My First Broadcasting Job

Alex Rios wins Emmy in Denver!

2009-09-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Patrick and Dreamers,

Well since there has been a lot that I have done since graduating from ICB less than three years ago - I will focus on the current. I recently won my first Emmy Award as Director for a show called “Kickstart TV.” We won in the catergory of Multi-Media for “Best Program.” The show airs weekly on Tuesday Nights. I am in charge of making sure all content for the show is put together and direct the live show calling camera cuts and directing the cameramen to find the shot we are looking for. I have also run the audio, video, and computer boards as well. We arranged the show to be a completely live interactive show. What that means is that while the show is going on we have a live chat room and made it possible to take in video feeds, from the internet, for viewers to ask our Hosts questions live during the show and actually be seen on screen and become part of the show. Before we even started the first broadcast we looked into all media aspects available to make this a show for the viewers and not just for the hosts. So weekly we have various show segments to help the fellow Biker or Chopper across the world to be able to work on his or her own motorcycle. We cover all the topics that really matter to the Biker Community. One of the coolest things is that we receive emails from fans around the world. Each week we have people in our live chat room from Indonesia to Canada. Our main focus was to really make a show where the viewer can learn and be entertained for an hour a week, while interacting with us. So instead of yelling at the television without a response, they can actually yell at the hosts, and live. Each and every aspet that was covered at OCB has come into effect on this show and our other programs. We write script, edit, produce, promote, and entertain on a day to day basis. The best thing is that while I was going to school I kept a saying in my mind “What is worth while is difficult,” and it was. Going to school, working, and interning is a great deal of demand on your time. But it gets you into a rythem of consistantly making moves. I cannot stress how important that is upon graduation. You need to make moves to get you where you want to be. Be true to yourself and your abilities and what ever you are best at keep getting better at it. Never stop being creative and thinking of what is the next move you need to make, and then make it. Or else, you will find yourself in the same place with the same result. We are all our own science experiment, sometimes you need to change some variables in your life to achieve a different result. I wish everyone the best of luck in their future; I would love to read a letter from the next Emmy award winner from the OICB campuses. I never thought I would run a production company, read national voice over spots, call Major League Soccer play-by-play, or win an Emmy without ICB. Thank you ICB for all the support and teachings.

Peace and Love,

Alex Rios

Has life changed a great deal in a year and a half.

2008-06-19T15:07:00.000-07:00

Has life changed a great deal in a year and a half. I came to ICB in January of 2007 not sure of where I wanted to go. I held a degree in marketing and was doing well. But it just wasn't making me happy at all.
I was one of those people who heard the ad from Matt Abbatacola on the Score and thought how great would it be to talk about sports all day. It was the dream that we all had meeting those guys from the score.
At first, I was discouraged, but realized that radio has always been where my passion lied, and I could not live without at least trying. So I started as an intern with Mancow in Chicago.....That gave me a great idea as to how a talk show worked (especially in the entertainment industry). I spent about a month and a half there and learned a great deal from them. But I needed something different.
I started interning at Metro Networks/Shadow News and Traffic in June of 2007 doing whatever they asked of me there. After my three month internship was up in the news department, the Program Director (and ICB Grad) offered me a second internship to learn traffic. There was no promise of a job, but to stay in the minds of people there was important. After graduating from ICB in November, I continued my internship until a job opened there or somewhere. On December 17th, I found out from the higher up's that I was going to be hired on as a part time editor/on-air talent. I started with 15 fixed hours a week and have since moved up to between 25-30 hrs a week. I've also been a fill in on Sirius Satellite Radio for the Chicago and Houston Markets.
What's really exciting (and at the same time made me extremely nervous) is that I will be doing Traffic Reports for 560 AM WIND and WMBI from 9-11 on Thursday, June 18th. It will be the first time my name will be on the AM/FM dial where I am not an intern. Something else I will touch on is that although being finished with school, I acceptedd an internship with WGN's Newsroom. The experience there (working full time) was nothing short of amazing. You work hands on producing national sound bytes throughout the day as well as getting stories ready from reporters who are on the scene. The one newscast I will never forget was when two of my soundbytes I got from an Obama press conference as well as the Pope's mass in Washington, as well as sound I recorded from two separate reporters made up the first 4 stories of a morning newscast on 720.
So as you can see, the last six months have been nothing short of amazing. I definitely recommend listening to everything that they tell you at ICB. Getting into this industry is tough, but being in the industry is an absolute rush that I hope continues. Thank you for all of your help ICB! -- Daniel Frank

