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WOUB Job Connection Program
T wo additional media companies will participate in the 2024 WOUB Job Connection Program this spring semester. Recruiters from Sinclair Broadcast Group and Griffin Media will join recruiters from TEGNA, Gray Television, the E.W. Scripps Company and NBC 4 TV in Columbus as they interview Ohio University students who work at WOUB Public Media for full-time jobs and paid internships.
Sinclair owns and/or operates 21 regional sports network brands; owns, operates and/or provides services to 185 television stations in 86 markets, owns multiple national networks including Tennis Channel and Stadium; and has TV stations affiliated with all the major broadcast networks. Griffin Media is an Oklahoma-owned multimedia company. Holdings include KWTV/News 9 and KSBI/News 9 Plus in Oklahoma City and KOTV/News On 6 and KQCW/The Tulsa CW in Tulsa. Griffin Media is among a few privately held media companies in the country, owned by David and Kirsten Griffin of Oklahoma City, and John Griffin of Muskogee. Griffin Media solely focuses its resources in the state of Oklahoma.
“We are thrilled that more companies are realizing how well-educated and trained the Ohio University students who work at WOUB are coming out of college,” said WOUB Community Engagement and Membership Manager Cheri Russo. “Many of our students have worked at a professional media station for their entire college career and are ready for high-level media positions.”
The WOUB Job Connection Program was created by two former WOUB students, Doug Drew, BSC ‘78 and Mike Rausch, a non-degree journalism alumnus. It leverages the relationships of former WOUB students in the media industry to build partnerships between WOUB and media companies looking for graduating college students to fill journalism and media production positions at their stations across the country.
Approximately 90% of the Ohio University graduates who worked at WOUB over the last two years and were looking to find jobs in the media industry accepted full-time positions before graduation. The hands-on career training that students get at a professional station is something industry employers value.
“WOUB gives students the opportunity to take what they learn in the college classroom and apply it in a real-world setting at a professional media outlet,” said WOUB General Manager Mark Brewer. “The students work at a PBS and NPR member station that provides important educational, news, information and entertainment services to a 55-county, three-state region. Having the opportunity to hone their craft with professional guidance, using professional equipment, while gaining experience is invaluable as they start their careers.”
“ Students can begin working at WOUB the moment they step on campus. Over the course of four years, students develop portfolios and experiences that truly set them apart from graduates of other programs,” said Scripps College of Communication Dean Scott Titsworth. “ The highly developed skills of our students are noticed by employers as evidenced by a job placement rate of more than 90% for WOUB students upon graduation. We are proud of the work they do in serving viewers and listeners, and we are proud of the commitment of WOUB staff and leadership to helping our students become career ready even before graduation.”
WOUB Job Connection interviews begin on February 5. For more information, contact Cheri Russo at russoc@ohio.edu .
About WOUB Public Media As a member station of both NPR and PBS, WOUB Public Media is a trusted source of news, local content and educational resources that have proven to be worthy of the time, effort and support of our users. WOUB, an experiential-learning unit of the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University, is a non-profit, community-supported multimedia organization which provides online and broadcast services, along with non-broadcast educational services and student professional development. WOUB serves 55 counties throughout southeastern Ohio, western West Virginia and eastern Kentucky with its broadcast signals. WOUB Radio’s FM Network has transmitters in Athens, Chillicothe, Ironton, Zanesville and Cambridge, while WOUB AM serves the immediate Athens area. WOUB TV is made up of seven television channels (WOUB HD, WOUB Classic, WOUB World, WOUB Create, WOUB Ohio, WOUB Kids and WOUB Voicecorps Reading Service) which are broadcast from two transmitters.
Through its support of public service, teaching, research and administrative missions, along with its high-quality local content and programming, WOUB enriches, enhances and expands the lives and horizons of the people in the communities it serves, as well as Ohio University faculty, staff and students.