PDF | Print | E-mail

Written by Don Laur Monday, 08 June 2009 11:58

News - Alumni News and Awards

2009 SIUC River Region Evening Edition Graduates

Introduction, by Jim Gee - TV News Director

Many years ago, when I knew I wanted to work in TV news and started shopping around for a university, everyone told me that Southern Illinois University Carbondale was a ìgood broadcast school.î Even though family considerations kept me closer to home, I spent time with SIUC students at conferences and award dinners. I could see it for myself-- they were part of something special.

Years later, when I was a newsroom manager and returned to Illinois, I was once again told that SIUC was a ìgood broadcast school.î When I had the chance, I hired some Salukis to cover local news and sports. I was not disappointed.

Now I find myself on the other side of the proverbial equation, finishing my third year as TV News Director for the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts at SIUC. I would like to think, as biased as my opinion is, that SIUC is still a good broadcast school.

But I have also come to learn that it is not enough to be a good broadcasting school. Our students learn much more than how to push buttons and talk like an anchor. The education they receive through our practical programs, like producing the River Region Evening Edition, is intertwined with studies and analysis of our industry. Students are also trained across many platformsóall electronic journalism students, for example, are exposed to both radio and television best practices and emerging trends online.

We continue to evolve our program and the experience we share with our students. All of our TV reporters, for example, shoot their own video and edit their own storiesóa reflection of a growing trend in the TV news business. Next fall, we plan to move away from the traditional 4:3 aspect ratio and start shooting in 16:9 to give our students a better eye for news in widescreen. We hope to move to high-def soon thereafter.

Students are eager to embrace these changes, in some ways more than our industry as a whole. The graduates featured in this document are no exception. I am very proud of all that they have accomplished this academic year. I hope you will take the time to read more about them and, perhaps, consider furthering their education as professionals in your own newsroom.

Jim Gee, TV News Director
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (618) 453-5281
College of Mass Communication and Media Arts
1100 Lincoln Drive, Mailcode 6606
Carbondale, IL 62901
Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Find out more about us online at www.siutvnews.com

2009 River Region Evening Edition Graduate Profiles

• Megan Bradley - available for employment May 2009
  
• John Bruno, III - available for employment May 2009
  
• Kerry Dougherty - available for employment August 2009
  
• Zlatko Filipovic - available for employment May 2009
  
• Emily Ford - available for employment May 2009
  
• Demarcus Hamilton - available for employment July 2009
  
• Natalie Hockgeiger - available for employment May 2009
  
• Kahla Holtz-Fazzini - available for employment May 2009
  
• Taylor Hornung - available for employment August 2009
• Aaron Kirn - available for employment September 2009
  
• Neil Knight - available for employment May 2009
• Izabel Liwo - available for employment June 2009
  
• Sean C. Olsta - available for employment May 2009
• Ross Rowling - available for employment May 2009
  
• Curtis Christopher Sehy - available for employment May 2009
  
• Tommy Self - available for employment June 2009
  
• Christopher Spry - available for employment May 2009
  
• Kathy Stanish - available for employment June 2009
  

ABOUT RIVER REGION EVENING EDITION

More than seventy students from across the SIUC camps come together each semester to produce River Region Evening Edition, a live, half-hour newscast aired on WSIU-TV. The program airs at 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday during the Fall and Spring terms. The Evening Edition is staffed entirely by volunteer student broadcasters and journalists-- students are completely responsible for reporting, writing, editing, producing, and anchoring the show.

Seen in more than 300,000 households across Southern Illinois and parts of Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee, the Evening Edition is designed with two purposes. First, it is a full-service newscast, competing head-to-head with other local news programs to keep the public informed. Second, it gives students the opportunity to work in a genuine news environment with real deadline pressure.

SIUC students from any major are welcome to learn and grow in the Evening Edition newsroom. In addition to Radio-Television and Journalism majors, recent volunteers in the newsroom have included students from the School of Law, the College of Engineering, the Department of Speech Communication, and majors in Rehabilitation Services.

Student volunteers get the chance to do real, honest-to-goodness journalism. Working on the Evening Edition crew means hands-on experience. Student reports learn how to make contacts, interview newsmakers, and how to use video and audio equipment in the field. Student producers learn how to write and edit broadcast news copy, with an emphasis on visual presentation. During the newscast, students staff the technical positions vital to a live television production, including cameras, video operator, graphics operator, audio operator, and technical director.

As a live newscast, Evening Edition offers students the chance to hone their performance skills under real-world conditions. Unlike some other college programs, different teams anchor news, sports, and weather on a given day of the weekóthis gives more students a chance to be exposed to this critical practice.

The Evening Edition is a partnership program. Faculty and staff from the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts work together to guide the studentsí newsroom experience, often in concert with their class work in the Department of Radio-Television. This allows students to learn much-needed skills blended with their academic studies.

The Evening Edition news team continues to garner national and regional recognition. In 2009, a student was honored with a First Place award for Best Videography by the Illinois News Broadcasters Association. Others received second place awards for Sports Reporting and Best Newscast. A sister program, the monthly live sports program called Saluki SportsView, also earned a First Place Award from the INBA.

The show consistently wins recognition from the Illinois Broadcasters Associationís Student Silver Dome Awards. In 2008, Evening Edition received national acclaim with Best Newscast and Best News Team honors from the Broadcast Education Association.

River Region Evening Edition Faculty and Staff

Eileen Waldron

Eileen Waldron has more than twenty years of experience in TV, print and online journalism. She has worked as a general assignment reporter, special projects producer and executive producer at various major television news operations from San Francisco to Philadelphia.

Waldronís investigative journalism has won many awards including an Emmy in 2000, an Edward R. Murrow award in 2001, and an Investigative Reporter and Editorís finalist award for online journalism. In addition to teaching reporting, writing, and performance, Waldron helps students with the production of River Region Evening Edition. She received her B.A. in broadcasting from San Francisco State University in 1983.

Joey Helleny

For 25 years, Joey Helleny was familiar to news audiences in Southern Illinois as an anchor and reporter on the areaís leading radio stations. He also wrote for print publications including the Southern Illinoisan and the St. Louis Globe Democrat. Hellenyís professional experience includes two years as the Director of SIRIS, a reading service for the visually impaired.

Since joining the SIUC faculty in 1999, Helleny has also helped oversee River Region Evening Edition. Helleny holds a B.S. in journalism from SIUC as well as a M.S. in Education, also from Southern. In 2006 he received SIUís Outstanding Term Faculty Teaching Award.

Jim Gee

News Director Jim Gee spends most of his day working the newsroom along with the students who produce River Region Evening Edition, SIUCís nationally-recognized television news program. In 2007, they were named "Best News Team" by the Broadcast Educators Association.

Gee joined SIUC in 2006 after three years as news director at WCIA-TV in Champaign, IL. Heís also worked at television stations in Virginia, Michigan, and Peoria, IL.

Gee is president of the Illinois News Broadcasters Association and helps organize conventions for the stateís professional and student journalists. He holds a B.S. in Communication from Illinois State University.

Mark Wetstein

Mark Wetstein is the TV Production Coordinator for WSIU Public Broadcasting. As part of his many duties, he supervises the student production staff for River Region Evening Edition. Mark also constructed the Evening Edition news set, donated to SIUC from FOX 2 in St. Louis.

Mark also operates WSIUís satellite uplink trucks, which allows live coverage of news and sporting events in southern Illinois. Before coming to WSIU, Mark worked at SIUCís Shryock Auditorium. This year he also serves as president of SIUCís Civil Service Council.