NYC Media Tour 2011

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I had one of the best experiences of my life over Fall Break this year. I went on the school trip to NYC with a bunch of students I didn't know. It was the chance of a lifetime for me. The NYC media tour has opened my eyes to many new cultures and opportunities. In four short days, we visited Clear Channel Communications, Paley Media Center, the CEO of IRTS and CBS... Not to mention all the adventures we went on outside of these seminars.

The trip started out hectic, to say the least! Our flight got cancelled and rescheduled. I was up until the early morning constantly checking Facebook to see what the status of our flight was. I ended up oversleeping and racing to the airport like a crazy person. I was on a flight with one other girl, Malynda. After much confusion at the airport, we finally boarded and headed toward Minneapolis to transfer to NYC. It was a stressful but fun day.

We met up with some of the rest of our group at the airport to head to the Wellington Hotel in our limo, which ended up being a large black van. That night we went down the avenue to take a look at Times Square! Yes, we were right down the street. Then it started to rain, and we headed back to the Hotel. Finally, we met up with the rest of our group who just arrived. I got to meet all the people I would spend my fall break with this year. After getting cleaned up, a small group of us headed out to find something to do because who wants to stay in a hotel while you are in NYC. We found this club/bar/cafe called Iguana. It just happened to be dance night, so we learned some new moves with the locals. After a fun-filled evening, we went back to the Wellington to rest up for the next day.

Thursday, we caught the subway and headed to our first seminar at Clear Channel Communications. We got lost the first ride and headed in the wrong direction, but we got to see some gorgeous buildings and architecture along the way.

Finally, we got to Clear Channel and went on a tour given by a two promotion assistants. We saw a special concert room that is the venue for small concerts given by artists from Justin Bieber to country stars. This concert room has only been opened for a couple of years. The concerts held in this room are only open to winners of the station's contests. They are so exclusive, you can't even buy tickets! When asked about promotional events, the assistants said Clear Channel has a lot of street events. One radio host gave us a shout out on the radio for coming and visiting. The program director for 104.3 talked to us and mentioned they still pull out CD's to use on their program. They had a giant wall filled with an extensive CD collection. The program director told us that everything that airs is his responsibility - what a huge responsibility to have each day!

The overall lesson the assistants and some of the workers we met with wanted us to take with us was that you must be professional for your line of work, and the best way to learn about the job you want is to intern and go the extra mile to show you really want the job.

Later that day, we went to the Paley Media Center for our second seminar of the trip. Rebecca, the educational director, took us around. We went and sat in one of the theaters and watched clips and discussed advertising throughout the years. We watched a series of political campaign advertisements and judged what was most memorable, effective and successful and why. She mentioned a saying about selling a person in an election is just like selling M&Ms or any other product. This statement is very true. The point of an advertisement is to persuade your audience into doing what you want - voting for a candidate or buying your product. We received passes for the opportunity to come back and personally view the archives stored at the Paley Media Center.

After the seminars, we went shopping in Chinatown! It was quite the experience. Everyone was trying to get your attention to sell something else to you. Luckily, I didn't fall for all their tricks and came home with some money leftover.

The next day, Friday, we went to our third seminar that was with Joyce Tudryn, CEO of the International Radio and Television Society. She started by sitting us all down in a group in front of her and asking us "what makes you weird" to get to know us better. We found out that normally our passion is what we considered to make us weird. She also promoted a book by Seth Godin, We are all Weird.

Tudryn mentioned that combining a skill with an interest is the magical combination in which careers and people thrive. You should go into whatever you are passionate about doing. However, Tudryn's biggest message was about synchronicity - meaningful or purposeful coincidences. So, overall, she was saying everything happens for a reason; don't ignore the signs right in front of you.

Toward the end of the seminar, Tudryn invited in Lauren Kruk-Winokur, Director of Academic Programs and Communications, to talk about the IRTS summer fellowship program. This program offers students a paid internship type job, housing in NYC, and chances of a lifetime to network and work at the main media hubs in NYC where the committee thinks you will thrive.

The last thing that we were told to remember is to be nice to everyone, which is always a good mantra to follow. You never know who is going to ask the receptionist for an opinion on you before or after a job interview.

Friday night was possibly the most spectacular night for me in NYC. We saw Mary Poppins. It was one of the most magical experiences I've ever had. Yes, it was my first Broadway show. I couldn't think of a better one to see. She even flew off over the crowd. Amazing.

Friday was not just seminars and Mary Poppins - we also did a lot of sightseeing and walking! I saw newspaper row, the World Trade Center area, Central Park, Tiffany's, took a lot of subway rides, saw 30 Rock, the Rockefeller skating rink, the NBC store, got lost, and experienced walking around like a tourist attempting to read a map. It was something I wouldn't trade for anything.

Saturday was our last full day in NYC. We ended with quite a bang, I would say. We toured CBS as our last seminar. Mike Sims, a UCO graduate, took us on a long tour of CBS. Mike Sims works at/for/with a wire broadcast service that is to the broadcast stations as the AP newswire is to print journalists. They have a hub or collection of broadcast clips that all the stations signed up to the service can use.

While touring CBS, seeing all the sets and equipment was cool, but my favorite part was visiting with Kelley Edwards at radio WCBS because she was so passionate about her job. I hope to be that passionate about my job some day.

The message I got from the CBS seminar is: take small jobs and work up the ladder in small markets first before getting into big markets. Also, relationships and networking is very important in this industry.

I also found out that Twitter is like the late-breaking news method of choice. Social Media Manager is a position emerging at many media hubs or communication jobs. Watching other stations while broadcasting is important to see what others are doing. And, you cut costs by having a pull...or pool. I'm not really sure which term is more correct, but it means having one person go shoot the video for everyone else.

Saturday night was back to the NYC streets for some last minute shopping and sightseeing. We went and found the Occupy Wall Street site and even interveiwed some of the people protesting. We searched for the Statue of Liberty, but headed in the completely opposite direction, so we headed back to find a subway and go back to the Wellington.

Early, early Sunday we got our bags taken down to the front and put in the vans waiting to take us to the airport. What a bittersweet feeling... leaving NYC but ready to get back to my home in Oklahoma.

Just when you thought the adventure was going to stop, we ran into even more ticket problems at the airport. My ticket was not an actual ticket. One of the students on the trip, Lauren, ended up staying in Chicago for a few extra hours, so I could fit on the plane and go home to Oklahoma. I was so thankful for the kindness that Lauren showed at the airport. It was a true sacrifice for me... someone she hardly even knew. Amazing.

This trip opened my eyes to the world of broadcast. As a public relations major, I never knew anything about the equipment or the techniques the people in the seminars would show us or talk about, but it was all still very interesting. I learned a lot from the seminars, from the New Yorkers, from the other tourists, but most importantly from the other students on this trip - life lessons and experiences I will never forget.

This was my first trip to NYC and the best fall break trip I can remember taking.

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