Students of the multi-media journalism program at Georgia Southern University received real-world experience last week at an event known as MMJ (Multimedia Journalist) for a Day.
Students of the journalism department are required to produce a newscast for their class, producing multi-media products ranging from full video production to daily tweets informing an audience about a selected news topic. This year, GS Associate Professors Dean Cummings and Gina Germani provided their students with the opportunity to work with professionals in the field.
The professors worked with Katherine Wideman, News Director at WSAV3, and Stefany Valderrama, News anchor for Sinclair Broadcast Group, who called in the cavalry of journalist to assist approximately 20 multi-media journalism students with their broadcast, Eagle News.
“The students at Georgia Southern are competing against much bigger programs and searching for these first jobs,” Wideman said. “I want to be able to give them a fighting chance. I wanted to open that portal to their students, so when they walk in for interviews, they are prepared.”
This event is designed to give students a more specific view of what their future job may entail and offers a networking opportunity.
“It occurred to me to create it because I realized that the students needed more exposure,” said Cummings. “Once I got into academia I said we needed to bring in some pros to show them what it's really like.”
The students had the opportunity to work alongside Georgia Southern’s journalism program graduates including Dal Cannady, Bureau Chief WTOC Savannah, Kierah Highsmith, Producer, Fox 5, Atlanta, Lauren Sabia, Producer, WSPA, Spartanburg, SC, Emily McLeod, Anchor/Reporter, WKMG, Orlando and Ashley Jones, Reporter, WIS-TV, Columbia, SC are all Georgia Southern alumni that joined MMJ for a Day this year.
“Working with people who are already professionals really helped me see what the world of journalism looks like,” said Ainslie Smith, a current MMJ student. “It was an intense day and there was a lot going on, but the experience was worth it.”
Though the show was not perfect, the newscast transformed a real-world experience class into a major newsroom. Along with the overall experience gained, the event acted as an optional mid-term exam for the students, allowing them to be guided by professionals.
