“Great mix of veterans and persons just starting out and objective honesty;”
“Very informative; good to hear about other campus radio and TV stations;”
“Really got a lot out of speed networking;”
“Kept me engaged about the future of TV stations and the jobs offered;”
“Good practical advice.”
Those were just a few of the comments from the more than 150 students who attended the 2017 WBA Student Seminar on March 4 at the Madison Marriott.
Another successful event can be attributed to the hard work of the WBA Education Committee in putting together an outstanding program, which featured Jay Kruz, Program Director and Daytime DJ at WREW, Cincinnati. I have the pleasure of being the chair of this active and hard working group of educators and commercial broadcast professionals. Another contribution to the seminar’s success is financial support from the WBA in helping to pay for hotel rooms for students who traveled from distant areas around the state.
Students chose to attend three of ten panels. Topics included: Radio and TV News Reporting, Broadcast Sales and Marketing, Social Media’s Role in the Newsroom, Campus Radio and TV Stations, How Do I Get My First Job, Student Storytellers Website, Promotion at a Radio Station, Producing Industrial Videos and Commercials, and Engineering. Several students toured the remote truck from WHA-TV, Madison, as part of the engineering session. At noon, students could participate in a session titled The Future of Television Is Now, which discussed impacts on future employees, or Speed Networking, which was patterned after the speed dating concept. Thirty-five broadcast professionals met individually in six minute intervals with students who could ask questions about any topic.
The afternoon luncheon concluded the seminar and was highlighted by Jay’s keynote address, the presentation of the WBA Foundation Scholarships to four recipients, and the 14th annual Student Awards for Excellence, which had more than 200 entries. View the list of winners here. In addition, this year’s Leadership Award was presented to A.J. Garcia from the University of Wisconsin Madison. The award is given to a broadcasting or broadcast journalism student of junior standing or above who attends a Wisconsin college or university and who has most noticeably developed and exercised effective and creative skills in leadership.
In addition to Jay, I would like to thank the following broadcast professionals for being panelists: Dave Black, UW-Madison, WSUM, Madison; Bill Hubbard and Mike Schmidt, UW-Green Bay; Mike O’Brien and Stan Stricker, WCLO/WJVL, Janesville; Don Vesely, Amy Pflugshaupt, Russ Bruhn, Tom Weeden, and Geoff Shields, WMTV, Madison; Anthony DaBruzzi and Stephanie Haines, WJFW-TV, Rhinelander; Len Nelson, WAPL, Appleton; Hannah Anderson, Kassandra Sepeda, Maria Szatkowski, and Heather Poltrock, WSAW-TV, Wausau; Chris Shofner, UW-Stevens Point; Dean Maytag, retired, WISN-TV, Milwaukee; Kevin Ruppert and Hannah McClung, WISC-TV, Madison; Patrick Nienow, WLUM/WLDB/WZTI, Milwaukee; Jim Mead, UW-Whitewater; Breann Schossow, Wisconsin Public Radio; Ed Reams, WKOW-TV; John DeSimone and Mike Halminiak, WMSN-TV, Madison; Andi Brooks, Dave Ogden, and Fletcher Keyes, Q106, Madison; Bob Bellini, Milwaukee Radio Group; Dave Edwards, WUWM, Milwaukee Public Radio; Herb Cody, WGLR/WPVL; Jake Zimmermann, Wisconsin Sports Zone Radio Network; John Rowe, Cumulus; Judy Konkel and Valerie Moore, WADR-LPFM; Mike Kemmeter, Woodward Radio; Pat Heffling and Tim Etes, iHeartmedia; Peter Tanz and Robert Kennedy, Midwest Communications, Green Bay; Alex Behnke, Wisconsin Public Radio/TV; Bob Goff, WCWI-FM; Russ Awe, Wisconsin Public Television; and David Sanks, WBA Foundation Chair.
Thanks to the panel moderators: Sandy Ellis and Richard Burgsteiner, UW-River Falls; Randall Davidson, UW-Oshkosh; Brian Lucas, UW-Whitewater; and Rob Snyder, UW-Platteville.
On behalf of the Education Committee, I would also like to thank Linda, Michelle, Liz, and Kyle for helping to ensure the seminar’s success. Our appreciation also to Donna Beno and Jill Sommers for helping with registration, and Greg Powers, Chair of the Illinois Broadcasters Association Education committee, for assisting in the presentation of the “Student Awards for Excellence.”
We look forward to 2018 and another outstanding student seminar!
