Today - Friday, November 9 - was officially the First Annual Medaille College Media Day. The day was filled with informative and interesting sessions that students signed up for to learn more about particular concentrations of media. There were 26 guest speakers who came to Medaille in order to enlighten our students on how to succeed in the media industry. Among them were directors, instructors, reporters, publishers, managers, on air personalities, and news anchors. Without a question, it was a really great experience for students of all ages. Underclassmen were able to learn more about the particular field that they are interested in (or learn that maybe they are not so interested?), and upperclassmen were able to do some networking, make contacts, and learn about how to get a job, since it is in their near future.

Lisa Van Valkinburgh, the chair of the Communications Department, and Richard Jurasek, the President of the College, made some opening remarks and welcomed Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, who officially declared today Medaille Media Day. Brown made some very flattering remarks about Medaille’s Communication Department, declaring it one of the best programs in the area. Sessions followed this introduction and began at 9:15, 10:15, and 11:15. I attended “Putting it in Writing: A Career in Print Journalism,” “Getting the Word Out - Public Relations,” and “Television Today.” I found all three to be extremely informative and very helpful. All of the guests were cheerful and open to questions. Some of the other sessions included “Radio 2007: The New Frontier,” “What’s Next: Integrated & Multi-Media,” “On The Front Line: Managing the Message,” and “Behind the Scenes: Radio and TV Production.”

I felt that the event was enormously successful, and the turnout was really great. I look forward to future years of Medaille Media Day, and hope to see it get better and better with time. I think it is especially important to recognize that Medaille, which is such a small school compared to some of the other area colleges offering Communications, has the ability to host such an amazing event. I guess sometimes, smaller is better.