Zack Kendall

      One of my first media experience memories came on the world news when I was five or six years old. I went with my class to a Christmas tree farm, and a news crew arrived to do a soft, feature news story. Back then, I wanted to be a “meteorologist,” as I put it. The crew interviewed me and took a sound bite. The rest is television history. Since then, my aspirations have tended toward radio. Nevertheless, my media experience has prepared me for my next steps in the industry.

      Thanks to my training at Bob Jones University in South Carolina, I have had many media experiences that have led to my growth in the field. These include producing podcasts and promos at WBJU, researching for a media relations class campaign, being a grip for the Decision 2012 debate and election coverage, operating webcast cameras for sports games, producing a hymn recording with a team of musicians, and producing a mock audio commercial campaign for Tim Horton’s.

      I also attended an RTDNAC workshop in Charlotte, North Carolina, visiting the NBC studios there. One instructor at the workshop gave me tips on communicating effectively by using a soft voice on the air. Others reminded me of updates in the media industry, particularly in television studio production.

      I have also had a few interesting media opportunities, including volunteering as assistant videographer for the River City Love Squad, creating photo video slideshows for my literary society, learning about graphic design with Adobe InDesign, and filling in as cohost on short notice twice for a Louisville TV show called The Rest of the News.

      During one of the two times I filled in as a cohost for The Rest of the News, I had the opportunity to work with guest host Rick Howland of the Values Coalition. I was able to get this opportunity because I am a friend of the editor of the show, the regular host was unavailable, and I agreed the day before to come. Rick brought opinion from a politically conservative African American perspective, in a show that nearly took an interview format. Viewers appreciated the conversational tone of the episode. The topics covered included the partial reversal of welfare reform, modesty in clothing, the Muslim Brotherhood, and many others. Doing the videos for The Rest of the News as well as doing the podcasts helped me understand how much more I needed to concentrate on eliminating the “ums.”

      My experience should affect my future in the industry in several ways. First, my experience will give me a benchmark from which I can better analyze my media proficiency progress. Second, it will give me an updatable knowledge base for using media equipment and for using creative slogans, forms, and expression. Finally, it will continue to broaden my media content horizons regarding sources of news, commentary, and bizarre information. With the foregoing background, I am competent, competitive, and poised to succeed in the media industry.