff in their time in the building, all of the team members expressed how much they love their job.

“We basically maintain the building for the stu-dents,” Hermina-Perez said humbly, “but in the long run we do a lot of behind-the-scenes work. That is fine with us, we just want to help.”

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As CEO of Garcia Media, it’s Mario Garcia’s job to reimagine the designs of a variety of publications. With 41 years of experience in

the field, Garcia has worked with 684 publications or media companies.

Garcia Mes a media consulting firm with offices in Tampa, Buenos Aires and Hamburg that works with newspaper and magazine design, tab-let apps, web strategy and design, branding and corporate communications in print, online and mobile platforms.

A University of South Florida School of Mass Communications graduate from the class of 1969, Garcia describes a good design as, “Functional, it does what it has to do to make the content more appealing. Bad design is narcissistic, it exists for

the looks only, with no regard for the content it accompanies.”

As the Hearst Digital Media Professor in Residence at Columbia University›s Graduate School of Journallism, Garcia teaches multi-plat-form storytelling.

“My goal is to nurture a new generation of storytellers who will not be so platform driven, but story driven, and who will be able to analyze the story content then decide how that content will play best across the various platforms. The story comes first,” Garcia said.

As a student at Miami Senior High School, class of 1965, Garcia discovered his love for design. “I knew it by the time I was in high school. I liked drawing and sketching. I joined the student

Less Is Best By Justine Figueroa

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newspaper and that was the moment that I decided what I wanted to do,” he said.

To this day, Garcia is still practicing fine-tuning his design skills. He sees that the world of digital media is wrought with challenges and opportunities. When he sees a design he likes, he sketches it to pick out the elements that he likes. When he sees one he doesn’t, he draws it out with his suggestions.

Despite holding the position of editor of the Oracle from 1968-1969, Garcia hasn’t developed a love for one type of media. “I think that the possibilities are tremendous. No preference. I like a good story. Period,” he said.

With the ever-changing landscape of the media industry, Garcia was quick to adapt to new forms of design. “Change is the challenge. But we all have to be trained storytellers. The story is what is important, and now we have the best tools to tell good stories. Multi-platform storytelling is a favorite area for me, one that I explore, one in which I observe, and which all my workshops include as a centerpiece,” Garcia said, “The challenges for journalists is that you must learn how to tell stories across platforms, with multi-sensory appeal.”

Garcia describes his design aesthetic as a three-point approach: “make it easy to find, make it easy to read, make it visually appealing. Less is best. Every element must have a purpose.” He favors clean lines and a balanced composition in his work. Some of his most exciting projects include taking the Wall Street Journal from black and white to color and doing the same for Die Ziet, the intellectual newspaper from Germany.

Garcia also worked with El Tiempo, the daily newspaper of Colombia with the highest circulation in Latin America. Garcia describes El Tiempo as “the newspaper of the future.”

Garcia wanted to redesign the paper so that it would survive in a multi-platform world, a world, which he has embraced. When developing these design concepts he often considers the consumer.

“Design now allows for transformations: the main elements are still important—typography, grids, color—but each platform has a specific requirement (and not just a different size of the canvas),” he said, “We must also understand the lifestyle of the user-- those consuming information on a smartphone are anywhere and everywhere, with interruptions, those reading in print or in the tablet, may be in a lean-back mode, relaxed and ready to concentrate more. It is not just about visuals, it is about the entire picture.”

As a media consultant, Garcia is responsible for understanding the concept that the client wishes to convey, analyzing how the content will fit best on various platforms and helping companies through the difficult phases of change and transformation.

“The most gratifying part of my work is seeing the effects of change and how they can truly mean the difference between mere survival and glorious thriving after a transformation," he said.

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Cathy Gugerty is one of the newest professors at the

University of South Florida to offer her talents to the Mass Communications Department, but her successes are far from new with extensive training and over 30 years of knowl-edge in the business of television broadcast production, man-agement, marketing, teaching and more.

Gugerty grew up in Illinois and always knew she wanted to work in broadcasting. She went to Western Illinois Univer-sity for exactly that, and began working at a television station just a few weeks after graduation. Gugerty began in the production department at a television station in Rockford, Illinois and eventually worked her way up to becoming

the newscast director. With each step in Gugerty’s

career was a promotion to a higher position. Her next venture was when she moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to direct their newscast. Not only was Gugerty one of the head directors, but was the first woman to direct a newscast in both Rockford and Milwaukee.

“Women were really jumping into the field and doing things they traditionally hadn’t done,” she said. Just a few years before this time even news anchors were all male. “Women have had to catch up to work in these untra-ditional roles.”

