Which college thinks they are gods gift to TV and where did YOU go!

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Anton Saur

Well-known member
I've always heard of them as the Mizzu Mafia.

I went to a small school called Jacksonville State Univ. in Alabama
 
J

<Jayhawker>

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Missouri, of course. And I attended their arch-rival Kansas. A couple I've worked with actually called in "sick" the day following a basketball or football loss to my boys. Rock Chalk, assholes! ;)
 
S

<Special K>

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Mizzou is a great place, but like anything else it is what you make of it. I went there and it was a huge plus for me--I had the skills to be succesful when I graduated because I was given the chance to make mistakes and learn from them in a structured environment. Yes, there are some arrogant Mizzou grads, but I've met just as many people who are arrogant from other schools.

The bottom line is simple--no matter where you graduated from, you've gotta get the job done or they'll get someone else.

The advantage with Mizzou is that you graduate knowing the demands of the biz and you already have some limited small market experience. That's a big step up over most other schools.
 
Ohio University....! Great Video Production School...

The journalism school isn't too bad.... The strength of OU is the student involvement at the PBS station WOUB.... Lots of real world experieince.

Incase you haven't figured it out... I graduated from OU.
 

shootist

PRO user
1.) God's gift: Syracuse

2.) Where I went: er...Syracuse...you gotta problem wit dat?

actually, i don't really hear much negative reaction to 'cuse grads. we've got a number of reporters in this market from SU. only one's a real tool.

though, as shooters, we all still tend to have healthy egos...not much seems to emanate from our alma maters.

now mizzou?!? well...sometimes, i just have to shake my head. :rolleyes:
 

soonershooter

Well-known member
University of Oklahoma--hence, "soonershooter."

Program was average at best--came down to what you made of it.

Best part of it was getting to "crash" the NPPA workshop for free--which I was able to do for 2 years while in school and about 4 years afterwards (They've since made it a lot harder to "crash").

Regarding Mizzou:
while at WMC in Memphis I worked with 2 guys who were terrific: Richard Ransom, who is now in Milwaukee (I think) and Jeff Abell, who is at WBFF in Balitimore.
I currently work exclusively with one reporter who is a Mizzou Grad: Lechelle Yates at WFMY-TV. She's terrific. Today we watched a tape from a kid at Mizzou (which she received as a member of the "Mizzou mafia"). The results were less than stellar. The student needs to go to market 100+ and get their butt kicked for about a year, then we'll see.

Long story short: it comes down to the person. Those with issues, will probably still have issues. Level-headed folks will be fine.
 

MadMax

Member
Chalk up another Ohio University grad here.

Funny thing is that I've got my degree in Political Science. Never set foot in a Journalism class in Scripps, and only took one vid production class involving crappy handy cams.

Its all about what you make of your time. I learned the basics through hours of volunteer work. Starting with Studio production and moving on to being a photog.

Bobcat and OU-Bobcat drop me a line sometime. I might be down in Flordia this summer if i can get some time off.
 

Shootblue

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I am going to beautiful Missouri Southern State University...for Criminal Justice Administration. I feel sorry for anyone who has to spend four years in the desolate nothingness called Clovis/Portales. God.
 
W

<Whoolz>

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I went to Emerson where I majored in broadcast journalism. after 3 years of reporting news, I realized it was too easy and learned to shoot better.

Also: You can't spell S*ck without SU.
 

PhrozenPhoto

Well-known member
Call me one of the Mizzou-Mafia. It seems everyone likes to take shots at the top-rated schools, and that's ok. True there are some who haved walked in and out of the Mizzou halls that in the real world might bring a little ill will towards the name, but I think that can happen with any program.

Still being in the state of Missouri, and WAY too close to Lawrence I would have to say the best part of being a Mizzou grad is there is always a KU bandwagon fan or a K-State fan that you can always mix it up with. (Depending on which sport is in season) I've also found on many interviews being a Mizzou grad is an icebreaker with some interviewees... I usually have a Mizzou Tiger Paw on my viewfinder, and it seems to have started many a conversation. But again that is most likely because I'm still in Big 12 country. If I lived out in ACC or SEC land they probably would look at the Tiger Paw and not know it is a Mizzou logo, as I wouldn't really expect them to.

Where Mizzou grads have any sort of edge in this biz, and I think it mostly lies with reporters and producers, is the mafia. The news director of KOMU has been there forever and knows where almost all of his students are. If you wanted to try to break into Atlanta for example, you could call him up and he could probably give you at least 3 names of people at each station that can give you the inside scoop and walk your tape in for you. And whether any hiring manager will ever admit it or not, if you have someone hand a tape to a news director or a chief photog and someone they work with says "Hey I think you should take a look at this tape, it's pretty good" you'll: A. Leap over the pile of 150 Priority Mail boxes sitting on the floor, and B. You'll get more than the standard 10 seconds.

Conversely if you are in Atlanta you could call him up, tell him you had an opening for position X, and he could give you the names of grads around the country that might be looking to make that next move. It is that double whammy of solid classroom instruction, the "what you know" that helps put you in the position to be part of the mafia for the almost more important "who you know"

Plus quarter draws at Harpo's on Thursday nights is a damn cheap way to kill off some brain cells! Oh and for Mizzou grads on here who remember the Heidelberg, across from the J-school, and didn't hear the news... it burned to the ground. Not a pretty sight to see at all! Shakes is still going strong though, and rumor has the the Burg will be rebuilt.
 

