Newspaper's Today: Good and Bad News

"Newspapers are dying." This is a common comment among people in and outside the media world, it seems.

But to hear a 40-year newspaper veteran say it is something else.  That is why I asked Orangeburg Times and Democrat editor Lee Harter if I heard him correctly when he uttered those three words.  Then I asked him if I could quote him on that. And he said yes I could.

Lee Harter points out a feature of the large printing press

Harter gave his blunt assessment while showing my SC State Copy Editing students and me his paper's newsroom and huge Goss printing press.

The daily expense of turning out thousands of newspapers is evident when seeing the massive machinery that is required.  Huge round bundles of paper are all around and a big vat of ink sits to one side.

Therein lies the dilemma many newspapers face today.

Freshman Launches Her Own Sports Show

"The Elite Sports Show" is a collaborative endeavor this semester between a communications student interested in sports broadcasting and a faculty member seeking to create more opportunities for SC State students to gain hands-on experience on the air and behind the scenes.

Freshman Kaila Ali McClam-Tamplin hasn't wasted time pursuing her career interests, working closely with instructor/production manager Kelechi Benet to create fresh new online content. "

Three episodes of the "Elite Sports Show" were shot this semester in the program's TV studio.  Each show is three to five minutes in length. The shorter format fits nicely into what people look for in online content, Benet said.

Click on the icons below to see McClam-Tamplin in action.

Benet sees the program as a template for future short form productions that would continue to benefit students who like McClam-Tamplin are willing to put in the time and effort outside of the classroom to develop their skills.

WIS-TV Set Donation Arrives!

Instructor Alicia Pryor, in just a few years at SC State, has helped advance the Communications Program by leaps and bounds.

She introduced Bulldog News Now (BNN), a broadcast that went weekly this school year.  And it is now viewed outside of campus and the program's Facebook site by also airing in the Orangeburg community via cable television. 

Pryor has also successfully aligned with Columbia's WIS-TV to attain large, professional set pieces that the station was no longer using.

This week, the remaining few background pieces were delivered. 

Said Pryor in a Facebook post: "A huge thank you to the WIS News 10 team for the donations to our Communications Program. The students, faculty and staff are extremely appreciative of the gift." Thank you notes, under Pryor's direction, are being sent to WIS and also the university's facilities management workers who brought up and set up the large pieces.

Plans are underway to create appropriate SC State designs to go on the set to replace the Channel 10 ones. 

TV News Director Stresses Writing Skills

South Carolina State University communications students interested in working in television were treated yesterday to the high-energy and straight talk of Michael Raffaele, news director at Columbia's WACH Fox 57. 

Raffaele did not mince words about what skills and potential he seeks in news reporters and producers.

The Sky's the Limit BMW Executive (and SC State Alumna) Tells Award Recipients

SC State has a high-level connection with corporate communications at the huge BMW car plant in South Carolina's Upstate.  Students and graduates are encouraged to try to network with her!  

Anything is possible.  Unlimited potential. Those are some of the definitions of the idiom “the sky’s the limit.” 

The living personification of that common phrase was the keynote speaker at the 2018 Honors and Awards Convocation on April 3 at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.  And it seemed fit that Sky is the nickname for SC State alumna Schylver V. Foster, a longtime executive at the BMW manufacturing plant in Greer, S.C. 

Kedrick Pasley in Rooms to Go TV Commercial!

Kris Bennett (Communications, Class of 2016) shared some exciting news about her fellow Charlestonian and SC State communications alumnus Kedrick Pasley.

Kedrick, in the blue suit, appears in a commercial for Rooms To Go furniture.

Kris shared this Instagram post.  Click here to see the full commercial.  Kedrick, for a time, was the bulldog mascot at State, so he has show business in his blood.

Since graduating he has been working as a show dancer at Disney World in Orlando.  He has also done some other commercial work, according to Kris.  Keep up posted and keep on dancin' Kedrick!

2018 Alumna Bound for CNN!

Ashailyn Gleaton

Ashailyn Gleaton, Class of 2018, is making big moves!  At the end of this month, she will begin a job in Atlanta with news network giant CNN.

Since graduating last May, Gleaton, an Orangeburg native, has worked in Charleston at WCSC-TV (CBS) where she is a news content specialist.  

She shared the following with us about her new position at CNN:

The I+S News Assistant works with news program teams as they deliver their programs to air. 

The primary duties are to run teleprompter, monitor rundowns on a PC, and deliver scripts to producers, talent, and control room staff. News assistants work with shows at CNN, HLN (Headline News) and CNN-International and will have opportunities to receive mentoring with some of the most accomplished professionals in the business of broadcast journalism. 

 Training, development and other production tasks as asked.

Ashailyn is a graduate of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School and SC State's communications program. While working in Charleston she has also been pursuing a master's certificate in digital marketing at Full Sail University.  See her LinkedIn site for more information and to contact her. 

Congratulations Ashailyn! Please keep us posted on your exciting new job!  

Latest BNN Newscast

Bulldog News Now is down to just a few newscasts before the school year ends. Check out the latest program here (click the link below the photo).  It was anchored by Sophie Galvan and Ashley Hendricks.

Click here to go to the Communications Program Facebook site.

Alumni Tell Students to “Slam Dunk” Their Opportunities

Current SC State communications students should be better prepared for life after college thanks to the Communications Club's alumni forum on March 29.

From left, Jaylaan Riley, Breylon Jones and Kris Bennett

It won't be a bed of roses, cautioned Jaylaan Riley (Class of 2017), Breylon Jones (2015) and Kris Kaylin Bennett (2016).

"Do not allow people to put limitations on you," said Bennett, a radio personality at Charleston's Z-93 radio. "Always be about business."

Post-graduation depression can also creep in. Finding that first full-time job can be challenging.

BNN Team Gets Professional Photos!

From Professor Alicia Pryor:  A special thanks to Mr. Rolando Davis for snapping pictures of the Bulldog News Now team. The team's pictures will be posted in the Communications building. (Old engineering building)

BNN is always welcoming new students!  So get involved- don't hesitate. There are a few more programs to be produced before the semester ends in May.  

Voice Diction Workshop More Than "Stupid Superstition"

The workshop was held in the auditorium

BNN staffers did a lot more than sit in on a special voice and diction workshop on March 22 that was organized by Ms. Pryor.

In fact, they hardly sat at all under the high energy direction of theatre professor Ursula Robinson.

The second floor resonated with "aahs," "oohs," "heys," and "red leather, yellow leather" chants.  "Stupid superstition" was not one of the voice warm-up exercises used this day, but it is on the handout Robinson left with the student, as is "tie twine to three tree twigs."