UF College of Journalism and Communications

I’ve known that I wanted to be in the sports media industry since I was in middle school. So when senior year of high school rolled around, it was a very exciting time for me to apply to colleges with great journalism schools. After I got my acceptances, I really had it narrowed down to the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Florida. It was a very tough decision, but at the end of the day I realized that if I wanted the most successful life possible for myself, UF was where I needed to go, simply because of the education and experiences I would receive. And boy was I right!

I declared my major as “Telecommunications” when I went through student orientation, and it hasn’t changed since. I have learned so much in all of my telecommunication classes that will be useful to me in the future. I have learned how to technically write stories for many different platforms like print, web, and TV. I have learned how to properly interview people and what kinds of questions are best to ask. I have learned how to use cameras and all the audio equipment. I have learned how to edit on a few different editing softwares. The “Writing for Electronic Media” is really what got the coursework flowing learning how to write, without it I would be nowhere. The “TV 2” course has really showed me what it would be like to work in a professional newsroom. And I am very excited to dive more into “Investigative Reporting” next semester as my last telecommunications class at UF!

There are so many opportunities within the UF College of Journalism and Communications that most schools around the country don’t even have anything comparable to offer. There is the CMIR, which allows students to develop their skills in digital media. It works as a hub for research and discussion for students in the 21st Century News Lab.

CMIR 21st Century News Lab

AHA! Lab which is a part of CMIR.

Aside from all the possibilities within CMIR, there are many more ways to get involved with the college. I started working for WUFT-TV when I was a sophomore. I worked as a production crew member, and worked all the way up to being a sports anchor (You can watch one of my sports segments down below). Working for WUFT is a great opportunity for students who aspire to work in the TV/News field. Not many university’s have daily student run newscasts, and if they do, they are not at the same caliber and skill level of WUFT’s First at Five. If you are a sports person like myself, there are sports opportunities too working with ESPN 850 WRUF. UF is the only college in the country to have an ESPN affiliate on the campus that students can work at. They have the opportunity to write for the website, as well as go on the radio to do sports updates, and host sports talk shows. And there are many clubs to join too like AD Society, NBS, and PRSSA. I am also part of JCA. By being a member of this organization, I serve as an official ambassador to the College of Journalism and Communications. I get to work with many professors and students to better the college. I also tutor students in classes. And I give tours to potential UF students. By participating in all of these activities, I have become well connected to the college, and have grown so much. I know that the things I have learned here and the experiences I have had will take me far in life!

Book Review: “The Tipping Point”

“The Tipping Point” by: Malcolm Gladwell

I really didn’t know what to expect when I first picked this book up. I was nervous after reading the description on the back that it was going to be very boring and analytical, but boy was I wrong! I really enjoyed reading this book and would suggest it to literally anyone. It is an easy page turner! It is a great read for people to understand that there is so much complexity to the world we live in, but one simple thing, person, action, etc. can change the course of history.

I was hooked and captured by the book  just within the first couple pages of the introduction. I think I became hooked because of the Hush Puppies fad that Gladwell was talking about. I constantly find myself thinking about fashion trends and why some things become so popular and mainstream so quickly. I was actually just thinking the other day before I started reading “The Tipping Point” about Alex and Ani bracelets and when they actually became so popular. You can ask girls, and most of them at any age will own an Alex and Ani bracelet, and they probably own multiple. This book taught me that the popularity of these bracelets could have easily spread across the USA simply because one person had a bracelet and someone who knows a lot of people took a liking to them. And then it could snowball from there and they tell all their friends and so on. After reading “The Tipping Point” I realized that these trends are actually epidemics that spread like viruses, and all epidemics have ‘tipping points’.

Gladwell describes the epidemics as any idea, product, message, or behavior that spreads rapidly. These epidemics are examples of contagious behavior. Little changes in these things could potentially have big effects, and these hangs happen in a hurry. But the fact that epidemics can happen so quickly is the most important factor.

There are agents of change as described by Gladwell that can cause ‘the tipping point’. The Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context. The most interesting of these agents to me is the Law of the Few. I liked reading about this the most because I feel like I related to it more than the others. There  are connectors, mavens, and salesmen to make up the Law of the Few. They are all people who are so dynamic that their lives and interactions can help start an epidemic. While I am still very young and have a lot of life ahead of me, I feel like I have made a lot of connections and met a lot of people in my 21 years of life, and can only imagine that I will continue to do this for the rest of my life. Word of mouth communication is the most important, and the Law of the Few takes advantage of the word of mouth.