-Ken Beno
Thank you to:
Speakers and Moderators
Ken Beno, WBA Education Chair
Jay Kruz, WREW
David Sanks, WBA Foundation Chair
Michelle Vetterkind, President and CEO WBA Foundation
Russ Awe, WHA TV
Dave Black, WSUM Radio
Russ Bruhn, WMTV-TV
Rick Burgsteiner, UW-River Falls
Anthony DaBruzzi, WJFW-TV, Rhinelander
Randall Davidson, UW-Oshkosh
Sandy Ellis, UW-River Falls
Stephanie Haines. WJFW-TV
Bill Hubbard, UW-Green Bay
Brian Lucas, UW-Whitewater
Dean Maytag, WBA Foundation Committee
Jim Mead, UW-Whitewater
Len Nelson, WAPL Radio
Patrick Nienow, WLUM FM & WLDB FM
Mike O’Brien, WCLO/WJVL
Heather Poltrock, WSAW-TV
Kevin Ruppert, WISC-TV
Geoff Shields, WMTV-TV
Chris Shofner, UW-Stevens Point
Dr. Robert Snyder, UW-Platteville
Stan Stricker, WCLO/WJVL
Don Vesely, WMTV-TV
Michelle Vetterkind, WBA
WBA Education Committee
Ken Beno, Committee Chair
Dave Black, WSUM Radio
Nella Citino, Madison Media Institute
Randall Davidson, UW-Oshkosh
Sandy Ellis, UW-River Falls
Pat Hastings, UW-Madison
Terry Havel, UW-Parkside
Erik Johnson, UW-River Falls
Jack Kapfer, UW-Eau Claire
Judy Konkel, UW-Rock County
Maryann Lazarski, Milwaukee Public Television
Brian Lucas, UW-Whitewater
Dean Maytag, WBA Foundation Committee
Jim Mead, UW-Whitewater
Mike O’Brien, WCLO/WJVL
Kevin Pulz, Milwaukee Public Television
Arthur Ranney, UW-Platteville
Mike Schmitt, UW-Green Bay
Chris Shofner, UW-Stevens Point
Dr. Robert Snyder, UW-Platteville
Chuck Steinmetz, WITI-TV
Nancy Stillwell, Madison Media Institute
Michelle Vetterkind, WBA President & CEO
Linda Baun, WBA Vice President
Speed Networking Panelists
Hannah Anderson, WSAW-TV
Alex Behnke, Wisconsin Public Radio and Television
Bob Bellini, Milwaukee Radio Group
Andi Brooks, Q106 – Madison
Herb Cody, WGLR/WPVL
Anthony DaBruzzi, WJFW-TV, Rhinelander
John DeSimone, WMSN-TV FOX 47
Dave Edwards, WUWM MILWAUKEE PUBLIC RADIO
Tim Etes, iHeartmedia
Bob Goff, WCWI FM
Stephanie Haines. WJFW-TV, Rhinelander
Mike Halminiak, WMSN-TV FOX 47
Pat Heffling, iHeartmedia
Bill Hubbard, UW-Green Bay
Mike Kemmeter, Woodward Radio
Robert Kennedy, WTAQ -Midwest Communications, Green Bay
Fletcher Keyes, Q106 – Madison
Judy Konkel, WADR-LPFM
Jay Kruz, WREW
Dean Maytag, Hearst Television
Hannah McClung, WISC-TV
Nicole Nelson, WISC-TV
Valerie Moore, WADR-LPFM
Patrick Nienow, WLUM FM & WLDB FM
Super Dave Ogden, Q106, Madison
Amy Pflugshaupt, WMTV-TV
Ed Reams, WKOW TV
John Rowe, Cumulus
Kevin Ruppert, WISC-TV
Breann Schossow, Wisconsin Public Radio
Kassandra Sepeda, WSAW-TV
Maria Szatkowski, WSAW-TV
Peter Tanz, Midwest Communications, Inc., Green Bay
Jake Zimmermann, Wisconsin Sports Zone Radio Network
Special Thanks
American Awards & Promotions
Terry Baun, Criterion Broadcast Services
Donna Beno
Liz Boyd, WBA NCSA/PEP Coordinator
Kyle Geissler, WBA Communications Director
Madison Marriott West Hotel Staff
Greg Powers, Lake Land College
Jill Sommers
AND TO THE STUDENTS FOR THEIR SUPPORT OF THE STUDENT SEMINAR!
