TeleProductions Lands Contract with The CW Columbus

By Nicole Gennarelli

Kent State University TeleProductions partnered with The CW Network in Columbus and Mann Communications this fall to produce Thursday Night Lights, a five-game high school football series profiling Columbus teams.

Mann Communications contacted TeleProductions after hearing about its state-of-the-art satellite uplink/production truck and inquired about broadcasting a high school football package in Columbus. Once the partnership with CW Columbus was finalized to air the games, the whole deal came together.

“The great benefits to doing this program is marketing our truck and our TeleProductions program at Kent State,” said Jeff Bentley, TeleProductions executive producer for the Kent State Sports Network.

This program was the first time that high school football had been aired live on Thursday nights. The series aired five different Columbus area high school football games. Each week there were two student athletes from each team honored at halftime. Video stories of each player were played for spectators to watch.

“The truck traveled from Kent to Columbus every Thursday and on occasion left Columbus and went straight to an ESPN3 game at Ohio University or University of Toledo,” said Dan Tonelli, TeleProductions engineering and operations manager. “There were also a couple of weeks where we had Thursday, Friday and Saturday games.”

Many student workers at TeleProductions were able to gain real-world experience during the Thursday Night Light season, as well.

“That is what makes this whole thing a win-win situation,” Tonelli said. “The students get great experience, and the PR value of having our truck at all of these high schools is huge. The station is providing programming that no one else in the market is doing – probably the only opportunity most of these athletes will have to play in a televised game.”

Because of the professionalism and quality of programs TeleProductions produced, the CW Columbus will be continuing Thursday Night Lights in 2013 with a 10-game season.

“Our partnership with Kent State for Thursday Night Lights was successful due to the professionalism and experience of Jeff, Dan and their amazing production and engineering crew,” said Ellen Daly, vice president and general manager of The CW Columbus. “They share our philosophy of producing the best product possible, and this was certainly apparent in the look of the live HD broadcast of Thursday Night Lights. The positive viewer feedback was tremendous with an overwhelming response to the quality of our production.”

Currently, TeleProductions is in negotiations to take its truck to the Super Bowl in New Orleans, La., this year.

“We’ll be in a live productions capacity working for the BBC involved in its live production of the Super Bowl,” Bentley said. “We are excited at the real possibility of having our truck in New Orleans for the Super Bowl. We feel this is just another great opportunity to market not only our truck and department, but the whole university. It would be so cool to see the big Kent State logo on our truck in the massive production truck compound.”

Employers want account passwords: what would you do?

By Nicole Gennarelli

Employers asking job applicants for their account passwords is becoming frequent in today’s job market. Is it appropriate or a complete invasion of privacy?

Facebook Isn’t Suing Employers Who Ask for Your Password…Yet states that Facebook had a strong opinion towards employers who asked for applicant or current employee’s account passwords. It would involve policy makers or even legal action to protect the privacy of its users. However, according to the article, Facebook has issued a less threatening statement:

“We don’t think employers should be asking prospective employees to provide their passwords because we don’t think it’s right the thing to do. While we do not have any immediate plans to take legal action against any specific employers, we look forward to engaging with policy makers and other stakeholders, to help better safeguard the privacy of our users.”

This issue has warranted attention from legislation in Maryland and Illinois where it’s proposed to forbid public agencies to continue this practice. According to the article, “Since the report was published, two U.S. senators have asked the Attorney General to investigate whether requesting Facebook passwords during job interviews violates federal law. One of those Senators, Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) plans to introduce a bill that would prevent companies from snooping on employees’ social media profiles, and California State Senator Leland Yee announced he would introduce a similar bill in California’s senate.”

This ethical issue stirred up a debate of privacy. Can employers legally ask you for private information? If yes, would you give it to them?

Although I am not entering the working world right away and have chosen to continue my education in graduate school, I am a recent college graduate. I feel that asking a future employee to disclose his/her password to an Email, Facebook, Twitter, or any type of account is unprofessional and an invasion of personal privacy. I understand employers concern about hiring someone who posts negative or compromising information or photos on a social media account. While I believe it’s smart to only post things online you are comfortable showing all your friends, it’s your own personal account, not a work account. Sometimes, I think it’s best for people to keep their social media accounts separate from any work-related activity. By granting others access to your accounts, it’s not only an invasion of your privacy but an invasion of all your friends & contacts privacy as well.