Robert Wilke - On Field Emcee Portland Beavers

2008-05-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

Robert Wilke, who just graduated months ago - is the new field emcee of the Portland Beavers. The Portland Beavers are a minor league baseball team, representing Portland, Oregon in the Pacific Coast League. It is currently the Triple-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres.
Congrats to Robert - nothing like working for the Beavers!
Love that Logo too! Can you get me a hat?

Brian Fetting wanted it BAD

2008-05-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

I came to Illinois Center for Broadcasting in January of 2007 as a burned out special education teacher looking to change my life. I initially thought I wanted to get into sports radio, but a valuable internship at ESPN 1000 made me realize that was not where my skills and interests were best put to use.

I had always been a fan of WGN Morning News in Chicago, and I got the greatest thrill of my professional career to date when I got an internship there in August of 2007. In fact, Larry Potash himself called me to interview me. That in itself was a thrill. Because I was willing to do anything and everything - including getting up daily at 3 am for the trek to the north side of the city - I got to take part in a lot of things that eventually made me realize that this was where I wanted to be. I saw and got to be a part of all aspects of a newsroom, including things like writing stories...editing two different "Friday Dances," which were played multiple times on-air... researching the weirdest stories imaginable for "Larry's World"... having to dress up in characters and be in their little skits... and booking guests and producing segments. Little did I know that waking up at 3 am would soon be considered "sleeping in."

I graduated in November, and still kept going to my internship every day. I ended up with nearly 1000 hours in about 5 months, not bad. I stopped counting after a while. And less than one week after my internship ended, I was suddenly packing my truck and moving to Green Bay.

I started a job as morning news producer at NBC 26 in Green Bay in December of 2007. I produce the 9 a.m. and the noon news. I absolutely love it - it's the perfect combination of writing and booking guests. Being in a small market, I get a taste of doing it all in a newsroom. I am my own assignment editor, writer, sometimes editor and director too! I can sight in and operate a satellite truck and make my own graphics when I have to. And yes, I now get up at around 1:30 every morning to do this job. It can be a pressure-cooker-and-a-half sometimes, but it's all been worth it. Television producing is the most fun I've ever had.

I may have put in all those internship hours, but I probably put in nearly as many looking for and applying for any and every job in TV news. Relentless work was the key in the end. It doesn't start and end with class at all; many of my classmates are some of my best friends now. These friendships were forged by countless hours at a tavern down the street planning and creating our projects... spitballing ideas... encouraging each other. Your career in broadcasting starts and ends with the phrase "how bad do you want it?"

If you ever have any questions about working in TV news, don't hesitate to contact me at bfetting@nbc26.com

Latest First Jobs from Chicago

2008-05-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

PLACEMENT ILLINOIS
THIS IS APRIL 2008 ONLY! ALREADY PLACED IN BROADCASTING - CONGRATULATIONS!
This represents just a sample of those who have recently graduated from our program at the Illinois Center for Broadcasting and already found success in broadcasting:
Local Radio

Ryan Fitzgibbons Board Operator WLS Radio
Rebecca Portwood Promotions NINE FM
Andrew Dornfeld Promotion/Sales Open Road Radio
Dwayne Bernstein Event DJ Master Music, Inc
Kendall Green Administration WJJG Radio
Krista Hatcher Morning Show Co-Host 103.3 WKFR
Daniel Carrillo Board Op STAR 105.5
Scott Kostohryz V.O. Announcer Open Road Radio
Nicholas Sullivan Broad Op/Production Emmis Q101/WLUP
Anthony Kopp Production Y103 FM
Brenda Irving Production WSRB Soul 106.3

