When Estelle Parsley visited Steve Clements’ Broadcast Journalism class, she passed around two photographs.
Both photos she showed while visiting Clements’ class in University Hall Room 160 on Oct. 9, were of either VHS tapes or DVDs from people interested in recent opening in Parsley’s newsroom. One photo showed a small stack of videos, and the other showed a larger stack of videos that could barely fit on the table on which they were stacked.
When Parsley, director of news and production at WRDW News Channel 12, showed these pictures, she wanted to show how competitive the television news business is.
According to Parsley, for every opening, there is an average of 120 interested applicants.
Clements, a Cree-Walker distinguished professor of communications, said he not only wanted his students to learn the reality of the competition involved in the news business, but also he wanted his students to be able to talk to someone who is currently in the television news business.
“I want them to learn the reality of how a news operation actually works,” he said. “We can talk about it in the classroom, but to get to hear someone who does it everyday, it becomes much more real.”
Parsley said one of the realities a student will face when he enters the television business is having to work as a team and do well in his role in the newsroom.
“It’s a team that puts on a newscast,” Parsley said, “but that team is made up of individuals who have an accountability for what they do. The team only works when every person that’s on that team knows what their role is (and) does it well, and then, it all comes together. That’s when the ‘magic’ happens.”
According to Parsley, the key to being successful in any environment is finding out what you are passionate about and internally motivating yourself.
“I think (students should) learn as much as they can about the craft that they’re entering and to really know what they’re passionate about,” Parsley said. “There are a lot of opportunities an internship or your first job can get you, but really, your motivation has to come from within. Your desire has to come from within. I truly believe that is the key foundation for people who are successful at what they do.”
Parsley has been at her current position for 10 years. Before that, she worked at WRDW in a variety of jobs since 1989. When she was an anchor, she worked on the first 5 p.m. television news show in the Augusta, Ga., market.
