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What do you do?
I'm responsible for an hour of a two-hour morning show. I pick the stories, write many of them, assign reporters to stories, decide how long each story will be and what order they will appear in the rundown. I'm also responsible for adding production elements, including reviewing video and sound for the stories and correctly reflecting that in the rundown. During the show, I'm responsible for keeping the show on time, dropping stories as necessary or adding breaking stories and communicating all changes to the anchors and directors. I'm directly responsible for everything that airs during the show I produce.

How did you get your job?
A classmate of mine from Mizzou and a co-worker at my first station in Grand Rapids, Mich., had heard of an opening at KCNC and knew I wanted to move back to Colorado (I grew up in the Denver area). I sent a resume tape, applied, got an interview and was hired a month later. I got my first job out of school by tracking Internet postings and sending resume tapes to stations I thought I might want to work at. The faculty and staff at the School of Journalism were also very helpful in helping me apply for a job out of school.

Best professional lesson learned at the J-School?
Never burn bridges with co-workers. Journalism, especially TV news, is a small world and you never know when you might end up working with someone again. You can always use the contacts to help you find that next job or help someone else get a job.

What would be your best advice to current students?
Learn as much about your chosen emphasis as possible. Learn as many skills in that particular field as you can (reporting and producing, editing and layout design, etc.). The more you can do, the more marketable you are, especially for that first job. Plus, with technology and the Internet, many jobs at newspapers and TV news stations are merging.

What did you want to be as a kid?
I was always fascinated by TV news and current events growing up. It may sound corny, but I knew I wanted to be a part of that. When I started looking at colleges, I looked for the ones with strong journalism programs, and that sent me to MU. I don't think I'd have had the professional opportunities I've had if I hadn't gone to MU and taken classes at the hands-on J-School. The J-School degree has really helped me live my dream.