Professor Gugerty more than caught up in the business. When she moved to Tampa for the first time, Gugerty worked for Media

Breaking good

BY PAIGE RUSHING PHOTOS: ADAM FENSTER

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General Broadcasting Group in the marketing department. There she was Director of Marketing, where she would put together plans to increase ratings and would travel to different television stations to help their marketing departments.

Gugerty was offered the position of General Man-ager of WDEF TV, so she eventually moved from Tampa to Chatanooga, Tennessee to run the television station.

“It’s a rush being in charge. I enjoy leading,” she said.

After being the General Manager for several years, the television station sold to a new corporation. This was perfect timing for the next step in Gugerty’s career.

“It was a wonderful catalyst to get going on what I wanted to do,” she said.

At this time, her favorite part about being the manager was working with her employees and teaching them to help them grow. Gu-gerty moved back to Tampa where she met with Dr. Friedlander at the University of South Flor-

ida to pursue a teaching career at the college level. This required Gugerty to go back to school to get her Master’s degree.

“Just like any student I had to take my GRE (Graduate Record Examination), which was really scary after not taking a test for 30 years,” she said.

While getting her Master’s degree at USF, Gugerty taught ethics, introduction to telecommunications and writing for radio and television. It took her two years to com-plete her Master’s before becoming an ad-junct professor for T.V news and ethics. Just this past year Gugerty was hired on as a visiting professor. She currently teaches electronic field production, writing for radio and television, and is in charge of the Florida Focus program.

“I see USF students as hard working students who have a lot of passion and care about what they do,” she said of her Bulls students.

Even with the news of the Mass Communications Department accreditation be-ing dropped, Gugerty says in her professional experience, it doesn’t matter.

“As somebody that hired a lot of people for a lot of years it wouldn’t have even phased me. I think your education is what you make

of it. I would never check to see if a college is accredit-ed when hiring. I look at the student, I look at their work, I interview them and would take into account their skills,” she said.

USFdefinitely appreciates Professor Gugerty’s work with the Mass Communications

Department and helping her students achieve their own career dreams in the business of broad-cast news.

“Women have had to catch up to work in these

untraditional roles.”-Cathy Gugerty

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Rick Wilber finds passion in teaching while writing about the unkownStephanie Byrn

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he professor enters the classroom clad in a

pale blue button-up shirt tucked loosely into

his faded denim jeans. He strides confidently

to the lectern, sporting his traditional, black New Balance

sneakers that look as though they’ve seen almost as many

years as he has. He begins to roll up his sleeves, a daily

routine, and the class settles and becomes attentive. Every

student in Dr. Wilber’s class knows when it’s time to get to

work.

Dr. Rick Wilber is an experienced professor

of 38 years and has been a part of the faculty at

the University of South Florida since 1989. Long-

time instructor, experienced journalist, avid sports

fan, published writer, father, and husband, are just

some of the titles associated with Dr. Wilber. His

career started in his later days of college as he was

finishing his master’s degree in English Literature at

Southern Illinois University, in Edwardsville. He was

approached by the head of the journalism department

at Edwardsville and asked if he would like to start

teaching part time. By the age of 26 he was teaching

full time as an assistant professor.

Anyone who has spoken with Dr. Wilber soon finds

out that he is a huge fan of science fiction and not just

reading or watching it, but writing it. He has written

close to 50 short stories for various magazines and is

currently working on a trilogy of science fiction novels

that are under contract. He also attends several

science fiction conventions every year. From local

Tampa events to world conventions like LoneStarCon

3, the Annual World Science Fiction Convention held

in San Antonio, he makes a habit of being a part of

the science fiction community. This driving passion

TRick Wilber finds passion in teaching while writing about the unkownStephanie Byrn

20

started way back in third grade when he first began to

read sci-fi novels for kids. Immediately, he fell in love

with the genre and became an avid reader, polishing

off as many books as he could, a trait that he still

has today. He became a regular at his local library

during the summers and by the end of his elementary

education, he had read every book in the juvenile

science fiction collection. This love of science fiction

followed him throughout his high school career and

his early years as a sports writer until he realized in his

late 20s that if he wanted to be a science fiction writer,

it was a dream he needed to start pursuing.

Wilber said that he always thought he would teach

for a few years and then go on to become a famous

writer. But, while he did experience some national

success as a published sports writer he found his way

back into the classroom rather than into fame and

fortune. However, he doesn’t see it as a failure but

rather a realization of a second passion.

