Feliciana Lch
map-marker College Park, Maryland

The Philip Merrill College of Journalism - Horrible Program

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I had some professors and classmates at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism discouraging me saying "you don't have a broadcast voice. You can't talk.

Go be a producer or a production assistant" - Cassandra Clayton. And some saying, "Is this too much for you? Can you handle this? Video is too hard for you." - Bethany Swain.

Between October 2015 and March 2016, I applied to be a news reporter for the University of Maryland's Capital News Service Broadcast Bureau television newscast, Maryland Newsline and its sister, The ViewFinder, but I was not accepted for the first time. I did not had any options from the University of Maryland to do television news reporting. My option from Undergraduate Dean Olive Reid and Academic Affairs Rafael Lorente was to take a capstone course that had nothing to do with my career aspirations. I realized I need more help than what the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism were providing as I sent my work to television news reporters, anchors, producers, and news directors in the field from small to large markets.

I also was not accepted to Capital News Service TV and The ViewFinder for the second time. I realized that I need help since the University of Maryland and the Philip Merrill College of Journalism didn't help me and failed to provide me with what I actually needed to be a television news reporter and the real-world experience to actually do television news reporting. Capital News Service TV (CNS-TV)/Maryland Newsline (cnsmaryland.org/join) and The Viewfinder (viewfinderumd.com) has limited amount of seats for undergraduate students. The masters students in the graduate broadcast journalism program are the only ones who can do CNS-TV and The ViewFinder because it is already in their curriculum.

The undergraduate broadcast students do not have this option. Only 7 to 8 undergraduate students are able to do CNS-TV and The ViewFinder per semester. So, the majority of the undergraduate broadcast journalism students are unable to do it, especially with having a resume and internships, cover letter, 5 samples of best news story packages work (2 self-shooting and editing video packages for The Viewfinder), and a completed online application and everything that both The ViewFinder and CNS-TV have requested. The majority of students do not know what CNS-TV and The ViewFinder are looking for from students.

The students are not interviewed for these programs and the school does not know the actual predicament they are putting the students in who are unable to do Capital News Service and The ViewFinder. Some cannot get a news video reporting opportunity with school's newspaper, The Diamondback. Internships, career events, and others opportunities in the school might not be enough or even be helpful in this. Even CNS-TV and The ViewFinder does not show the true real-world reality of working in the field as a reporter.

The students are then forced to take a capstone course that has neither to do in being an on-air television news reporter nor preparing them in being one. The other courses do not have any opportunity for students to do tv news reporting or make a reel for tv news. The students have to do that on their own time which can be difficult. Many news organizations do not have resources to help their employees make a demo reel.

They are forced to either make a reel using material from previous broadcast classes or doing an internship reel or a combination of both. Then, when it comes time for jobs, these students cannot apply for reporting jobs without an excellent reel showcasing their work, their skills, and their personality. They are forced to take a job as a desk assistant, news assistant or a production assistant and other jobs where the news organization or company do not have resources to help their employees make a demo reel and will tell applicants and employees that this is something they have to do on their own. This means the company or news organization is neither responsible nor liable for making a demo reel for its employees.

Merrill College is playing a game with its current students, prospective students, and transfer students' career goals in regards to CNS-TV and The Viewfinder, and not publicly telling them the truth and seriously impacting their career goals. There are some students out there that truly takes CNS-TV and The ViewFinder for granted and some do not pursue a career in reporting or producing. They pursue a career outside of tv news or be a desk assistant or a production assistant or working in a law firm.

Advice: Please go to another undergraduate journalism school that will fully allow you to be a tv news reporter or anchor guaranteed. Capital News Service TV, The ViewFinder, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, and the University of Maryland are not worth it.

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Cons:
  • Bethany swain
  • Cannot do capital news service tv nor the viewfinder
  • School does not help you find a job no jobs
Reason of review:
Bad quality
Feliciana Lch
map-marker College Park, Maryland

Bad Journalism School that Deceives all Undergraduate Broadcast Journalism Students and Minorities of an Opportunity

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I am writing to you today as I wish to provide a formal complaint about the undergraduate broadcast journalism program at the University of Maryland‘s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. There must be more opportunities for students who aspire to be a television news reporter.

During my time at the College of Journalism, I applied to the Capital News Service TV's Broadcast Bureau (CNS-TV) and The ViewFinder, and was declined multiple times. There were no other further opportunities for undergraduate broadcast journalism students like me to be a television news reporter. The other non-Capital News Service and non-viewfinder capstone courses neither meet the undergraduate broadcast students’ interest in television news reporting nor prepare them to be a television news reporter. I have already taken the initial steps to resolve this by speaking to the Undergraduate Dean: Olive Reid and the Dean of Academic Affairs: Rafael Lorente.

