OMN Alumni Podcast: Recent Episodes
Steven Sandberg
At Orange Media Network, amazing students come through our doors every day, where they join the student newspaper, TV station, radio station, magazines, creative design and marketing teams.
On the OMN Alumni Podcast, we talk to people who started their journeys at Oregon State University and OMN. We learn about their time at OMN, what they're up to now, and the things they learned along the way.
We get meta this week on the podcast as I talk about podcasts with Sean Fox. Sean owns SF Productions, a podcast production business based on Los Angeles. In this episode we talk about what makes a good podcast and how he was inspired by his time in college radio at KBVR-FM. After the break, I debut a new game as I pitch a random podcast idea and Sean helps me develop it into a better show. This was a fun episode and I'm happy I got to reconnect with Sean.
Connect with Sean and develop your own podcast at sfpodcasts.com
Visit orangemedianetwork.com
Flexibility is the name of the game right now, especially when it comes to covering high school sports during COVID. Sports reporter Brian Rathbone of the Bulletin in Central Oregon tells us this week how he prepares to cover games that might be cancelled last minute and how he adjusts his sports coverage. Later, he talks about his time as the sports editor of the Daily Barometer at OSU, covering Beaver sports, and some of his favorite memories.
Read more of Brian's sports coverage at The Bulletin
Follow Brian on Twitter @ByBrianRathbone
We're back for Season 2 and talking with Anna Weeks, anchor and nightside executive producer for KOBI NBC 5 in Medford, Ore. Anna and I chat about covering wildfires in her neighborhood, moving from a reporter to leading other reporters, and avoiding being run over by a football team. Learn more about how Anna got her start in TV news by grabbing every opportunity available in college, and her advice on building connections to help your own career.
Follow Anna on Twitter @anna_weeks
To learn more about Orange Media Network visit orangemedianetwork.com
Kat Dykstra of Heart Creative is our guest for the season one finale! Kat shares the secrets of making food look spectacular on-camera without resorting to fakeness, so the beautiful food you see is actually what you get! In the second half, we talk about her experience producing Locals Live, making hard decisions with bands, what she learned about being a leader.
See more of Heart Creative at https://heartcreative.co/
Former Prism Editor-in-Chief Darryl Oliver takes me behind the scenes of the book publishing world, where he is an editorial assistant at Penguin Random House. We talk a lot about books in this one: reading them, editing them, and debating whether Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys were better detectives. Darryl also shares how he got involved with Prism Art & Literary Journal while at OMN.
Polly Lisicak joins me on this episode and immediately proves she should replace me as host of the podcast. After talking about her work as Video Production Director at "Feel Good, Human," Polly opens up about a tough time when she was a student at OMN, sharing what she learned about vulnerability and persevering through adversity. This was an emotional conversation for us as we both talk about growth, mistakes, setting your boundaries and challenging yourself.
Check out more of Feel Good, Human at https://feelgoodhuman.media/
Watch the short film "Another Day" at https://vimeo.com/388654291
See Polly's made-in-one-week documentary "Analogous" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JtNry9Za28
And of course, see current work by Orange Media Network students at http://www.orangemedianetwork.com/
UTEP Football Video Coordinator Marvin Lewis joins the podcast to give a behind-the-scenes look at how a college football team gets its videos and film for the coaches. He shares how he only gets to watch one quarter of a football game before he goes into video editing mode. Also, Marvin explains how football runs in his family, his time as Beaver News producer at KBVR, and building a close-knit team.
Sean Bassinger of Fuel Medical Group talks about transferring journalism skills into other kinds of media work, the challenges facing local newsrooms and the need for mentors for young journalists.
Former Barometer Editor-In-Chief Lauren Sluss joins me to talk about her work with elementary school students as part of Americorps. She shares her research on inequalities and barriers in education, how they've been magnified by the COVID pandemic, and the support these students need. We also go into her time overseeing impactful coverage with the Barometer, how those skills have translated to her post-college life, and the struggles of getting kids to run in straight lines.
Learn more about Americorps at https://americorps.gov/
For more from Orange Media Network, visit http://www.orangemedianetwork.com/
Roman Battaglia is the political reporter for Delaware Public Media, and a former station manager for KBVR-FM. In this episode, Roman talks about adjusting to living on the east coast, building credible sources among politicians, and striving to improve his skills amid the day-to-day work of covering state government.
Follow Roman on Twitter at @romanbatt
See more of Roman's work at https://www.delawarepublic.org/people/roman-battaglia
WOWK Sports Director Cassidy Wood shares her experience being one in a small number of women sports directors in the US, how she joined her first news job during hurricane season, and mental health for TV reporters.
Follow Cassidy on Twitter at @cassidywoodtv
Josh Worden joins the podcast to talk about his 18-part audio documentary series "Dynasty in the Woods" about OSU Beavers Baseball, shares his approach to play-by-play announcing for the WCL's Ridgefield Raptors, and how a botched replay call inspired him to get into announcing.
Follow Josh on Twitter at @brightties
Listen to Dynasty in the Woods at https://wordenjosh.podbean.com/
Donald Orr of Oregon Public Broadcasting joins Steven to talk about his journey from KBVR to professional public radio, and how a board game night changed his life.
Follow Donald on Twitter at @notdonald
See more of Donald's work at https://www.opb.org/author/donald-orr/