One of the interesting things about Dr. Wilber

is that he is more successful now as a writer than

he ever has been despite his early aspirations. He

was 30 before he sold his first short story but has

enjoyed a blossoming career ever since. Prior to

the fall semester of 2013, he was nominated for

science fiction’s Sidewise Award for Best Short-Form

Alternate History. On August 31, 2013, he took that

award home from the LoneStarCon 3 convention. His

winning story entitled ”Something Real” follows Moe

Berg, spy, linguist, scholar and ex-baseball player as

he attempts to save the world from Nazi Germany and

the threat of a super bomb. Set during World War

II, a mysterious woman, a cornered physicist, and a

dangerous dictator all become obstacles for Berg as

he tries to decide which side the players are on and

whom can be trusted.

Dr. Wilber has also been working on a science

fiction trilogy. The first book, Sweepcast, has already

been completed. He sold this trilogy to the largest

publisher in the field of science fiction, Tor Books. On

top of all of this he has been intermittently editing and

writing textbooks for publication, and constructing

additional science fiction short stories, which are his

first love in the writing world. These textbooks include

Magazine Feature Writing (St. Martin’s Press), Modern

Media Writing (Cengage), The Writer’s Handbook for

Editing and Revision (McGraw Hill), and Future Media

(Tachyon). He continues to keep contact with editors

of various magazines and is quick to send them his

latest novella which often involves aliens and baseball,

his two favorite topics.

Even in the midst of all his writing, Dr. Wilber still

finds time to spend in the classroom. “I always said

I was a teacher that did some writing and I wanted

to be a writer that did some teaching. Now that I am

a writer that does some teaching, I kind of like the

teaching,” said Wilber. He finds equal enjoyment in

both professions.

When he isn’t lecturing or typing furiously on his

computer, Dr. Wilber is proud father of two and a

loving husband of 30 years. He even occasionally

finds the time to volunteer as a coach for girls’ soccer

leagues for 12 and under, an activity that started when

his daughter was growing up.

Even with such a demand for his time, Dr. Wilber

still remains a prominent figure in the journalism

21

program. He encourages students to stop by and is always willing to look over drafts, no matter what stage

they are in, and offer advice and guidance. Teaching in the magazine department, Dr. Wilber notes that his

role has always been to work with students to help them publish and sell stories. Rejection is a huge part

of being a writer, especially in the freelance business, and learning to embrace that rejection can be hard.

However, the hardest part of writing isn’t the first rejection, it’s the first acceptance (of a query), according to

Dr. Wilber. “Now, you have to actually write it,” he said. And when that acceptance comes, he is the first to

offer congratulations and help in any way he can.

“For a teacher, student success is the single most satisfying thing you can have happen. It’s the reason

to teach,” said Dr. Wilber.

22

USF alumna Naomi Prioleau, 24, shares the chapters of her life that

landed her a reporting job in Texas.

A Journalist’s Story

By Carly Hobbs

23

personal mentor. Bobbie O’Brien’s reporting style was a major influence on Prioleau and her reporting.

“She tackles stories head on and with passion,” Prioleau said.

Despite tough economic times, Prioleau was able to land a job in public relations shortly after graduating in the spring of 2011. This solidified her love for journalism even more.

“No offense to those in PR, but it just was not my cup of tea,” she said.

Feeling unfulfilled with her job in public relations, Prioleau continued to apply for other jobs to no avail. It wasn’t until early September of 2012 that she was officially launched on the path of a journalist. She heard back from The Marshall News Messenger, in Marshall, Texas, located about 150 miles east of Dallas. By the end of the month, she was on a plane to Texas, where

she still is today.With The Marshall News

Messenger, Prioleau reports on stories dealing with city hall. Because their news-paper is small and local (circulation of about 5,000), she has the opportuni-ty to work on other sto-ries as well. Aside from her typical city hall reports, Prioleau loves a good

human-interest story. “I love telling the untold story;

being able to help people get their stories out there,” Prioleau said. “That’s the reason I got into journalism.”

She is currently looking forward to report-ing on a story that will help a woman get water back in her Marshall home. Though it is more of an investigative piece, Prioleau likes that she will be able to provide help during this woman’s tough time.

It’s no secret that the job market is still slow. Finding long-lasting careers is one of the major worries for graduating college students, as well as those who have already graduated. Because of this, Prioleau is in no rush to leave Texas quite yet.

“I want to go elsewhere,” she said. “But I understand I need to get my feet wet.”