However, up to this point, they have failed to provide a satisfactory outcome nor resolved these problems, so I am taking the action to raise my concerns with you and to provide recommendations that should be taken seriously. The alternative option and the advice I was given by the Philip Merrill College of Journalism advisers was not successful, and has caused problems for me with news directors and recruiters well-known broadcast companies and its local television news station affiliates such as Sinclair Broadcast Group, Gray Television, TEGNA, Media General, Raycom Media, News-Press and Gazette, Nexstar Broadcasting Group and the E.W. Scripps Company who are requesting to see a reporter resume reel in television news, and I do not have one. I cannot even get a job as a television news reporter with your journalism school because I was neither given the opportunity to do Capital News Service by Ms.

Susan "Sue" Kopen-Katcef nor The ViewFinder by Ms. Bethany Swain (Chamberland). I am now forced to pay thousands and thousands of dollars to a private third-party company that invests in making resume demo reels for TV news and sports. There are students at the other universities, including the Philip Merrill College of Journalism who are resorting to this option among others where the current capstones, opportunities, and courses in the undergraduate broadcast journalism program are neither working in their favor nor their interest.

Because it is too late in my college career for the Philip Merrill College of Journalism to help me further in this matter and my career endeavors, I can no longer give you the full proper credit that your school helped me obtain a television news reporting/multimedia journalist job at a small television news station market. The Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland has already failed to help me as a student/aspiring television news reporter. I strongly recommend that you restructure the curriculum to help the current, new, and prospective students in the undergraduate broadcast journalism program. Concerns: The Philip Merrill College of Journalism is robbing undergraduate broadcast journalism students who want to be a television news reporter out of an opportunity to be a reporter for CNS-TV and/or The ViewFinder.

Not many of the undergraduate broadcast students can get into the Capital News Service Program or The ViewFinder. The Philip Merrill College of Journalism has made the excuse of saying, “there are not enough seats guaranteed for CNS-TV or The ViewFinder as we must make these seats available for the master’s students and we do not have enough professors to teach the undergraduate sections.” Financial resources and contributions are no excuse. These courses and opportunities are already guaranteed to master’s students, but not to undergraduate students. I have seen some undergraduate broadcast journalism students doing both CNS-TV and The ViewFinder in consecutive semesters.

Then, some of the students who completed both opportunities or did one of them do not end up being a reporter, or anchor. Instead, they are seeking jobs as producers, production assistants, or another non-on-air roles. Others take jobs outside of journalism working in law firms, public relations firms or holding other non-journalism jobs. This strongly suggests that some of the undergraduate broadcast journalism students are taking CNS-TV and The ViewFinder for granted where the Philip Merrill College of Journalism and these undergraduate broadcast students selected to the courses are stealing these opportunities from other undergraduate broadcast journalism students who truly need these programs and opportunities in order to obtain employment as a television news reporter and/or a television news anchor.

There are no other reasonable options for them. The only options for the undergraduate broadcast journalism students who did not have an opportunity to CNS-TV and The ViewFinder due to the valid reasons mentioned above are as follows: Option 1: Obtain a resume demo reel/tape from a private company such as American Broadcast Talent (http://www.americanbroadcasttalent.com/ ), Showcase Resume Tapes (http://www.showcaseresumetapes.com/ ), Reel Media Group (http://www.reelmediagroup.tv/ ), Los Angeles Reporter Clinic (http://www.newsreporterreel.com/ ), Break Into TV (http://www.breakintotv.net/ ), and OAP Media Group (http://www.oapmediagroup.com/ ) among others. There are many of these private companies out there that offer these services, and it is very expensive. Not many of the undergraduate broadcast journalism students have the money to do this.

These companies only care about the money and not the individual using their service. It become very arduous and incommodious for the students to change the demo reel over time. Option 2: Go to graduate school. Students would have to go to journalism graduate schools such as CUNY School of Journalism, Columbia University's School of Journalism, and Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism (graduate level).

Not many of these journalism graduate schools including the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism lets any student in. It is very competitive and if a student cannot get admitted and/or does not have the financial means to attend, then they are out of an option with continued/post-baccalaureate education. Also, not all communication and journalism graduate schools are hands-on. There are some out there that only study the academia and communication theory as well as do not have a TV station where there are newscasts or a sportscast, a radio station, and/or a student newspaper.

Option 3: Be a desk assistant and/or a producer/production assistant at a TV news station or a TV news program. This is the last option that undergraduate broadcast students have to resort to. The problem with this option depends on the TV news station, broadcast company, or TV news program where there might not be an opportunity for the undergraduate broadcast journalism students to be promoted to a news reporter, if they are working as a desk assistant, news assistant, production assistant, any type of assistant, or producer. Some companies like the PBS NewsHour for instance do not have the option for their news assistants to be a reporter or a producer.