Dateline Delhi Website Launches, Features Multimedia Projects

By Anne Dudley

Eighteen communication students and three professors from Kent State University spent 10 days of March in Delhi, India reporting on culture, environment, the economy and more for DatelineDelhi.org, a multimedia news website and product of the International Storytelling course. The site officially launched on Monday, April 30 showcasing student photography, video and feature stories from India.

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kent State partnered with Amity University School of Communication in Noida, India for the project. Amity provided students and faculty for collaborative reporting, guidance around the city, and for most of the group, lasting friendships. The Kent students stayed in on-campus housing and even set up a newsroom in the School of Communication’s facilities.

This is the second International Storytelling course that professors Gary Hanson, of Ravenna, and Mitch McKenney, of Hartville, have led. Last year, the team produced Dateline Shanghai with Shanghai International Studies University. LuEtt Hanson, Ph.D., the associate dean in the College of Communication and Information, accompanied the group and secured relationships with Amity leaders for future academic exchanges. Amity students will visit Kent State for 10 days in September as part of the partnership and collaborative learning experience.

Teams of students gathered images, video, audio for news and feature stories from the Delhi area, taking in the sights and sounds of the capital city and its people. Some rode elephants and visited orphanages and hospitals, while others ventured into the slums, construction sites and the local YMCA. While in India, the group traveled to the Taj Mahal, a beach resort in the state of Goa and to Mumbai.

The course met for 10 weeks prior to leaving for India, using the time to report on Indian culture in Northeast Ohio as a practice run with multimedia journalism in teams. After returning to Ohio students spent the remaining course time preparing their stories for the website debut.

Senior visual communications design major and participant Laura Contrucci, said, “traveling to India was absolutely incredible, for many reasons. The things I saw, good and bad, were eye-opening and led to reflection and growth. I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunity; it is truly something I will remember fondly for the rest of my life.”

“Being able to go to India at this point in my life really changed the way I view everything,” junior communication studies major Meghan Hawsman said. “I am still at a point in my life that I am very impressionable and going to India has changed me for the better. I am now able to look at situations from a different point of view and not take anything for granted. This is a beautiful place that I believe everyone should have the opportunity to visit in their lifetime.”

For more information, follow Dateline Delhi on Facebook andTwitter.

JMC Students Sit In On Dimora Trial

By Meghan Caprez

The media has been buzzing about former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora’s trial. Kent journalism students found themselves sitting in the media room next to professional reporters, writing on the same topics.

The trial, which is currently taking place in the Akron federal courthouse, sees Dimora facing 36 corruption-related charges, generating public interest in surrounding counties.

Sue Valerian, a part-time journalism professor, saw the trial as an opportunity for her Reporting Public Affairs students to receive experience in the field. As a class assignment, each student was required to sit in on the trial at least once.

“I hope they gain some kind of comfort and understanding in just being in a court room,” Valerian said. “It’s pretty intimidating doing anything for the first time.”

Senior Britni Williams was the first of Valerian’s students to go to the courthouse. Williams sat in on Jan. 21, then returned Jan. 28.

“Just walking into the building alone was overwhelming,” Williams said. “Having to go through the security check, figuring out where the clerk’s office was so I could get a media pass, finding out where the media room was to begin with was an experience.”

But when Williams walked into the media room, she realized that she had a distinct disadvantage. Those involved in the trial wanted to avoid a “media circus,” so no electronic devices were allowed in the main courtroom or in the public overflow room. Williams thought this also applied to the media room.

“I finally get in there and I feel like an idiot because I’m holding a pencil and a piece of paper and everyone’s got their laptops, iPads, cell phones, smart phones,” Williams said. “I said ‘Alright, let’s do this.’”

Though challenging at first, Williams did find the experience worthwhile. She was able to network with WKYC reporter Kim Wendel, who she still has contact with. Wendel helped Williams by sharing notes and opinions on reporting the events of the day.

She was also able to accomplish what Valerian hoped for all of her students; Williams went away from the experience with a story to tell. The story was posted to kentwired.com later that day.