“I love telling the un-told story; being able to

help people get their sto-ries out there,” Prioleau said. “That’s the reason I

got into journalism.”

niversity of South Florida alumna and current city hall reporter for The Marshall News Messenger in

Marshall, Texas, Naomi Prioleau had her eyes set on journalism at a young age.

“I’m pretty lucky because not too many kids can say ‘I know what I’m going to do when I grow up,’” said Prioleau. “I always knew I wanted to be a writer.”

Though she knew it as a kid, it was high school that encouraged her to move forward in her dreams of becoming a journalist. She began writing for her high school and local Kansas City news-paper. She maintained that drive and determination as she moved to Florida for college.

Most students who start out at Santa Fe Community College, like Prioleau, would continue on to its sister school, the University of Florida. However the journalism program at USF drew her in, and the two proved to be a perfect match. There, Prioleau was able to dabble into the many facets of mass communications, write for The Oracle and intern with WUSF, the radio station on campus.

Prioleau notes the University of South Florida as an important learn-ing experience in terms of figuring out what she really wanted to do and giving her the tools necessary to make her dream a reality. One thing she suggests for all current mass communication students is to experience every aspect the major has to offer. While college students are searching high and low for the door to their career, employers are looking for prospective individuals with experience. She advises students to take advantage of college classes because they’re made to provide experience, even if it’s small.

Much of her success is attributed to WUSF and Bobbie O’Brien, a reporter for the radio station and somewhat of a

U

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stagnant club just a year ago, RTDNA (Ra-dio, Television, Digital, News Association) has transformed itself into an active, 40-member

club under the leadership of broadcast student, Wey Lin.

Lin came to USF as a transfer student last year ready to begin her pursuit toward an ul-timate goal of becoming the lead anchor for E News. She immediately began seeking oppor-tunities for involvement on campus, and even-tually stumbled into the presidency of a club that had fallen to the wayside.

Lin says she heard about RTDNA and couldn’t find anyone who could give her any real informa-tion on the club.

“I had no idea who to ask, so whenever I saw someone with a camera I would ask them, ‘Hey, are you with RTDNA?’ ‘Uh, no – we’re doing this for class’”, Lin said. “I even walked into WUSF and asked them, [WUSF] had no idea what I was talking about.”

Lin says that after some research, she found out the club was almost nonexistent.

“Finally I talked with my advisor and she told me RTDNA was so small that it was taken under the wing of SPJ, so I contacted [Professor] Garcia and I attended one of [SPJ’s] meetings. He told me there

was literally no one in RTDNA and if I wanted to be in it … I would be the president.”

Lin nervously considered the proposition, rec-ognizing that she had no experience in a leader-ship position at the university level, but decided she was willing to take a chance.

“Because no one was affiliated with it, I could really do what I wanted with it – it was like my baby.”

Lin contacted Travis Bell, an instructor in mass communications, for help with the club. Bell agreed to be the club advisor and has been actively work-ing with Lin on the club ever since.

Lin says the club brings in guest speak-ers who can offer a firsthand look into poten-tial careers. Last year, the 15-20 member club was privileged to hear pro-fessionals in broadcast

including Gayle Sierens (news anchor for WFLA-TV), Todd Kalas (broadcaster for Tampa Bay Rays) and Bill McFarland (anchor for ABC news).

After a successful first year, Lin was ready for what this year could offer.

“I wanted this year to be a great year – it’s my last year, and I wanted to leave something behind.”

Lin says film classes she took over the summer pro-vided RTDNA with an opportunity she couldn’t pass

this wey to the topby Rachel DrummondPhoto by Aimee Blodgett

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up. Her professor brought in the president of the Gasparilla Film Festival as a guest speaker, Lin im-mediately made contact with him and expressed her interest in getting RTDNA involved with the film festival.

“He was twice as excited as I was. He said ‘[we] want to get in touch with USF, and would love to have a correspondent’.”

Lin says RTDNA is now officially working with the festival. Though the festival isn’t held until March, she says RTDNA has been given duties in the meantime, including promotional work.

Lin says working with the festival is a great opportunity for the club. Along with promotions, the club will be creating a commercial to be aired at the festival and club members have to interview all of the stars that walk on the red carpet; stars that included Colin Farrell last year.

So far this year, the club has had Joe Gumm,

morning anchor for Channel 10 (WTSP) and Joe Restaino, Gasparilla Film Festival direc-tor, as guest speakers; and there are still more to come.

Lin says her expected graduation in spring of 2014 has left her with the task of finding her replacement. She says she and Bell have been keeping an eye out for potential candidates.

