Students, Alumni Come Together for 10th Media Summit

Media Summit: Behind the Scenes with WTOP

Oswego — As you walk around the campus of SUNY Oswego on Thursday morning you can hear the buzz of students talking about the arrival of alumnus Al Roker. His morning show “Wake Up with Al” and his segment on “The Today Show” aired live from the campus. Students were waiting for Al since 1:00 am. SUNY Oswego even posted on their Twitter that @alroker and @sunyoswego were the 2 top trending items in New York State.

As students filled the Marano Campus Center to see Al little did they know the members of WTOP were getting ready for the Media Summit Red Carpet Show.  “Toppers”, as they call themselves, had been working since Tuesday night before the Media Summit to set up their annual Red Carpet Event. Lauren Toscano, a reporter for WTOP says “ It’s a lot of work but when it comes together it’s worth it.”

The Red Carpet Event talent and crew arrived at 12pm and started a run through of the show.  The shows producers, Kiana Racha and Olivia Ugino, gave their crew a rundown before the show.

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The Red Carpet Show featured a number of guests and interviews with Charlie Rose, Cameron Jones, Al Roker, President of Oswego, Deborah Stanley, and many other successful alumni of the college.

They had different elements in the show including 4 reporters and 2 hosts.  Scott Sasina and

Victoria Diana interviewed Career Connectors and alumnis’ Cameron Jones and Jeremy Donovan. Jack Teibor was able to get interviews with Al Roker and Charlie Rose.  Molly Matott and Robert Hackford hosted the event.  Chelsea Frisbie was the crowd reporter and said “The energy for the Media Summit was unbelievable and she’s happy that she was involved.”

As the Red Carpet Show came to an end the students were able to take a break and watch the Media Summit.

The Making of the Media Summit

October 16th was a day that many of the Media Summit E-board members had been waiting for since they started planning for this event late last semester. E-board member and historian for the Summit, Victoria Love, stated that, “It’s nice to see the Summit come together,” while Assistant Student Event Director, Nicole Wilson, says that “it’s been a great learning experience.”

The Media Summit is an event which is truly based on the efforts of students who make this event possible. E-board members had been working tirelessly for months in all aspects of planning the event while student ambassadors were diligently paying attention to the class schedules of their assigned career connectors and panelists on the day of the Summit. Student ambassadors were chosen to guide these campus guests to all of their classes and other scheduled activities for the day.

Not only was there a full house at the main panel, but our career connectors walked into a crowded room during their panel. Students were eager to ask questions about resume building, internships, and even asking the career connectors about how they got to where they are today.

Before the Summit, students had the opportunity to act throughout the day with various panelists and career connectors.

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Media Summit: Al Roker arriving for The Today Show

As soon as Al Roker made his appearance for The Today Show, students started to cheer on, holding up signs and trying to get closer to get a glimpse.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyKFHDiUcjc?list=UUjKG6KIWXoVXtrxNtJ241yw]

Dennis Thatcher Talk

Some of the students WNYO and WTOP had the chance to attend a small meeting to interact with Dennis Thatcher later that morning.

He spoke about the media industry and giving helpful tips on sales. “An internship can turn into an audition can turn into an audition” says Dennis Thatcher as he ends his discussion.

Media Summit Prep

While WTOP was getting ready for the Media Summit Red Carpet Show, ushers were being instructed on seating guest for the Media Summit.

Ushers were grouped by two’s in each section of the arena, making sure everything went accordingly.

The Media Summit in action

As the Media Summit took place, there were things said by Charlie Rose, Al Roker, and Connie Schlutz leaving the audience thinking about their careers in the media industry. Some of the quotes were

“Make sure your work is your passion” – Charlie Rose

“I’m concerned how it’s all about posting first and editing later” – Connie Schlutz

Charlie Rose and Al Roker had similar thoughts about Morning Television.

“Almost time shift proof for morning tv” – Al roker

“”Morning television begins the conversation of the day” – Charlie Rose

As the Media Summit was coming to an end, Lou Borrelli received his Presidential Medal, making everyone have more pride for SUNY Oswego.

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