After reading “The Tipping Point” I will never be able to think of things the same. I will always sit back and try to figure out what happened that made things become so popular. And even more importantly, after reading this book I hope that after graduation and in my job search, something ‘tips’ in a positive way for me to get the job of my dreams!

“The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell

Getting to Know Gainesville

For my readers who know all about the University of Florida, then I’m sure you are very familiar with the city of Gainesville. But for those of you who are not familiar with the North Central Florida city, this will help you learn more about the wonderful and quirky town that is Gainesville, Florida. There is so much more to the city than the university, and some of my fellow classmates have taken it upon themselves to show some of the lesser known things of Gainesville!

Megan Gannon is from a small town in the Panhandle of Florida. She has taken her love of the small town, to find the things in Gainesville that remind her of the small town feel. Megan’s blog will take you through some of the “hidden gems” in Gainesville that you may not have known about, but will definitely want to visit when you are done reading her blog!

Kara Hudgins and I studied abroad together in Australia, and one of the many things that I learned about her is that she loves to eat. And to top it off, Kara has great taste in food! In her blog, Kara writes about some of the best restaurants in Gainesville that all “foodies” or anyone who loves a good meal to try. She also posts about restaurants with reasonable prices so this blog can appeal to everyone. I have tried a lot of the restaurants on her blog, and Kara did not disappoint because they are great!

Jonathan Muñoz’s blog is one that lovers of UF, history, and fun facts need to read. Jonathan writes about buildings and places on the UF campus and how they got their names. He tells of the stories behind them. Even as a student at UF I didn’t know the reasons behind all of the names of buildings on campus and I really loved learning all about them!

Check out all of these blogs to learn more about the city that I call home!

Sports Blogs

As you have come to learn more about me through my blog, I am sure you have learned that I am passionate about sports, and hope to find a job in the sports media field in the future. One of the best things about being a Telecommunications student at the University of Florida is working at all of the multimedia properties on campus with students who share the same passions as me. I have loved getting to know more women who are trying to break into the sports industry with me!

I met Chelsea Gates working at ESPN850 WRUF. She was a veteran at the station when I started and helped get me acclimated to everything I needed to know at the station to be successful. Chelsea was also the UF Gymnastics beat reporter last spring with me, so I got to spend a lot of time learning from her there as well. Chelsea now works for 120 Sports in Chicago, and I hope to be as successful as her once I graduate!

I got to know Colette Duchanois in my “Radio 1” class. This is one of the first core Telecommunications classes for students at UF, so as you can imagine I have also had many more classes with Colette. She is a great person to have in class because she keeps you level headed when the work begins to stress you out. Colette and I also work at ESPN850 WRUF where we share our love for sports outside of our news oriented classes!

I first worked with Hannah Oliveto at WUFT-TV. Hannah (and Chelsea too) was the sports anchor on Mondays, and I served as her apprentice. Every Monday I would help with the production of the sports segment for WUFT. I would film the “All-Sports” press conferences where the UF athletic coaches would come and speak about games from the weekend, and what they are preparing on in the upcoming week. I would also help in writing the script and editing the corresponding video. Hannah got me very prepared to take on my role as sports anchor for WUFT this fall!

Please check out my friends blogs! If you love sports like myself, you will love their blogs too!

Courtney McKenna Bio

Hi everyone!

My name is Courtney McKenna and I am a Senior Telecommunications student at the University of Florida! I am on the “news” track of Telecommunications that focuses more on reporting, and TV production.

It is my goal to work for one of the big American sports networks like ESPN, ABC, CBS, NBC, etc. I would like to cover college sports, especially football and basketball. I would also like to cover the NFL. Working for a professional sports team is also something that sounds exciting to me.

In the summer of 2012, I had the opportunity to intern with NBC in London for their production of the Summer Olympics. It was a life changing experience, and covering the Olympics is also a dream of mine. But in the long run of my life, as long as I am in the sports media field, I will be happy! In the summer of 2014, I interned at Golf Channel in the Original Productions department. I was able to have a hand in the production of their shows like Big Break, Feherty,Golf’s Greatest Rounds, and more. I enjoyed working on all aspects of a show like research, production, and post because it really gave me a feel for how things are produced in the “real world”.

