Most colleges have athletics teams. In South Carolina, we have Bulldogs (SC State and The Citadel), Cougars (College of Charleston), Gamecocks (University of South Carolina), Tigers (Clemson University), and Paladins (Furman University), among others.
Behind the scenes of these teams are sports information professionals such as...
"One of my rules is not to say I want to be but to say I'm going to be, so from now on say that."
Such self-confidence has guided Billie Jean Shaw to a successful television news career since graduating from Winthrop University in 2013 with a mass communications degree.
The self-proclaimed "country girl from Manning" treated our communications majors to an inspiring presentation on Feb. 20 as part of our Media Professionals Speaker Series.
A main anchor at Columbia's WIS-TV, Shaw told us she knew early in life that she wanted to work in TV news, telling the Manning newspaper in 2014 that as a youngster, she preferred watching WIS-TV news instead of cartoons.
"They had a segment, 'Live with Lucas,' she said back then, "where he would go to places all over the Midlands and interview all types of people. I would look at that and think, 'Hey, I want to be on TV. I want to talk to people like that and tell their stories.'"
College helped equip Shaw with the knowledge, skills and tools to make her dream a reality. She showed us her first "MMJ" report as a Winthrop student. MMJ stands for multimedia journalist, meaning she shot, wrote and edited the package (a reporter story with voice-over tracks, soundbites from people interviewed, and her on-camera standup part).