As Lin strives toward and awaits her chance to be the lead anchor of E News, she has stumbled into opportunities for herself that can

only help her in the future. “I am working for Gasparilla right now I basically

started out as the USF correspondent, then went to intern, and went from that to program directing assistant in two weeks I fell in love with it.”

Lin says she’s not worried about the future of the club, it will be left in good hands. She is, how-ever, excited for what’s on the horizon.

The club is currently getting involved with the career center which is providing members with workshops and helping with resume building. It is also looking at opportunities to tour local news stations and shadow Florida Focus, a student run news program at USF that Lin is also actively in-volved in.

Lin says the club keeps in contact with alumni – many of their guest speakers are affiliated with USF and they are always looking for chances to bring in more speakers.

Lin is excited for the club, and for the opportunities

it has provided her and fellow members. “It is my baby. I feel very satisfied and proud. There

is always room for improvement, but it’s good, be-cause I started from the bottom. I had meetings where maybe one or two showed up. It was rough, but with any club you’re not going to start immediately, now we have around 40 members. It’s really growing and I wouldn’t be feeling like this if I hadn’t gone through the struggle in building it.”

ABC News Director Bill McFarlend speaking at a RTDNA meeting in April (photo courtesey of Jeremy Dewit)

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Choosing a career in advertising is not for the faint of heart. In a field that requires creativity and innovation with the constant changes in

technology and style, it can be troublesome to stay relevant or useful in the industry.

Professor Deb Smith knows this better than most, having spent twenty years in the industry working on accounts for companies like Toyota, Yamaha and Disney at Saatchi & Saatchi.

Smith got into advertising entirely by accident. While get-ting her bachelor’s degree in professional and creative writing at the University of Arkansas, she worked for the school newspaper and be-gan working at an ABC affiliate news station where she, by chance, met people in advertising and eventually made connections with them in Los Angeles.

Through these connections she began to write freelance copy for a company out there, and that eventual-ly led to a job offer and an exciting move to L.A.

Soon after making the move out west, the com-pany she was hired at closed and she was left in a big city without a job.

Using her creative writing skills, she began trying to

write screenplays. Unfortunately, this was an unsuc-cessful venture and she never caught her big break. Smith said the Hollywood film industry is all about who you know, often regardless of talent.

Realizing that advertising was booming, Smith began freelancing again. She eventually landed a job with Saat-chi & Saatchi. She spent twenty years with them as a copy

writer, then senior copy writer and eventually associate creative director.

Smith grew tired of the business and the bicoastal travel from the offic-es in New York and L.A.

Having received a master’s degree in mass communications in 2010, she decided to follow in her father’s foot-steps and become a professor.

She wound up across the country, here in Tampa, when in 2011 she was notified that USF was looking for an advertising professor with real world experience in their mass communica-tions department.

It was a huge culture shock mov-ing out to Tampa for Smith. She is not a huge fan of the hot Florida summers, and she vacates when possible. Smith has found her groove here at USF though. In her first semester she was given the award for excellence in teaching by the USF Student Chapter of National Society of Leadership and Success. She is very proud

Advertisingand Advice

with Deb Smithby Clint Peardon

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of this award, and it says a lot about herself as a pro-fessor. She is passionate about her work.

She tries to keep her students focused and motivated in class with her humor and larg-er than life personality. She identifies herself as a very quirky person. “People should be working towards reaching their quirky potential. Quirkiness is what makes you different from the rest and find your own voice,” Smith said, with a smile.

She believes she has two great accomplishments that she is proud of. The first is surviving in the advertising busi-ness for twenty years. “It is incredibly easy to burn yourself out in the ad business.” Smith said. She is very happy she made it as long as she did.

The second accomplishment she is most proud of is being a professor at USF. It is something more fulfilling than she could have ever imagined.

Smith’s goal as a professor of advertising is to stay

current with the trend of today. She says that since the field is constantly moving and changing she must work hard to stay on top of things for her students. They need to know what is working in advertising right now, not 5 years ago.

Smith also had some very valuable advice for stu-dents of all majors. She said you should do things you are not always obligated to do. You should keep going with class projects you have, even if you’re finished

with them. You should keep a blog. Blogging isn’t just about keeping your skills in check. It is something to show those employers that you were doing something and that you’re creating original content. You should always watch your gram-mar. People won’t take you seriously if you can’t take the time to write correctly.

Most importantly, smith says, “You can’t leave college expecting a job to fall right in your lap. Take your work seriously, have initiative and make it happen!”

Quirkiness is what makes you different from

the rest and find your own voice

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