MOCK CONVENTION FLASHBACK

With the 2008 Westminster College Mock Convention jumping from spring to fall semester, The County Line crew at WCN and Titan Radio News will need to hustle. I've started posting clips from the 2004 Mock Convention Coverage on YouTube to help students get a feel for how the convention works. It's also a nice way to reach out to those grads who lead the way four years ago.

2008 Presidential Mock Convention Slides Back Into 2007

from Titan Radio- August 16, 2007
The presidential campaign comes early in New Wilmington as the 2008 Westminster College Mock Convention will take place this November. That's three months earlier than originally planned. Convention faculty advisor James Rhoads, associate professor of political science, says a combination of early campaigns and primaries forced the College to move up the Westminster event. The Convention changes to a Wednesday-Thursday night schedule on November 7 and 8. The location will also change to the Witherspoon Rooms in the McKelvey Campus Center. The Mock Convention has taken place traditionally on a Thursday-Friday schedule in early February in Memorial Field House.

"The last several Conventions have had to move earlier and earlier due to the political parties moving up their primary schedules," Rhoads said. "This year, we have moved into the fall semester. In addition to the change in dates, we are instituting a year-long series of events to coincide with the presidential selection process."

When California moved its primary election date to February 5, 2008, it turned up the heat on presidential campaigns forcing them to begin nearly a year earlier. In Pennsylvania, Governor Rendell supported a move to change the Keystone State's primary to February. However, the initiative has failed to take root in the General Assembly. Nearly 40 other states will hold primaries before Pennsylvania's May primary election in 2008.

This year the Mock Convention will mirror the Democratic National Convention. Campus tradition dictates the event focus on the party not in control of the White House. Westminster's Mock Convention is recognized as the second oldest in the country as it began in 1936 founded by political science professor Thomas Mansell. The Convention started as an effort to educate students and cultivate participation in the political process of a presidential election.

USA Network's "Burn Notice" Burning Up My TiVo

Get out the SPF 30 as my TiVo helped me discover a stylish, new character-driven guilty pleasure for my summer viewing pleasure. It's USA's "Burn Notice." Well-written dialogue, good acting and some stylish directing make this Miami-set twist on the "spy" comedy/drama fun to watch. It promises to tell the story of what happens when spies get fired. That's exactly what the main character does with a McGyveresque approach as he improvises to make spy gadgets on a dollar store budget. The show's hero is glib, out of work tough guy/secret agent Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan). He often reveals details of his life as a spy during voice-overs vignettes while he's working episode-length freelance gigs he picks up to make an extra buck.

His mother (Sharon Gless) and a sexy ex-girlfriend, former IRA operative Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar), trade one-liners as they're forced to come together in this light-hearted look at unemployed spies. The second episode even pokes fun at cop shows while paying homage to Gless with a reference to "Cagney and Lacy" (if memory serves me, Gless played Christine Cagney...geez I would have been in high school back then). Westen's trying to figure out who burned him-- each episode he gets a little closer-- he really wants his job back. In the meantime, he'll champion the underdog for a price and ends up turning the tables on Miami baddies like drug smugglers and corrupt real estate tycoons.


He can do what the cops can't do and he does it with style while also being tailed by the FBI as the people who burned him are still keeping tabs. While he wants to be a loner, he'll need to learn to be the ex-spy who loves his mother and old girlfriend to get ahead. The show's topical sarcasm and likeable cast of misfit characters have a cool rhythm.


"Burn Notice" is fresh and much more entertaining than the worn "4400" which has morphed away from its original concepts and lost my interest. I never got into "Monk" as it came off too much like any other spin on the old "NBC Sunday Night Mystery Movie" formulas. While I once enjoyed "The Dead Zone" it seemed to go on forever...but now USA has put some heat back into summer television with "Burn Notice." The show sizzles against the few new things to watch including those tired, predictable summer reality shows.

From Westminster to Winchester TV 3

Look what commencement ceremonies will bring to campus… It’s Sebas! The world (at least the world in Winchester, VA) now knows him as TV 3’s Sebastian Salazar (a.k.a.Sebastian Driver- the man who created Titantown Sports at WCN). Sorry I didn’t have a chance to mingle after the commencement pageantry, Sebas.


You can keep up to date with this up and coming sportscaster online where his latest TV 3 sportscasts are posted. You can also check out his sports blog and leave comments. It seems like only yesterday he was shooting, editing, producing & anchoring sports on WCN.

