BOWLING GREEN — Steven Anthony Iwanek donned a cap and gown on April 27 and walked with the Bowling Green State University class of 2024, graduating with his Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism.
But the 21 year old already had a job in his chosen field lined up. He was to report to work at WTOL Channel 11 on the following Monday to start his full-time job working weeknights at the station.
Iwanek is just one of many young journalists who have landed jobs either while still attending BGSU journalism classes or right after graduation.
“My dad’s an English teacher and I’ve always had a fondness for writing so when I was deciding what I wanted to do with my life I thought I’d give broadcasting a shot,” said Iwanek, who got his start at WTOL last summer as an intern.
“(WTOL) had me working on their Friday shows. I worked a little bit through the fall and winter last year. I was still going to school so it wasn’t a big whole thing. I did an internship at (WOIO Channel 19) in Cleveland and then I just came back after a quiet fall and they wanted me to start part time in the spring semester,” said Iwanek. “So I would do classes on Tuesday and Thursday and work at the station Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and they offered me a full time position.”
While attending BGSU, Iwanek was the sports content director for BG Falcon Media ( bgfalconmedia.com ) as well as a news anchor for BG24, the student-run newscast program. He also did sportscasting for the BGSU volleyball team on 88.1 FM WBGU during the 2023 season.
Iwanek praised his journalism instructors at BGSU, particularly Terry Rentner, Jim Foust, and Karl Smith, the Falcon Media faculty manager.
“They were instrumental in helping me develop my skills and confidence and just guide me through my process in developing into a young journalist,” said Iwanek.
Skills you need
Fellow Bowling Green State University journalism alum — and class of 2024 graduate — Jessi Oberski is preparing to move to Fort Myers, Fla. to take a position with station WBBH-WZVN Southwest Florida after spending a year working part-time at WTVG Channel 13 Action News as a producer. Oberski will be moving to Florida on Memorial Day weekend and her new position starts in June.
Oberski grew up in a journalism-loving family which she credits with influencing her career choice.
“I always really loved reading and writing as a little kid,” said Oberski. “I learned how to read by reading the newspaper with my papa and I always loved the funny pages, especially Garfield , and my grandma taught me how to read from that a little bit.
“So from a young age, I had a lot of interaction with newspapers and my parents would always have the news on, so by the time I was in 7th grade I knew I wanted to do journalism when I grew up,” the graduate said.
Oberski said she loved the university’s journalism program even though it was sometimes difficult.
“The first couple of years they’re hitting you hard with those writing classes and they’re really honing in on your reading and writing skills when it comes to news writing and thinking critically about your sources and learning all those ethics you need to keep in your back pocket as a journalist,” said Oberski, who knew she wanted to focus on broadcast journalism specifically about halfway through her higher education.
“I made the transition from print writing over to broadcast writing and more into the multimedia side of things. I started producing at (WTVG Channel 13 Action News) as an internship and through that we were able to build up our broadcast program. BG was everything I could have ever wanted. The faculty was amazing and all of them used to work in the field, which is such an added bonus. They understand what you’re trying to learn because they’ve lived it.”
On the academic side of the BGSU journalism program, there’s Jasmine S. Crighton, an associate teaching professor at the school of media & communication. Crighton also serves as the media adviser for BG24 and BG Falcon Media. She came to BGSU in the fall of 2019, just before the coronavirus pandemic of 2020.
Crighton said the pandemic changed the way people communicate and how journalism is taught.
“Since coming back from the pandemic, I’ve noticed students have a tougher time wanting to reach out to talk to people, either face to face or through phone calls, so the faculty and I have been working to get the students reacquainted with actually going and speaking to people because a lot of anxiety comes out of that,” said Crighton. “I think it’s because people got used to being online a lot and interacting primarily online.”
Crighton, who has worked in newsrooms in Las Vegas and Steubenville, Ohio, said the business of journalism has changed a lot in the last decade.
“The business has changed a lot and allows our students to be hired while they’re still in school,” said Crighton. “A lot of people ended up retiring or changing careers and now they are open to bringing in our students and training them in their newsroom, whereas 10 years ago I don’t think that was happening as much. Everything has changed.”
As the media adviser for BG24 and BG Falcon Media, Crighton said she runs “a boot camp” and that ultimately may be why many of her students are so successful after they leave the program.
“If you’re going to work in broadcast journalism, this is what it’s like and these are the skills you’re going to need when you leave here if you’re going to try to work in this business,” she said.
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