National TV and Radio

Scott Vamey Sports Editor/Photog WDJT/CBS58
Barron E. Woods Production Asst Judge Mathis Show
Nicholas Calderon Promotions WPBF-TV
Herman Coats On Air Sportscaster Chicago Sportscast.com
Rashandi Lewellen DJ Performer DJ/Just Jokes
Ivory Harris Videographer Illinois Seahawks Football
Cubie Holiday Audio Engineer Orange County Center
Kevin Kelley Reporter KQTV ABC
Bill Hanke Videographer PSIMEDIA
Rebecca Portwood On Air Host WDCB-TV
Gerardo Gallegos Videographer COMCAST
Lydia Perez Associate Produce The Steve Wilko Show
Christopher Paszkiet Videographer/Editor IL Institute of Technology
Carissa Briscoe Editing/Videographer Alfred Windom Production
Shavonne Owens DJ/Host blogtalkradio.com
Mitchell Leach II On Camera Talent TV FOX Entertainment

A Typical Day In The Life Of A MOTIVATED Broadcast Student

2008-05-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

By Jeremy Bloom.
3:30 am... my alarm clock goes off... I reluctantly get up, I was at my night job only four short hours before. Take a shower, get in my car, and drive to the 102.3 XLC studio in Waukegan, Illinois.

4:25 am... the morning show jocks Jimmy Novak and Jen Stephens arrive. I'm their assistant and it's my first day doing this specific job at the station (more on that in a bit). We get our coffee, they go into the studio, and I gather sound clips off the Internet for the show.

Around 5:30 am Jimmy tells me that he doesn't need any more sound clips and to come into the studio with him. I eventually am going to have a career on air with radio or television... I spend the rest of the morning hanging out and speaking on air with Jimmy and Jen!!!

The show ends at 9:00 am, I help them with promos and post show duties till about 10:00; off to promotions where I am a also an assistant. I help my director as well as the program director till roughly 2:00pm. Hit the road again 45 miles to The Illinois Center For Broadcasting in Lombard, IL.

I spend the next two hours producing, recording, editing, and sending a sample voice over to a customer of mine from the restaurant I work at. The V/O is for a committee interested in using my voice in a presentation that will be shown to the World Olympic Committee in efforts to have the games here in 2016.

Off to Wheaton for an organizational meeting for the Chicago Bandits. The Bandits are a women's professional softball team, and ICB is co-oping with the Softball Channel to produce all of the Bandit's games as well as a weekly recap show, I'm co-anchor! The meeting ends around 9:00 pm.

Destination, Lincolnshire, IL (60 miles away). I help my friend move some heavy furniture around his apartment, of course he can't decide where it goes it takes much longer than expected. 12:30 am (the next day)... I finally arrive home, but before bed... laundry. 1:30 am... LIGHTS OUT!!!

6:30 am... my alarm clock goes off... I reluctantly get up... Time for school! 21 hour days? 3 hours sleep? All for the chance to speak on air??? ABSOLUTELY!!!

Mike Kittl gets hired to do National Radio Commercials

2008-05-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

"You've got a voice for Radio," everyone told Mike Kittl. So finally after enrolling at the Illinois Center for Broadcasting back in August - Mike was on the road to radio. While interning at WIND Newstalk 560 AM doing production, he was asked to start doing voiceover commercials.

He went from doing local commercial production and voiceover to doing National commercials for Pepboys. Listen to some of his work HERE, HERE and HERE!

Mike states, "I never thought I would be working so fast, especially at my internship! Doing an internship is definitely one of the keys to working in the industry!"

***UPDATE! Mike has been really busy - and is the new Producer of Restaurant Chicago - go here for more