Alumnus Moore taking leap into new media, bringing students with him Spring 2009 - By Whitney Tate
Bryce Moore, an SIUE alumnus and executive producer of KMOV.com, had to start at the bottom of the media totem pole like the rest of his colleagues. But his college experience opened a lot of doors and made job opportunities a reality.
Moore was able to build a solid foundation with the help of the Mass Communications Department, making his transition out of the university into the job market much easier for the graduate.
“I already knew the basics when I went out into the real world, so I was just able to learn specifics for certain positions,” Moore said.
Moore, now, 41, graduated from SIUE in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications. While attending the university, Moore had hands-on experience in his junior year when Professor Riley Maynard got him involved with volunteer work at KPLR (Channel 11).
“I spent most of my time doing grunt work at the beginning—ripping scripts, logging tapes, running prompter,” Moore recalled. “Once I showed them I was serious, the news managers started having me do some writing. Later I spent most of my evenings running around with a cameraman grabbing interviews and field producing stories.”
In his senior year, Moore landed an internship at KMOV (Channel 4). The station only required him to come in one day, but he showed up for five. He kept busy, going from his internship to his volunteer work at Channel 11, using the field practice for post-graduation opportunities.
“I spent a lot of time on the assignment desk and shadowing everyone,” Moore said.
Maynard recalled a number of qualities his previous student possessed. It only took a second for him to identify Moore’s most distinctive trait — his intellect. “You can’t teach that,” Maynard said.
He was also extremely dedicated. He took advantage of his teacher’s recommendations to get involved at the news stations, securing his position in the media industry.
Since his days at his alma mater, Moore has held many positions at Channel 4, and is currently in charge of running the station’s Web site. Mass Communications Professor Ralph Donald and Maynard have worked with Moore on a scholarship program to grant SIUE students an opportunity at Channel 4.
“He is on the leading edge of TV news and what it will look like in the next decade,” Donald observed. “He’s focusing on a young audience, a more hip audience that gives viewers new ways of connecting.”
Moore explained how the scholarship was a chance for students to have a regular job. Their work is shown on the Internet, whether it is videos, interviews or stories they’ve accumulated. Students working to put their packages on TV are not always so successful. KMOV has a union contract, which forbids anyone not a member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists union from producing or appearing in any regular KMOV newscasts, according to Donald.
Moore and the professors at SIUE work together to shape the scholarship requirements, and Moore reports back to the school about the students’ progress. For now, the scholarship is for SIUE students only, but, because of its success, the program is looking to expand.
“It should be competitive,” Donald said. “It should draw the best.”
The scholarship will be open to students from all schools. Starting in the summer and fall, three interns will be selected to assist Moore with Channel 4 Web site responsibilities.
“I am looking for ambitious students that are great story tellers that know how to write, shoot and edit,” Moore explained. “The perfect intern will teach us as much as we teach him or her.”
Maynard said it was very gratifying that Moore got in touch with him about it. They are able to make adjustments as the program grows and see how students can get the most out of their experience.
“It really helps us see the different perspective and angles,” Moore said. “I learn from the professors and, at the same time, I’m able to give them feedback.”
More than anything, Moore attributes his success to the teaching strategies of Riley Maynard. The most important thing he learned to take advantage of was his professor’s honesty -- sometimes his brutal honesty. Maynard said that, although not everyone appreciates his feedback, “those willing to accept it, [it] helps them a great deal.”
Moore said it helped prepare him for the real world. Maynard helped him realize that no one’s holding your hand out there.
“Here’s how it is,” Maynard said. “You don’t have to like it. I don’t have to like it, but we have to cope with it.”
Moore’s professors’ critiques made him want to try harder and be better. He said it was a great dose of reality.
“Once they come to grips with the feedback, the students have a huge advantage because they aren’t laboring under an illusion,” Maynard said.
There have been changes in the industry that no one could have anticipated just 10 years ago. Even though some people think the media market is doomed, Moore is optimistic and said that now is the best time to enter the business. A lot of media professionals are not prepared for the change in how news is consumed, but students who are just getting out of school are familiar with the various forms of new media, and are not as shocked when they start job searching. Their familiarity with various mediums makes them more appealing when applying for different positions.
“I’m excited about working with SIUE, with the kids and the program,” Moore said. It is clear that Maynard is proud of his former student’s accomplishments. “He’s basically the digital future for Channel 4,” Maynard said about Moore. “He is very in touch with the leading edge of technology – the digitalization of media.”