Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / April 19, 1984, edition 1 / Page 4
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Thursday, April 19, 1964/Kaleldoscope/4 features Communications majors make career debuts By Penny Kramp Flipping patties in the local burger joint may be OK for a while, but since graduating seniors usually aspire to greater heights, the fear of unemploy ment is a very real concern. Two forma: UNCA stu- ^ dents and staff mem bers of Kaleidoscope, Dana Murdock and Jennifer Blalock, have managed to turn early career goals into reality. Murdock, a communi cations major, cur rently works as a reporter for the Ashe ville Citizen-Times. She is in charge of the production of the entire North Asheville supplement published each Tuesday. "It's a lot of fun but it's also a lot of work. I get paid for two days of work but 1 actually put in at least five," said Murdock. Blalock, also a com munications major, got a start in the broad cast industry when she replaced a sick camer aman at WLOS-TV for about 2 months. She began a new job April 18 as a camera- person at WGTI-TV in New Bern, NC. "Finding a job as a news photographer wasn't easy," said Blalock. "I sent a tape to WCTI, like I did every other station and when I got the tape back with no explanation, I called the station and they said they weren't interested." Blalock refused to accept no for an an swer and personally took a sample of her work to the station. WCTI liked the tape and called two weeks later to offer her a job. While Blalock is the only female photogra pher in WCTI's market area, Murdock's posi- wm ■rlr Iw-^ 'i '-■m Blalock on the job: Holding some of the equip ment she uses in her work, Jennifer Blalock smiles at someone else's camera for a change. Photo by David Plunkett I/*' tion with the Citizen- Times is less unusual. Her responsibilities include determining what will be in the paper, writing almost every story, and most of the photography. Interested in jour nalism since high school where she work ed on the yearbook staff, Murdock didn't decide to become a re porter until her soph omore year at UNCA. Murdock worked on the Rag and Bone for a year and then served as associate editor of Kaleidoscope in 1982- 83. Blalock worked as a staff writer on the campus newspaper in 1982, and served as features editor of the Kaleidoscope in fall of 1983. Serving on a college publication is a great experience for future reporters, said Mur dock. "The new communica tions program is ex cellent. I learned more from Cathy Mit chell than I've ever learned from anyone," said Murdock. Education is impor tant, but so is on- the-job experience. "It's important to get your foot in the door any way you can," said Murdock. She began doing book reviews for The Ashe ville Citizen-Times while at UNCA. , Last summer Murdock interned as a reporter for the Citizen-Times, where her bosses im mediately placed her in a "sink or swim" position. "They showed me how to sign on to the ter minal ray first day. On the second day I was assigned a story, and then they left me on my own," said Mur dock. After two weeks as an intern, the editors gave her the solitary responsibility of the City Hall beat. Murdock finished her IM Today's reporter: Dana Murdock, former associate editor of the Kaleidoscope and now staff writer for the Asheville Citizen-Times North supplement. Photo by Pam Walker internship last August and returned to finish classes at UNCA and in December, Bill Moore called to offer her a position. She began by writing obituaries for the first month. "It's not as easy as you'd think. You have to type up all the in formation as the fune ral directors tell it to you over the tele phone," said Murdock. After sticking out that first month, she earned the responsibi lity of the North sup plement but it hasn't all been smooth sail ing. "My most embarassing moment happened one morning when I had been out shooting pic tures of area schools, and returned only to discover the film had not been rolling. The entire sequence had to be reshot!" she gri maced. Murdock's advice to future journalists: get all the experience possible. ■"Work on the Kaleid oscope. Do anything you can to get your name known. Talk to people as soon as you can about an intern ship ." Murdock and Blalock both advised all grad uates to be persis tent. "Try not to get too discouraged if you can't find a job. Don't expect to. make $15,000 to $20,000 a year—at least not in the Asheville area," said Murdock. Although the pay scale for reporters is low, Murdock said the advantage of doing what she enjoys out weighs the disadvan tages. Murdock plans to continue working for the Citizen-Times and hopes to become a full-time reporter. Blalock isn't cer tain what the future holds for her, butt hopes, of course, for^ success. ; "I've decided to dedicate at least a‘. year to this new job," she said.
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April 19, 1984, edition 1
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