“I originally was planning on staying closer to home, but I’m glad I took the leap with this job that moved me all the way to Georgia,” says Ashlyn Miller ’16.
Miller, a producer at WJCL News in Savannah, Georgia, graduated from Messiah with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Urban Studies. As a producer, Miller builds and executes the overall vision of the newscast for the hour-long morning show. This includes selecting stories, writing scripts, building graphics, editing video, posting to the website, updating social media and determining how the show flows and how to introduce and present the stories.
Miller’s favorite part of producing is that each day brings a new show with new stories to tell. “You come in with a blank slate and by the end of the day you have built an entire show!”
However, building a show is no easy task. Miller says the most challenging part of her job is having to hit a hard deadline every day, because the show always starts at the same time, but news can break at any moment. “I might need to get something into my show that happens 15 minutes before it starts. It’s all about being resourceful and managing your time well.”
Miller believes that her communication classes at Messiah helped prepare her for this job by making her multifaceted. “Not only did I learn strong writing skills, but I can also shoot and edit a story, do web design and work on social media. I can do work for my employer on many different platforms because of the skills I was taught at Messiah.”
Additionally, Miller is grateful for the hands-on journalism experience that she gained during her time at Messiah. Working for the Pulse and interning at abc27 allowed her to further develop her writing and reporting skills as well as learn how to work effectively and manage a team.
Miller encourages students to take every opportunity to get practical experience in their field. “Classes are important, but getting out there in the field gives you a chance to put your learning into action.”
– Alli Williams ’19