Williams was also contacted by WKYC the following Monday for an interview about her experience. News anchor Eric Mansfield broadcasted a story on her time in the courthouse.

“It was exhilarating being side-by-side with all of these professionals,” Williams said. “I definitely have less reservations about walking into a federal courthouse now. Going in I was a little timid because I went in by myself not knowing what I was doing. After feeling it out on my own, I’m much more comfortable doing it now.”

Students receive opportunity to display their work at the first annual CCI Film and Photography Gala

Do you have a love for photography and film? Kent State provides you an opportunity to show off your work at the first annual College of Communication and Information (CCI) Film and Photography Gala on Friday, March 30.

“Students should enter their work so that they have the opportunity to have their photos and videos shown to the public and people in the entertainment industry,” said David Sadvari, senator of Undergraduate Student Government. “A lot of students don’t have the opportunity to show their work because there aren’t many screening options for them in this area.”

The event will have two separate competitions: photography and film.

The photography exhibition will be a judged screening of the Through Our Eyes exhibit in the FirstEnergy Auditorium Lobby at 5 p.m. in Franklin Hall.  Photos in this exhibit were compiled by students from elementary and basic photography classes, Visual Storytelling, photojournalism and specialty classes, as well as photos taken for student media and personal projects. The images represent the diverse talent of Kent State students and are currently being displayed in the lobby.

The doors for the film competition will open at 6:15 p.m. in the FirstEnergy Auditorium. Judging will be based on originality, technical merit, execution and audience appeal. Each film entry should be submitted on an individually-labeled DVD and can be between one and 15 minutes long. Films must have been created in the past two years and free of any copyright infringement.

The first, second and third place winners will receive a prize that will be announced at a later date.

“This will be a networking event where professionals in the industry, faculty from the university and the student producers and photographers have a great chance to get together for an exciting event,” Sadvari said.

A non-refundable flat fee of $15 per person is required to enter the film competition.  All submissions are due to Jennifer Kramer in 131 Moulton Hall (CCI Dean’s Office) by March 26, 2012.   Each entrant must be a current Kent State CCI student.

Important dates to remember:

-          March 26: Submissions are due

-          March 28: Receive notification of acceptance

-          March 30: Film and Photography Gala event day

For more information, visit the College website.

It’s Never Too Late to Spread Your Wings & Get Involved On Campus

By Britany Ruby

It’s less than a month into another busy spring semester. And while  a lot of people would want to hibernate until the sun comes back out, a select few of you will use this semester as a chance to get involved on campus. Whether you’re in the market for some new friends, community service hours, a resume booster, or fine tuning an old hobby, Kent State University has the organization or club that fits your needs.

1. Greek Life: Greek life is not just paying for friends as some people would say. As a member of a sorority myself, I see it as an opportunity to become a part of a sisterhood or brotherhood. It gives you the opportunity to serve your community while building lifelong friends and becoming a better person. Check out Kent’s Greek Life page to learn more.

2. Join a Special Interest Group: What better way to bond with new friends than through a shared hobby? You can join a fashion club like Modista, a film club, and even a bicycle club. Check out this special interest list for more options.

3. Serve the Community: While almost every student organization on campus does some kind of community service project, there are organizations on campus that were created solely to serve the community. You can join an organization that’s specific to KSU, such as Kent Student Ambassadors or participate in national service projects with groups like Habitat for Humanity.  Check out CSI’s service organizations list for more opportunities.

4. Build your Resume:  Getting involved on campus is the best way to build your resume and network. It’s important to gain professional experience and meet people within your major who could be your future colleagues. The College of Communication and Information offers many organizations for its students to join. Communication majors can join the Kent Communication Society. Journalism students have numerous options like PRSSA, AAF Kent and various student media outlets. VCD students also have several professional societies and companies like Glyphix.

Getting involved outside of the classroom allows students to make lifelong friends. Take the time to explore interests outside of academics and you might be surprised how many organizations catch your interest. It’s ok to join a organization just to meet people with similar interests. You’ll find that you may also be able to do other things like serving your community or find a new hobby while making new friends. To find a organization or club that fits your needs, check out Kent’s student life page.

Britany is a marketing assistant for the College of Communication and Information.