At the University of Florida, I have been spending my time in various media outlets gaining more experience. I have been working with WUFT-TV for over three years now. I started by working as a production crew member to produce the daily student-run newscast, “First at Five”. I now am a sports anchor and news reporter two days a week for WUFT. As a sports anchor, I have also been the UF Gymnastics and Volleyball beat reporter. I have also spent a few years at ESPN 850 WRUF-AM, the sports radio station. I am an on-air personality writing, and reporting sports updates. I also write sports stories for the WRUF website.

For more information about myself you can view my resume, and look at my website for more of my work.

WUFT’s Courtney McKenna.

Courtney McKenna: Resume

Below is my most up to date resume. For more about me and my work, you can visit my personal website!

Courtney McKenna’s Resume

TV Makeup

I have mentioned before on my blog how important it is for on-air talent to have good make up. I am writing another post about this because just a few days ago one of the news directors for WUFT was critiquing some of the anchors on their poor makeup. One of his biggest issues was makeup that is distracting to the viewers. I have come to realize that this is even more important than I had previously thought.

Here are a few more tips for creating a great on-camera look because we all know that HD TV shows everything!

• Prep your skin with a moisturizer and primer. This will help make your skin look smoother, reduce your pores, and have your makeup last longer.
• Make sure your foundation matches your skin as perfectly as possible, and blend well.
• Apply a thin layer of concealer under your eyelids to make them look brighter.
• Draw attention to your eyes or your mouth, but never both at the same time.
• Blush and mascara is always a must!
• Use eyeliner to widen the look of your eyes.
• Keep your eyebrows groomed.

There is also HD make up on the market that is was made with the TV industry in mind. It is rather pricey, but a good investment for those who want a career in front of the camera.

 

Erin Condren

In an earlier post on my blog, I had talked about planners and how important they are for not only students, but also for people in the professional business world. I showed you my Lilly Pulitzer planner, but a new agenda brand has been brought to my attention by a few of my friends that I have never heard of: Erin Condren.

Erin Condren is an online company that sells custom products like business cards, notebooks, stationary, wrapping paper, and more! Oh, and agendas of course.

On of my friends that brought Erin Condren planners to my attention is Laurel Marois. She is the president of her sorority, Sigma Kappa, so she always has a lot going on aside from being a student. Laurel just got her Erin Condren planner over the summer, and told me it was the single greatest thing she owns! “I used to live by my Lilly Pulitzer planner, but then I was introduced to Life Planners by Erin Condren and it changed my life. It is the single greatest organizer you could ever imagine and well worth the price. It’s like when you switch to an iPhone for the first time, there’s no going back.”

Everything made my Erin Condren is completely customizable. It is a bit more pricey than other products on the market. But for all of you Type A’s out there who need perfection, this may be the solution for what you need to stay organized if price isn’t a factor!

Laurel Marois’ Life Planner by Erin Condren.

The inside of Laurel’s Life Planner by Erin Condren.

NLCS

The Cardinals and the Giants face off tonight for game 5 of the NLCS. Currently the Giants lead the series 3-1. This lead isn’t too daunting for St. Louis because they know first hand that teams can come back. San Francisco did it to them  in the 2012 NLCS when the Giants trailed 3-1 and won the last three games sending the Cardinals home.

For The Cardinals to have a chance at winning tonight, they need to clean up their fielding. They lost game 3 on an errant throw, and fielding miscues in the 6th inning allowing three runs during game 4.

But the Giants have Madison Bumgarner pitching, and he is a better pitcher on the road than in front of his home crowd. He is 1/3 in postseason starts at home and without a loss on the road. He could potentially be a game changer.

If the Giants win this game, they will clinch the NLCS title and go to the World Series for the third time in five years.

First pitch is around 8pm tonight on Fox Sports 1 if you want to check out all the action.

I anchored sports for WUFT on Monday, and one of my stories was about Game 2 of the NLCS. Check it out!

(Please feel free to look at some of my other videos I have posted to YouTube.)

Wrong-Way Crashes

For my last newsroom shift, I was sent out on a story to cover the rising number of wrong-way crashes in the state of Florida. Just in 2014, in the Tampa Bay area alone, there have been 11 deaths caused by wrong-way crashes. Check out my final piece that aired on WUFT to see what officials are doing to try and prevent these crashes in the future.