A Better Press for a Better World Webinar Series: Getting Your Start in Broadcast News

About this Webinar Series

Explore the world of media with the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association’s “A Better Press for a Better World” webinar series. We invite middle and high school students to learn directly from professional journalists and others in the media industry during our weekly online program.

This week: Getting started in broadcast news. We’ll talk early career broadcast journalists from across the country about their jobs and take your questions. Our panelists will talk about their work, how they got started in media and what you can do to get your start in the news industry.

This is a free online webinar designed for middle and high school students, and pre-registration is required. You may participate via web video or by phone. Our event will be recorded and made available to MIPA member advisers and their students. If your school not yet a MIPA member? How to join MIPA

“A Better Press for a Better World” is the official motto of MIPA. It was first proclaimed during the organization’s first “High School Editors Conference,” a gathering of 100 editors and advisers in May 1922.

View our event archives

How to Participate

This virtual, online event is free, but pre-registration is required. Registration for this event will close 1 hour before the start time. Register below.

Prior to the start of this event, Zoom will email you a link to join the webinar. You will receive a reminder with this information 1 hour prior to the start of the event.

During the webinar, you will be able to submit questions to our panelists using the Q&A tool.

Joining by phone instead of web video:

You can join this webinar by phone. Invitations to join the event will include a phone number. This may limit your ability to ask questions, but may be useful if:

• You don’t have a microphone or speaker on your computer.
• You do not have a smartphone or have limited data availability.
• You cannot connect to the Internet.

Youth Safety Information

MIPA is committed to protecting the safety of youth who participate in our programs. We work closely with Michigan State University’s Youth Programs Registration, Safety Assurance and Education office to ensure we are complying with all university policies, federal and state laws, and best practices for working safely with minors.

We are using Zoom via Michigan State University’s IT infrastructure to host this webinar. Zoom’s webinar service is different in several ways from the company’s more commonly used video conference meeting tool, giving the moderator additional tools to manage the event, control what participants see and limit who can speak.

Students must pre-register via MIPA’s website to participate. Only approved registrants will be invited to join the webinar; those registrants will receive an email with a unique link to join the webinar. Students are view-only participants who will not be seen or heard on screen without permission from the moderator. Viewers of the webinar will not be able to communicate directly with each other, although they can submit questions directly to the moderator and panelists via the Q&A tool.

Questions?

Please contact the MIPA office at mipa@msu.edu or 517-353-6761 for additional information.

Featured Speakers

Ruta Ulcinaite, KMTV 3 News Now

Ruta Ulcinaite joined the KMTV 3 News Now team in June 2019. She graduated Michigan State University in May 2019 with a major in broadcast journalism and political science. In her time at Michigan State, she worked for the student newscast, Focal Point News, as an assignment editor, producer, reporter and anchor. She has been an intern at HOMTV in Okemos, Michigan, NBC affiliate WDIV in Detroit and The State News, Michigan State’s student newspaper.

Her experience has propelled her into an enriching career as a full time reporter. With her focus being in politics, she has already helped cover important stories at KMTV on illegal immigration and the 2020 presidential race. Ruta moved to the United States when she was a little girl. Born in Siauliai, Lithuania, Ruta loves to travel back to her home country and visit new ones as often as she can.

Tony Black, CNYCentral

Tony Black joined the CNYCentral team in January 2020 as a multimedia journalist, covering central New York for the Syracuse-based NBC, CBS and CW affiliates.

Tony graduated in December 2019 with a degree in broadcast journalism from Michigan State University, where his love for storytelling began. During his time at MSU, he worked for the Emmy award-winning college newscast, Focal Point News. Starting as a producer, he worked his way up to senior producer before becoming a reporter and anchor. He is honored to have received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Broadcast Education Association, the Michigan Association of Broadcasters as well as the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for his work as a producer and reporter.

Tony has held internships at FOX 2 News in Detroit, WOOD-TV 8 in Grand Rapids and HOMTV in Meridian Township, Michigan.

Mike Castellucci, Michigan State University School of Journalism

Moderated by Jeremy Steele, Michigan Interscholastic Press Association

Jeremy Steele is executive director of the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association and a specialist in the School of Journalism at Michigan State University, where he teaches various reporting courses. Steele is an award-winning journalist who has also worked for one of Michigan’s largest independent public relations firms.