Spinning All the Right Dials...

I haven’t really blogged a whole lot about my job at WKST in New Castle yet, so I decided to make it this week’s subject. During the past couple of weeks, in particular, I’ve served as the audio board operator for the live broadcasts of the New Castle Red Hurricanes high school basketball games. I always think it’s funny that both of the announcers with which I work say at the beginning and at the ending of each broadcast, “Thanks to our producer/engineer Nicky Piszczor back at the station, spinning all the right dials…” Technically, as you can see from the picture I took and put up with this post, I’m not “spinning” any dials; instead I’m potting up or potting down the channels on the audio board. I guess it just sounds cool to say that ;)

Anyways, this part of my job involves getting the game on the air, setting the game to broadcast live on the web at the MSA Sports Network website, running the local spot breaks, and communicating with the announcer to make sure everything goes smoothly. However, as I’ve learned from current and past experiences on the job and elsewhere, things don’t always work out so smoothly. The station uses two kinds of equipment when broadcasting the games, either a Comrex or a phone system. Well, over winter break, the Comrex went out right in the middle of an exciting game. At first, I wanted to panic…I didn’t think there was any way I could get the game back on the air unless the announcer fixed the Comrex himself. However, I stayed calm and played some PSAs while I was trying to figure out what else to do. Thankfully, the connection was back a couple minutes later, and I put the game back on the air.

But it wasn’t over…a little later in the game, the same thing happened again, but I knew what to do this time…I covered and filled in the time, and eventually, we ended up broadcasting the rest of the game through the phone. Just this week, the phone system also cut out at the end of the game. This time I was more prepared. So here’s my helpful tip for the week…something I’ve learned on the job….DON’T PANIC!! Unusual and unexpected problems will happen while you are working on the job at some point…and all you can is make the best of it. I’ve noticed the people who work best under pressure are those stay calm and try to work with others to come up with solutions. Being able to work under pressure and deal with unforeseen problems on the spot are skills that I’m continuing to develop as I encounter obstacles on the job and at the school. Everything is a learning process, and I’m willing to learn all I can.

My Senior Capstone Ideas...

It's already time for me to start thinking about my life and my career beyond college. This spring semester I'm taking my Broadcast Communications Capstone class, a senior studies class which allows students the opportunity to delve deep into their major, pick a topic in that field that interests them, research on that topic, and then develop a way to showcase what you discovered and to make it your own. In many majors at Westminster College, this would require a long research paper, but one of the reasons I really love broadcasting is that the opportunity for creativity is endless.

Therefore, in my capstone class, I will have to develop a senior project that interests and benefits me down the road. The first step was to craft a mission statement, which I've included under the ABOUT ME section on the right. The main idea from my mission statement is the importance of networking, especially in the broadcast business. Hard work and experience are important to unlocking the doors to opportunities, but it's also about who you know and who knows you. This blog will help me in this endeavor: to display my work, to network in the business, and to get my name out there.

This is why I chose to sub-head my blog with a line from the song "What Could Be Better" by the Christian band 33 Miles which reads, "I'm living in the days ahead..." It seems to me that in the broadcasting world, it's always about being one step ahead of the game, to be thinking in terms of tomorrow. You want to act like your future employer is right there observing you. You never know who is out there watching, who may be a potential networking contact for you down the line. One of the things I would like to do with this blog is to look at what employers are looking for in their future employees as well as to reflect on the work I'm doing right now in the field and how it is preparing me for a career in the future.

I'm still not sure what I want to do once I graduate, so I'm having a hard time deciding what to do for my senior project. Some ideas I've been tossing around include: revitalizing the Covenant radio show, plus bringing a Christian band to campus, creating an online resume website that features all my work in radio and television, or starting an online version of the County Line. Basically, my senior project is still in the works. Oh, and I almost forgot...everyone in my class is applying to the Amazing Race 14, too! Here's a link to my capstone professor's blog for this class: BC Capstone!