Extreme Makeover: The Animated "SIMPSONS" Edition

If I were on "The Simpsons" would I look like this?
I created my own Simpons avatar on "The Simpsons Movie" web site. So can you.

Here's what I WISH I LOOKED LIKE IF I WERE A CHARACTER ON "THE SIMPONS." However, I'd prefer to be on "Futurama."




The online folks at FOX have come up with a cool way to generate some buzz and interest online about the upcoming feature film. It's also a cool way to interact with fans.

Outsourcing Local New Jobs...to India?

Many American manufacturing jobs disappeared as they went overseas to cheaper markets without unions. Much of the animation for The Simpsons is done abroad. Then telemarketing jobs went to India, Central America, Mexico...as did other middle management jobs for all sorts of companies.

Now look for outsourcing to come to a newsroom near you as American journalism is exported. Is this the shape of things to come? Consider what a Pasadena paper is trying to do as it looks to outsource “local” coverage for city hall to a reporter based in India. NPR provides an interesting examination of what could happen with news jobs in this country. Imagine the implication for American Democracy, public opinion, schools of journalism, etc.

Commencement 2007- Follow Your Bliss

Follow your bliss.
If you do follow your bliss,
you put yourself on a kind of track
that has been there all the while waiting for you,
and the life you ought to be living
is the one you are living.
When you can see that,
you begin to meet people
who are in the field of your bliss,
and they open the doors to you.
I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid,
and doors will open
where you didn't know they were going to be.
If you follow your bliss,
doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else.
Joseph Campbell

From titanradio.net

More than 325 graduates received degrees on Old Main's Senior Terrace as the sun peaked out on a breezy Saturday afternoon in New Wilmington marking the 153rd commencement for Westminster College. Titan Radio presents highlights online from this year's graduation ceremonies. The highlights are available here on tiitanradio.net and on You Tube.

Westminster's commencement speaker, Dr. Dianne D. Aronian, encouraged each graduate to do as Joseph Campbell wrote and "follow your bliss." Aronian, a 1962 Westminster graduate and former College trustee and accomplished ophthalmologist, created a program to bring eye care to southern Belize in Central America. The program responded to a health crisis where there was no eye care available to the poor in the region. Aronian noted her work in that program was one of the more recent occasions where she discovered her newest "bliss." She described her life after her college graduation as a journey of finding her bliss a number of times from medical school and throughout her professional life. She urged the class of 2007 to open themselves up to discover the bliss that will lead them as they leave Westminster.

BC Capstone 2006-07 Tribute

Titan Radio Invites You Back to Westminster for Homecoming 2007

MONDAY, APRIL 30: BC Capstone Presentations!!!

• Monday, April 30, 2007
• Mueller Theater inside the McKelvey Campus Center
• Day Session Begins @ 11:45 Featuring Elizabeth Farry & Stevi Nelson
• Evening Session Begins @ 6:00 with an Intermission and Light Refreshments at 6:45

The public is invited. Students will make presentations addressing their senior project, the liberal arts experience, their body of work as professionals and frame it with their career goals.

Elizabeth Farry
Presentation Title: Telling the Story of my Future
Description: My presentation will highlight the things I’ve done during my time at Westminster, both on campus and off, which have not only prepared me for a career in broadcasting, but have shaped who I am today. I’ll show some of my work and talk a bit about how that’s going to help me get where I’m going.


Stevi Nelson
Presentation Title: My So Called Life After Westminster
Description: I will present my capstone presentation be highlighting elements from my radio and television resume tapes. I will connect this to how my experience in broadcasting as well as my course work at Westminster inside and outside the major has helped prepare me for what lies ahead after commencement.


Mike Wolenski
Presentation Title: Famous Last Words
Description: San Francisco, California; Youngstown, Ohio; New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. A collision of cities shape the college experience for Michael Wolenski. This presentation is a review of my senior project, liberal arts experience, and body of work.


Aidan Mewha
Presentation Title: It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time...
Description: I will demonstrate how my strong skills in broadcasting have combined with rest of my liberal arts education to create a supernova of creative energy that was released in the form of my sitcom script and short film screenplay. I will also showcase some of my broadcasting highlights at Westminster and possibly perform an interpretive dance.


Amy Lavallee
Presentation Title: Our Own Little World & Beyond
Description: I plan on talking about my years at Westminster, what I did in broadcasting and how it worked for me, and finally...I will show my E-portfolio.