They can only be promoted into a production assistant position. Also, some of these jobs are temporary and may not provide benefits. One of the things that these companies will not provide to desk assistants, production assistants, news assistants, assistants, and producers and editors is to make their own resume demo reel tape. The individuals in those positions have to make a demo reel on their own.

The TV news stations, TV news programs, and broadcast companies will neither be liable nor responsible in making a demo reel. This means these students do not have the resources, such as a broadcast camera, DSLR camera, tripod, wireless mics, directional microphone, shotgun microphone, and other equipment necessary to make a demo reel. They might not have access to photographer/videographer and the news studio at their job to make a demo reel. What does this all mean for this option?

The Philip Merrill College of Journalism is forcing their students to do a job that they do not like and where they may never be an on-air television news reporter or a producer. The Philip Merrill College of Journalism is not doing enough for their undergraduate broadcast journalism students. Suggested Recommendations: Recommendation # 1: I would really like the Philip Merrill College of Journalism to please add more seats in Capital News Service Broadcast Bureau and The ViewFinder program, and make both of these programs guaranteed for all students, regardless of being an undergraduate or a master student so that the undergraduate broadcast journalism students are able to take advantage this opportunity, especially those like me that are truly here for the opportunity. Please open more bureaus for Capital News Service TV and The ViewFinder if they cannot do it at College Park, MD.

They must have other CNS-TV and The ViewFinder bureau options in Washington DC, Southern Maryland, Central Maryland, Delmarva Peninsula, Western Maryland, Central Virginia, Tri-Cities (VA-TN-NC), Eastern North Carolina, various areas of West Virginia and Virginia, Central Pennsylvania, Western Pennsylvania, various areas of Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and other locations through the United States. Also, please do a background check on all students applying to CNS-TV and The Viewfinder to make sure that the students who are doing this program are actually here for it. Take a second and third look at reporting candidates before making the final decision of having them in these programs and please consider doing in-person interviews at all times on-campus as well as comprehensively review their application and question it in the interview hiring process. This is also includes asking students to provide references who can vouch for them as well as employment and coursework history to know that they actually did journalism internships, a part-time or a full-time journalism job at a television news station, journalism-related extracurricular activities, and took specific courses at Philip Merrill College of Journalism and/or other competitive undergraduate journalism schools.

Recommendation # 2: The Philip Merrill College of Journalism must host a public/open information session forum multiple times per semester for all of their capstones, especially CNS-TV and The ViewFinder. Not many students know about these capstones until their final two years of college. This would be very important for all students - current students, freshman, but especially prospective students: transfer students (from the community college, four-year public in-state colleges and universities, liberal arts colleges and four-year private colleges and universities), high school students from public, private, and preparatory schools in all 50 states including Washington DC, and their parents so that they have options. CNS-TV and The ViewFinder and other capstones need to have an information session openly, honestly, and publicly where they tell current and prospective students the requirements for admission, what the phrase "send five video samples of your best work" and "upload a link of a package you shot and edited " really mean and what CNS-TV and the ViewFinder, especially for the broadcast side are actually and really looking from the undergraduate broadcast journalism students from an employment standpoint very similar to what a news directors/hiring manager is looking for in candidates/applicants seeking to be reporters at TV news stations and broadcast companies.

There must be transparency, honesty, and trustworthiness here. You need to tell them the truth because if the Philip Merrill College of Journalism does not have what a current or prospective student is looking for, they have the right to transfer to a better journalism program where the majority are out-of-state who are your competitors. This especially goes for in-state students who reside in Maryland. This flagship university is the only option for them as the 11 of our 12 universities under the University System of Maryland and the private Maryland colleges do not have a journalism program, no opportunities and resources for students to get a TV news internship and a job in TV news as a reporter/multimedia journalist, producer, or anchor.

I have been at one of those institutions and witnessed it firsthand. If Philip Merrill College of Journalism fails to rectify the problem in the near future, you will lose your students. Strongly rest assured that your students will go to other undergraduate journalism schools, such as Ohio University's E.W. Scripps' School of Journalism, University of Missouri's School of Journalism, Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Syracuse University's S.I.

Newhouse School of Public Communications, University of Miami's School of Communications, University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communication, University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of North Carolina's School of Media and Journalism, West Virginia University's Reed School of Media, Marshall University’s The W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Hofstra University’s Department of Journalism/Media Studies/Public Relations, Pennsylvania State University's College of Communication, Elon University's School of Communications, Howard University’s School of Communications and other schools whose programs and newscasts reporting/videography opportunities are guaranteed to all undergraduate students once being admitted into the program. Recommendation # 3: The Philip Merrill College of Journalism must add more videography courses for students who do not feel the skills are strong enough or up to par after either taking JOUR 203, JOUR 262, and JOUR 361 or both. They need improvement courses for these skills since they will be doing this for both the short and long term if they decide to be a reporter/multimedia journalist, anchor, or producer at a TV news station and in hands-on journalism internship and part-time or full-time journalism employment opportunities that require these skills .

