Name: Kirk Englehardt
Job: Director of Research Communication and Marketing at Georgia Tech
Source: SciLogs guest blog [original post from July 2014]
Excerpt:
I worked as a sportscaster at my college radio station and, as a student intern, I even co-hosted a Sunday morning talk show on a local commercial AM station. Admittedly, my partner and I were “let go” from the volunteer gig after five shows. It seems we were a bit too edgy for Sunday morning “on-the-way-to-church” radio.
While it discouraged me, it didn’t deter me. I got my degree and, before long, I was working as a nighttime news producer for Miami’s top news radio station. I learned from the veteran reporters I worked with, and I gradually moved into the roles of daytime street reporter and fill-in anchor. Yet something was missing.
I stopped liking the industry I once couldn’t wait to be a part of; it was no longer something I was passionate about. I wondered how reporting on car accidents and murders made the world a better place. I felt as if I was expected to make the news exciting by sensationalizing it, even if the story wasn’t exciting at all. Was I providing value to anyone? Was I making a difference? Did I feel fulfilled? I couldn’t answer “yes” to those questions, so I decided to make a change – from media to communications.
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