PLANNING FOR GROWTH IN YEARS OF RESTRICTED RESOURCES

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wasting my time, I pop the tape out. I don’t want to fool with someone who is tryingto con me.”Common Résumé Tape ProblemsAs a final question of the survey, news directors were asked to provide specificproblems they commonly encounter with résumé tapes and that they believe applicantsshould avoid. Several discussed the issue of over-production. Shawn Harkness,Assistant News Director of the Ohio News Network in Columbus, Ohio, explains whatmay happen due to overproduction. She writes, “This makes it very difficult for [me]or any other news director to know what skills this person has, and we may notconsider an excellent candidate who really did write and produce a news block andpackage.” Doug Crary of KPTM-TV in Omaha, Nebraska characterizes “overproducedslates with music and flying graphics” as a “waste of time.”Inclusion of sensational, headline-grabbing stories was also largely viewed asproblematic. Crary of KPTM-TV laments, “I’ve seen more fires, floods,shootings/murders, and tornadoes than I care to, what I really like is enterprise stories.People need to show me what they can do on an average day. Everyone does a fairlygood job with spot news. I want to see their daily work.” Eric Huseby, News Directorat KVIA-TV in El Paso, Texas similarly voices, “Show me something unique that goton the air solely because you put some thought into it.” Steve Farber of CLTV Newsin Oak Brook, Illinois writes, “Many times in smaller markets, the crash or bankrobbery is big news but these stories seem inflated on tapes. Worry less about the bigstory and worry more about the memorable story.” Debbie Bush of WRTV-TV inIndianapolis, Indiana states, “Most news directors remember faces and names, andsending tapes with stories they think are big—President coming to Toledo, etc. Bigdeal! Give me stories that mean something. I’m looking for excellent storytelling.”Kevin Brennan of KSAV-TV in Savannah, Georgia also urges applicants to only includestand-ups that are meaningful. He writes, “On-camera opportunities have to help movethe story along ... help show, explain, describe something better.”The other common problems mentioned by the news directors tended to be relatedto logistics. Phil Hendrix, Assistant News Director at WJRT-TV in Flint, Michigan,cautions, “if you are sending tapes to several different News Directors at the same time,be sure to check and double check everything you do. Check spelling, labels and DONOT GET THE NEWS DIRECTOR’S NAME WRONG!” Mark Baumert, NewsDirector of the Nebraska Television Network, discusses the problem of havingcandidates apply to the wrong position. He points out, “…when I send out a jobposting that clearly states I want a reporter who also does shooting, all I will get isanchoring. So pay attention to the want-ad and make sure your tape shows me what Iwant!” Michelle Butt of WXII-TV in Winston-Salem, North Carolina similarly writes,“The tape you send out should be reflective of the job you are applying for. Use yourreporter skills to find out what the ND [news director] or job requires, then build atape to reflect those needs.”ConclusionThe objective of this research was to provide current information on what newsdirectors viewed as important and necessary, as well as insignificant and unnecessary, ina résumé tape. Through a survey of news directors representing varying market sizesBEA—Educating tomorrow’s electronic media professionals 38
and regions of the country, consistencies were found among the news directors in termsof what they considered an ideal résumé tape for broadcast television news. A majorityof news directors responded that the preferred tape format was VHS and that videoquality was secondary to the actual skills presented on tape. The news directors statedthey often looked for applicants who demonstrate good writing skills and generalintelligence, along with a proficiency in delivery.In terms of the actual tape viewing time, most of the news directors stated that theytry to form an impression within the first few seconds of viewing. If the impression isnot favorable, the tape is ejected. To assist them in their ability to form a quickimpression of the applicant, many of the news directors recommended that a montageof stand-ups be included at the top of the tape, followed by a few of the applicant’s beststories.The surveyed news directors also stressed that overproduction and gimmicksdefinitely do not work. They encouraged applicants to stay away from such tactics asincluding the applicant’s photo or sending personalized notes. From the viewpoint ofthe news directors, a successful résumé tape is one that is simple and interesting, andreflects the applicant’s own high-quality work and professionalism.Hopefully, the insight provided by the news directors through this research will helpstudents of television news to create effective résumé tapes and move on to their firstpositions as broadcast journalists. Most of the news directors agreed that a tapeshowing hard work and initiative most probably would help the new graduate inhis/her job searching endeavors. As words of encouragement, Rod Gamer of KGW-TVin Portland, Oregon writes, “Work hard, do good work and maintain the highest workethic and team work standards. You can go far.”ReferencesMitchell, S. (1993). Broadcast news. 3rd edition. New York: Harcourt, Brace,Jovanovich College Publishers.White, T. (2002). Broadcast news: Writing, reporting, and producing. New York:Focal Press.Internet ResourcesA listing of radio stations, commercial and non-commercial, who are involved in orhave been involved in internet streaming:http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~willr/cb/sos/Two additional URLs to sites involving the record companies’ initial complaints and alegislative summary, respectively:http://www.ascap.com/legislative/jointstatement.htmlhttp://www.copyright.gov/carp/webcasting_rates_final.html39Feedback September 2003 (Vol. 44, No. 4)
Page 5 and 6: The Telecommunication Arts degree p
Page 7 and 8: principally studying in the evening
Page 9 and 10: Appendix ADepartment of Telecommuni
Page 11 and 12: WTBUa. Digitalb. Maintenancec. Repl
Page 13 and 14: Appendix BI. Telecommunication Arts
Page 15 and 16: Please be aware of the following: I
Page 17 and 18: B. In-training Courses1. Initiation
Page 19 and 20: IX. WTBU-TV MissionA. To serve as a
Page 21 and 22: CLASSROOMEMAILING THE NEWS: RADIONE
Page 23 and 24: WOUB, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
Page 25 and 26: • use software designed for writi
Page 27 and 28: Final Grading Scale for the Semeste
Page 29 and 30: Oct 23 Act I Script conference and
Page 31 and 32: Rationale and MethodIn speaking to
Page 33 and 34: dubs from a clean Beta or DVCPRO ma
Page 35 and 36: y stating, “I would rather see a
Page 37: I like the montages on a tape first
Page 41 and 42: Commission] may revoke any station
Page 43 and 44: The new law also declared, “The F
Page 45 and 46: have written policies regarding can
Page 47 and 48: 3) How did you handle such requests
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Page 51 and 52: CLASSROOMHOW BROADCAST STUDENTS DES
Page 53 and 54: “character” of the desired acti
Page 55 and 56: mood, tempo, and intellect. The sty
Page 57 and 58: should be the natural result of the
Page 59 and 60: DiscussionThose who teach scriptwri
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Page 63 and 64: ESSAY‘BIG’ ISN’T ‘BAD’Bob
Page 65 and 66: OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOMBROADCASTERS-I
Page 67 and 68: • A voice over (VO) by Jason Broc
Page 69 and 70: Mike Latta, Chief Photographer. “
Page 71 and 72: REVIEWFrankland, M. (2002). Radio m
Page 73 and 74: BEA NEWS2004 Convention Program Cha
Page 75 and 76: BEA NEWSChairman, Founder of CMU’
Page 77 and 78: BEA NEWSIndiana Moves More Courses
Page 79: THANK YOU to the following individu

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