KDKA-TV2 reporter Amy Wadas, a 2004 CVHS graduate, visited Mr. Ackermann’s Video Broadcasting classes on October 28th to share an insider’s view of the television news industry.Foremost in her message, Ms. Wadas told students that the industry is very competitive and those interested in pursuing broadcasting as a career could look forward to receiving low wages in remote markets until they establish themselves.
“It’s not a glamorous profession,” Wadas told students. “You can look forward to carrying your own equipment, and filming and editing your own packages. You can also look forward to working unusual shifts as well as working weekends and holidays.”
Following her graduation from Penn State University in 2008, Ms. Wadas worked as a producer in small market Wheeling before receiving promotions to reporter and eventually anchor. After a stop in mid-market Cincinnati, Ms. Wadas secured a position reporting for KDKA’s morning team. Though she jumped at the opportunity to return to work in her hometown, she continues to grind at her chosen profession.
“A typical day starts for me with a 2 am wake-up call,” she said. “We’re on the air between 4:30 and 7:30 am and I do about nine live cut-ins to report on my story for that day. The rest of the morning is spent advancing the story, shooting more video and re-cutting the piece for the noon news.”
Ms. Wadas also discussed how markets are rated by population, typical contracts in the nascent years of a broadcasting career and the rising importance of social media in the news industry.
“Web and social media are becoming a big part of gathering and disseminating news,” she said. “We increasingly use the web and social media for everything from posting stories to mining for background information, generating story ideas, and developing contacts.”
Ms. Wadas shared tips on creating a demo reel, which is basically a video resume featuring past pieces and packages that a reporter has produced, and showed her own reel to the classes.
“It’s a very competitive and demanding profession, but the rewards are there for those who work at it,” Wadas told the class.
Asked if she had ever messed up on the air, Wadas laughed and said, “With all the live reports we do, it’s inevitable. Everyone who does this for a living has [messed up]. Mostly you try to play it down and move on.”