Black Squirrel Radio Auditions

Information provided by Lori Cantor, student media advisor, and Mike Smylie, general manager of Black Squirrel Radio

Black Squirrel Radio (BSR) will be having its DJ auditions at the following times/days:

Thursday, January 12: 4-8 PM (*for returning DJs only*)

Monday, January 16: 4-8 PM (*for new and returning DJs*) (MLK Day, so classes are cancelled)

Tuesday, January 17: 4-8 PM (*for new and returning DJs*)

 All auditions will be held at Black Squirrel Radio (224 Franklin Hall). Applications for both new and returning DJs will be available on www.blacksquirrelradio.com and in 224 Franklin Hall starting this Monday. (Students will need to fill out an application before coming to auditions.)

Contact Mike Smylie at mjsmylie@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.

TV2 KSU Tech Tryouts Wednesday, Jan. 11

Information from Lori Cantor, student media adviser, and Andrew Plas, operations manager, TV2 KSU

TV2 KSU is looking for Kent State students to fill the behind-the-scenes technical positions for newscasts and entertainment shows for the spring semester.

TV2 puts on 15 shows a week and we need a crew for each one so there are many opportunities to get involved as little or as much as you would like! We put on a flashcast every morning at 9:30 its a 10 minute pre-taped newscast for kentwired.com. Also a Live 30 minute newscast every night at 5:30. Are entertainment shows go live at 9pm and include SportsCorner, The Blurb, The Agenda, Sports Corner Update, and Whats up weekly.

Technical positions include:

• Audio
• Font Coordinator/graphics producer
• Teleprompter
• Floor Director
• Camera

NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED! Training for each position will be available before starting live broadcasts.

How to apply:

Wednesday, Jan. 11 from 5pm to 9pm Andrew Plas and his assistant Cianna will be down on the first floor in the TV2 studio. This is where you can ask questions about any position you would like to know about and we can help you apply. If you already know what you would like to do it is as simple as visiting  http://sites.google.com/site/tv2operations and filling out the TV2 Tech application there! The applications won’t be open until 5pm on Wednesday and they will close at 9pm. 

Questions, problems, concerns?  Andrew Plas, operations manager, will gladly address concerns throughout the process. E-mail him at aplas2@kent.edu.

For information about on-air broadcast positions, see our previous post.

On-Air TV2 Tryouts Scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 10

Information provided by Lori Cantor, student media adviser and Jake Corcoran, general manager of TV2 KSU

Tryouts for on-air positions in news and entertainment at TV2 will be this Tuesday, Jan. 10 in Franklin Hall on the bottom floor in the TV2 Studio.

Entertainment tryouts: Entertainment shows include, Sports Corner, The Blurb, The Agenda, and Whats Up Weekly. They will be taking place from 2:00 pm until 5:00 pm in the TV2 Studio. If you can not make this time for entertainment, we are flexible. Email Lori Cantor with concerns (lcantor@kent.edu).

News tryouts: Tryouts for news will follow entertainment and should begin around 5:00  p.m. They will run from 5:30 pm until 10:00 pm. If it needs to run longer than that we will adjust accordingly.

Dress Code: Please dress professionally. If you do not have the proper attire, you are still able to tryout, but we ask that all participants dress respectably.

Process: Please try to arrive 15 minutes before the start of the tryout session and be aware that it may be crowded. Pick up an application and sign in at the table outside of the studio. Students will be there to assist you. Fill out and turn in the application and wait for your turn to try out. While waiting, you will be able to review practice scripts. When it is your turn, a student will lead you into the studio to the news desk where you will read a few stories from the teleprompter. This should only take a few minutes.

There are many positions to be filled including:

• Entertainment show anchor, reporter, sketch team etc.
• Newscast talent includes anchor, weather, sports anchor and correspondent.

TV2 has 15 shows a week – providing ample opportunity for students to gain experience and succeed in various parts of television production.

 TV2 is not just for broadcast majors, it is for all Kent State students. We are always open to new people! 

NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE REQUIRED! 

To learn more about student media opportunities in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kent State visit jmc.kent.edu. Find TV2 KSU on Facebook.

Questions? Contact Lori Cantor at Lcantor@kent.edu.