AJ Circhirillo
The media arts department kicked off their speaker series Wednesday night with Doug Mitchell, who shared many fruitful pieces of advise concerning a business that he has been a part of for over twenty two years.
In a time when America is facing such serious issues, it is good to hear someone talk positively.
Mitchell spoke to room that was just under a quarter of the way full and did it remarkably. His positive attitude filled the sparse room with hope; the students sat intrigued as they learned all of the many pieces of advice that Mitchell had divulged.
The new broadcast radio station that Pierce is getting will be a natural hit with Mitchell as a great addition to an already positive and talented staff. His calm composure and years of experience make for a natural teacher and leader.
“You have to get out of your circle, you have to go to conferences, you have to have an in because it’s all about networking” said Mitchell.
Mitchell talked about how important it is to create relationships with people in order to get ahead in both professional and personal life.
He said that his goal in life was to get through it with no regrets, but did say that if he were in the same position as a Journalism student today that he would not do it again.
It is far too common for people to get into menial jobs of which they feel stuck and lose any connection with the world around them.
An economy in recession and stalemate wars overseas has created depression among American workers. Mitchell can say that his job is anything but that; he has helped thousands of students as a trusted advisor.
Mitchell talked exclusively about the business that he had spent his life perfecting, so much so that his job had evolved into a teacher of that craft.
Humor was used throughout his presentation with many sayings and one-liners that he shared with the on looking students who were literally beginners in the craft in which he had become a professional doing. “As a journalism student you have to step out of your own skin and tell the story effectively” said Mitchell. His teaching career had taken him from California to Chile and everywhere in between.
One of Mitchell’s biggest accomplishments and one that he was extremely proud of was the he helped to create NPR “next generation radio” in 2000.
The website was a resource for all things broadcast. To this day his years of contributions to broadcast journalism can be viewed through the site. His time spent in Chile rewarded hundreds of students with education that would otherwise be impossible.
His speech was not composed completely of positive ideas and information. He was realistic about the negative affects that a slow economy was having on Journalists worldwide. The world of mass media has changed dramatically.
He made it clear that in order to be productive and successful, journalists must step out of what they knew well and learn what they didn’t.
He was keen on telling the audience that they must keep up with the current technology, as well as be able to multi-task. It is not enough anymore to be good at writing and have that is your area of expertise.
As a modern Journalist you must branch out and learn everything; be able to shoot pictures, make podcasts, create video, and write all at the same time. Technology was a big part of the presentation. Mitchell has a true love for all things new. When he hears of a new website, he becomes a member and learns how to use it professionally.
Mitchell raved about websites like: linkedin.com, facebook.com, tripit.com, yapta.com, gist.com and a laundry list of other sites that are used for a million other reasons.
These sites are used for travel, aggregating, networking and some just to have. The biggest advice that he had on these sites is to keep yours professional because there is no way to tell who is going to visit your page and what they will think about the things on that page.
“Don’t be afraid to try stuff,” said Mitchell toward the end of his presentation. His idea of life is that you have to be the one to get out there and meet people.
Mitchell gave an example of how in college; you could meet the entire party by standing next to the keg. He later explained that he can no longer get away with doing that, however standing at a bar and meeting people that way is just as effective.
His advice to students is that they must have the mentality that they are just here to learn, to network, to be open to new ideas. “If you get told no, try something else, you don’t have to apply for big things, the small help too” said Mitchell.
One funny experiment that he said that he was trying was to be the person with the business card. His experiment showed that more people would remember the man without the business card than the ones who had them.
Networking is the reason that Mitchell believes he has been so successful. Opening up to new people, following up with them and showing them that you are interested will help you grow professionally.
Before he left to come and visit Pierce, he asked some of his colleagues “what would you tell a bunch of college kids starting out in Journalism”? There was a wide array of answers to the question. The ones that seemed the most helpful were: bring your heart to work, learn everything you can as you go, improve your writing style, multi-tasking is a must, learn as much about multimedia as you can.
The future for Journalism is unsure, however the presentation that was given Wednesday night gave hope to those marred with negative thoughts.
Mitchell showed a positive side to those who have seen the impacts of lay offs and recession. Hope is the best weapon against such things.
Mitchell hopes to someday bring his daughter to Chile where he spent so much time teaching. He also would like to someday teach at Princeton, claiming that it was just something that he wanted to try. He felt that there is too much beurocracy among professors in colleges like Princeton. He had applied before, but they felt that he was “too busy”. Mitchell will continue to apply until they give him a better reason, or he gets the job. Reflecting his motto “don’t be afraid to try stuff, learn, rinse, repeat”.