News directors and hiring managers look for these skills. Please also have a separate beginner level and intermediate level classes on DSLR videography so that students can prepare to do The ViewFinder. Please also have a separate beginner level and intermediate photography class besides JOUR 370: Photojournalism course which is not enough. Recommendation # 4: Provide more help to students who need assistance in having a broadcast voice.

JOUR 368T: On Camera Performance course does not solve everything. You need to start this earlier as soon as the students enter the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Have a beginner class and an advance class as well as one-on-one voice coaching for those who truly need it. Recommendation # 5: Please provide tutors for JOUR 203: Multimedia Skills, but especially JOUR 262: News Videography (Broadcast Field and Studio Production) and JOUR 361: Television Reporting and Production respectively for students who may need more one-on-one help improving and grasping the skills than what the course and the professor can provide as not many professor and other student classmates in enrolled in the courses have the time.

Please hire more full-time professors instead of adjunct professors for undergraduate broadcast journalism students to better decide which professor is really right for them and has equal amount of time for them. Recommendation # 6: Please have more "Television Reporting and Production" and "News Videography" classes very similar to JOUR 361 and JOUR 262 respectively for news reporters earlier in the semester. A beginner's class is that students can get help before J361/J262, during J361/J262, and after J361/J262 before doing CNS-TV and The Viewfinder. Identify students who may need help or will have significant difficulty getting admitted into The ViewFinder and CNS-TV.

Recommendation # 7: Help students with learning disabilities who are broadcast journalism majors. They are strongly underrepresented and not represented at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Many of them do not get help and are constantly discouraged by faculty members at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism in pursuing aspirations in being a reporter, anchor, or producer. CNS-TV and The ViewFinder have never had a reporter with a learning disability in their program representing the disabled community nor a reporting beat on disabilities.

You need to do more for this community and these students. If the University of Maryland's Disability Support Services (DSS) are not doing anything for learning disabled students, then who else will? Please also have more undergraduate students of color in the CNS-TV and The ViewFinder programs as they are not diversified enough. Only 2-10 percent of minorities are represented in these programs.

Give more opportunities to minority students of colors, disabled students, military students, and the LGBT students. Hire more professors from these underrepresented communities for all of the hands-on courses, especially CNS-TV and The ViewFinder. All communities must be represented. The Philip Merrill College of Journalism needs to do more.

Recommendation # 8: Provide employment support, job search preparation, and employment guidance to all alumnis of the journalism school, especially recent undergraduate graduates. Many of the recent undergraduate journalism graduates are having difficulty finding employment in the journalism profession, especially in broadcast journalism. They truly do not have support or guidance from the school. These graduates feel very alone and isolated as the Philip Merrill College of Journalism is not doing anything to help them; and therefore, have abandoned these graduates and left them to navigate the job search process alone.

This especially applies to recent broadcast journalism graduates who did not had an opportunity from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism to participate in CNS-TV and The ViewFinder. The professors, adjunct professors, lecturers and all other faculty members have provided little to no support. The graduates are unprepared for the broadcast journalism television news profession as news directors and hiring managers are not taking them seriously in all stages of the job search process. In closing, the Philip Merrill College of Journalism really needs to step up to the plate and help the undergraduate broadcast journalism students.

If you do not help them or make any changes in regards to restructuring the undergraduate broadcast journalism program and its curriculum, you will lose your students. Again, you will lose your students. Rest assured: if the Philip Merrill College of Journalism fails to rectify the problem in the near future, you will lose your students.

Strongly rest assured that your students will go to other undergraduate journalism schools whose programs are better than yours and have more opportunities, and courses for their students. I hope that these conflicts are fully successfully rectified in the future.

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Cons:
  • Sue kopen-katcef
  • No actual support or services for learning-disabled students
  • School does not help you find a job no jobs
Reason of review:
Bad quality
2 comments
NACA Online

This complaint clearly shows the real reason you didn't get hired. You lack basic communication skills.

This was nauseatingly verbose, filled with endless redundancies, and you clearly have never heard of the AP Stylebook, much less seen a text on proper grammar and punctuation.

As a broadcast and print journalist for more than thirty years, I can tell you definitively that no News Director with a shred of credibility would hire you with a writing sample as horrendous as the one you have posted here.

The best thing you can do for yourself is face the facts.

Your problem has nothing to do with the school, your ethnicity, gender preference or anything else. From what you have written here, you simply lack the chops to do the job and still have a great deal to learn.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1300288

You don't anything 30-year broadcast/print journalist veteran. So, shut up.

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