Leanne Veres
Presentation Title: Experience Is Major Stepping Stone
Description: I will explain how my liberal arts education and experience in broadcasting has opened doors for me in other fields, and also showcase my works with Titan Radio, The County Line, WKST (Forever Broadcasting), FSN Pittsburgh, and the Holcad.


D.J. Yokley
Presentation Title: Pursuit of Happiness
Description: I've been thinking of my time here at Westminster. Ive also been thinking about the people I want to be at my capstone presentation, and why? Obviously I want my mom there, I'd also like my girlfriend and her family...All of my friends, ESPN producer Denny Wolfe, and a few select teachers from my days as an East Palestine Bulldog. I want to share highlights of my senior project as well as touch on my work with sports broadcasting-- on Titan Radio, WCN and Titantown Sports. My goal is to someday work at ESPN and with hard work and determination I know I can get there.

Watch the TCL Vlog Tribute produced to the 2007 BC Capstone Students! Produced by Thomas Miller.

"Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living." John Dewey

It's now time for BC Capstone students to focus on wrapping up projects for other classes as they also finish the last episodes of The County Line. I'm sure these folks will make trips down memory lane during DJ shifts and in the newsroom as they play out the final days of the semester. The countdown is underway for exams and graduation. Monday's capstone presentations gave this bunch one last chance to stand in front of the campus community and their families as the big dogs in the BC department-- one final chance to shine-- to show us what they've achieved as they move on to the next big thing.

This round of presentations were on target and showcased the e-portfolios, senior projects and the professional experience that will serve them well in the next phase of their lives.

Stevi Nelson's presentation was exceptionally memorable as she gave it an ending with a twist that no one will forget-- she revealed she had a job offer in sales at WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh. Congratulations, Stevi! I'm confident success will also find our other capstone students.

Mike's Wolenski's presentation focused on his achievements and growth over the past few years. He worked to showcase his efforts while entertaining the audience. While Mike didn't slip in any surprise ending, he also has a head start on his future. He currently directs the news on weekends at WYTV. However, I'm sure bigger and more challenging things are headed his way. Congratulations Mike!
Congratulations, Leanne!
Congratulations, Amy!
Congratulations, Liz!
Congratulations, Aidan!
And, Mr. Yokley, good luck on things for this summer!
The learning and experience does not end now. It's continues.

Lessons learned from the presentations:

• BRING YOUR E-PORTFOLIO. If all else fails (jump drives, portable hard drives, network drives and internet connections) you can access your work on the portfolio.
• Shorter is better. Keeping presentations under 15 minutes is a big plus over previous years. Perhaps we should consider 10 minute presentations?
• Chose a venue that will remain cool. While the Mueller Theater is a new facility, it was stuffy and hot. It's heavy usage on a class day added to the stale environment.

First Time in Las Vegas & First TIme @ the BEA

I'm recovering from BEA fever as the Broadcast Education Association converged with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)/Radio-Television News Directiors Association (RTNDA) Conventions in Las Vegas this week. I served as BEA panel presenter on Saturday afternoon talking about "Convergent Projects for Student Media Groups."

My presentation was titled "Convergence as Part of the LIberal Arts Mission." My panel was nearly the last to present on the last day of the convention so the crowd was spread a bit thin. We had about 15 in the audience.

I did bump into one of my instructors from the University of Kansas. Max Utsler presented on "Turning Pracitcal Newsroom Experiences into Practical Pedagogy." Utsler spent a summer working as a reporter at an NBC affiliate in Peoria, Illinois, as a way to get back to his roots in teaching broadcast journalism. I also attended a number of other presentations and panels including one on the "VJs, One-Man-Bands and the Realities of 21st Century Television News" chaired by Greg Stuart Smith of Hofstra Univerisity.

Max Utsler introduced me to Greg Smith and here's the twist-- Utsler taught Smith while Smith was a grad student at Mizzou. The Mizzou-KU journalism connections have always seemed to follow me since I am married to a Mizzou graduate.

BC Capstone Presentations 2007

BC Capstone students will make their senior presentations on Monday, April 30, 2007 in the Mueller Theater inside the McKelvey Campus Center.


Elizabeth Farry & Stevi Nelson will make lunchtime presentations beginning at 11:45.

Mike Wolenski, Leanne Veres, Amy Lavallee, Aidan Mewha and DJ Yokley will make evening presentations beginning at 6 p.m.


The public is invited. Students will make presentations addressing their senior project, the liberal arts experience, their body of work as professionals and frame it with their career goals.