Photog Cowboi

PRO user
Originally posted by Shootblue:
I am going to beautiful Missouri Southern State University...for Criminal Justice Administration. I feel sorry for anyone who has to spend four years in the desolate nothingness called Clovis/Portales. God.
Hey! C/P isn't bad...it has its' quirks. I played at PBS and now...C/P is small and fun. Eastern though is growing at an alarming rate and over the past year has gone DVCam and Avid. One prof is trying to get FCP and more cameras. Now...they are building a new Communications building which will house more studios for PBS and for whatever plus hopefully a larger editing suite. Plus they have changed the newscast format. C/P isn't bad...it has its' days though! :p
 

Shaky & Blue

Well-known member
Originally posted by KCPhotog:
It seems everyone likes to take shots at the top-rated schools, and that's ok.
Hey, I just call it like I see it, and the only people I've seen exhibit an attitude about the school they attended were from Missouri. I've gotten plenty of "god's gift" attitude from other people, but it was just general god's gift attitude and not "I'm better than you because I went to XXX University." School oriented god's-gift-edness only happened with Missouri.

But at the same time, I've worked with several top notch Mizzou grads who didn't make an issue of their journalistic pedigree. The whole barrel isn't necessarily bad just because of a few rotten apples. Yet the apples that do go bad in the Missouri barrel seem to go bad a particular way that is unique from other schools, and that is the Missouri attitude which is very real and very irritating when you encounter it. Come across a few of these, and you'll start to wonder if something's amiss in the orchard.
 

PhrozenPhoto

Well-known member
Shaky,

I know the attitude you speak of, I've encountered it myself, and just shake my head. While I've never taken a poll it seems the attitude comes more from Graduate (MA) students more so than Bachelors (which coincidently is a BJ... a truly fitting degree to have in this industry) At least from my encounters. And to be honest I have NO clue why a Master's student cops an attitude... they do the EXACT same coursework as an undergrad, the only difference is they write a thesis. Go figure! Not to say that attitude comes only from them, but in my encounters with the "Mizzou 'tude" it seems to lean that way.

Most of us are nice I promise! Especially if you encounter those of us that graduated in the Early to mid 90's... we have to be humble, we had no football team and a basketball team that could go a whole round in the NCAA's before losing to some lower ranked "powerhouse" (or getting the dreaded 8-9 seed)
 

Lost in Alaska

Well-known member
Originally posted by <Ted Bell>:

Northwestern people are also theorists who are pretty clueless when the rubber hits the road, but USC may be among the very worst in terms of actual career education, or lack thereof. But plenty of professional hubris, advertised hourly.
If you ask almost anyone from the Pac-10 they will tell you anyone from USC is full of themselves.

I happened to graduate from Washington State University.
 

McColl

Well-known member
Originally posted by Lost in Alaska:
I happened to graduate from Washington State University.
I knew it was only a matter of time before the damned Cougars showed themselves. Actually, I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the Murrow school of broadcasting yet. It's a great program.

I went to Washington, Chris... so I know you understand how I feel. The TV program was actually cancelled the year after I graduated. I'm surrounded by WSU alumni here in Vegas. Professional drinkers, all.

I agree with you about SC, though. Arrogant bastards.
 
P

<P.O.Y. wannabe>

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NMSU is really a good Broadcast Journalism school as well. AVID-composer edit suite, Good Camera's and gear and a nightly newscast on the local PBS station that is 100% ran by the students. Everything from ENG to production. You get to cover all the major basics. The station has won many awards for Excellence and is accredited. Plus it isn't that expensive and a normal person could actually afford it. Students from here are not as stuck-up as students from Northwestern who think they know everything about everything. I wouldn't be where I am today without the school. Big Ups for New Mexico State University. Home of Sam Donaldson. Go AGGIES!!
 
T

<Ted Bell>

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Originally posted by <P.O.Y. wannabe>:
NMSU is really a good Broadcast Journalism school as well.
Good Camera's and gear and a nightly newscast on the local PBS station that is 100% ran by the students.
They obviously don't teach English or grammar as part of their journalism program. Go Aggies indeed.
 

Shaky & Blue

Well-known member
Originally posted by <Ted Bell>:
They obviously don't teach English or grammar as part of their journalism program.
I'm convinced that most colleges, even those with strong reputations for their journalism departments, do not adequately teach grammar and style. Actually, they do teach it, but they don't require the students to learn it and don't hold them accountable for it. After all, it doesn't take much effort to get a barely passing grade in those pathetic freshman English courses. A complete moron can usually squeak by in English composition.

Once someone has passed freshman English, the focus in the writing courses shifts to other areas. Personally, I think a third year college student who doesn't know the difference between their, there and they're or then and than should not be allowed to continue until he gets it straight. I think he should know how to spell separate, definite, and independent (or any of the words ending in -ent instead of -ant. I think he should know when to use whose and who's and should know when not to use whom, and he should be able to correctly use its and it's by instinct. For that matter, anyone who uses apostrophes incorrectly (i.e. "use's apostrophe's" or "employee's only") should be sent back to the third grade. If your major field of study is a writing field like journalism, you should also understand why all those words are italicized in this paragraph.

Alas, grammar doesn't seem to count in history papers and psychology papers, or in research papers for mass communication classes. Judging from what I've seen during my relatively brief career, it doesn't count in journalism classes either. On a related rant, how can anyone take a newspaper seriously when the articles are filled with grammatical atrocities of the variety one finds in the Washington Times?

If I ever teach, grammar will count. Either make sure your kids learn the language, or pray that they don't ever get me as their instructor.

All that aside, only in rare circumstances should you criticize other posters' grammar on an Internet message board. It's petty and rude, and it's generally considered bad netiquette. ;)
 
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