PLANNING FOR GROWTH IN YEARS OF RESTRICTED RESOURCES

Mike Latta, Chief Photographer. “I think is was a very good experience, and wewould be happy to do it again. I think Mark and I learned as much as the students did.It was interesting to see their work and listen to the questions they had.”Mandy McMullen, Producer. “I enjoyed talking with the students and answeringquestions they had about the ‘real world’. The most fun I had was during a writingclass, where Christy Brown and I were asked to break into groups with students andtake them through a mock morning meeting. I think this was a very worthwhileexchange program.”Christy Brown, Reporter. “It was a good visit for me professionally, because it gaveme the opportunity to take a step back and look at issues that our day-to-day workschedules don’t allow. I think the chance to reflect and discuss what we’re really doingin this business is healthy.”Jim Swander, Sales Manager. “Would I do it again? You bet! It’s an opportunity tohelp influence, albeit in a small way, both future media managers and sales people intogreat performers.”Doug Runyon, Web Manager. “Ball State should be commended for recognizing theever-changing landscape of the television news industry and bringing in outsidelecturers to supplement their own faculty and staff via the Broadcasters-In-Residenceprogram and other similar efforts.”David Shearer, Promotions Manager. “The university should be applauded for theBroadcasters-In-Residence program. Again, this is the type of program otheruniversities should utilize. I hope, for the students sake, the program is allowed tocontinue without grants.”Josh Witsman, Ball State University student. “These two days proved to be a veryvaluable experience for me as a student and as someone who would soon enter the jobforce. Not only did it allow me to acquire potential material for a resume tape, it alsoallowed me to see how news operations are run in a market such as Terre Haute.”Scott Hums, Ball State University student. “I think a lot of my fellow students don’treally understand how the newsroom works out there in the ‘real world’. They needlessons in how to work together and be a team. This program is the best way to getthat point across.”ConclusionsFrom Genie Garner: When we decided to participate with Ball State University on thisBroadcaster in Residence program we knew we were in uncharted territory. We hadguidelines and certain requirements to meet, but we knew that we had to come up witha plan to make the visits by the Ball State students as valuable to each of them aspossible—and if there was a payoff for us even better.Not only did we look at the partnership as a perfect opportunity to “audition” futureAction 10 News employees, we also looked at it as a way to expand our staff, if onlyfor a couple of days.After visiting the campus and seeing how the students were getting daily, hands-onexperience, we felt pretty comfortable putting the students to the test in the “realworld”. It was a plan that worked!The students rose to the challenge and were quite impressive with their contributionsto our news product. From the morning editorial meeting to the finished product, my69Feedback September 2003 (Vol. 44, No. 4)