Kevin Sites: A True Inspiration

I can say with confidence that in the three years I have attended Communication Week lectures, Kevin Sites's presentation was hands down the most riveting. Sites is a renown war correspondent and pioneer in his industry. He was incredibly personable, walking into the room taking pictures of the crowd and saying, “After this we will all be friends.”

For those readers who are unfamiliar with the concept of Communication Week, it is four days of lectures with a common theme pertaining to the field of communications. This year's theme was "Connect to Success." Among Kevin Sites in our high caliber of speakers were Connie Schultz, Robbie Gordon, Alfredo Corchado, Allen Ollivo and two panels available for questions. I highly recommend any school to adopt this concept to their programs. It was an incredible opportunity to ask questions and network with impressive professionals.

Kevin Sites started his journalism career professionally at the tender age of 15. He shared his press pass, afro fuzz hairdo and all. He even shared an excerpt from his diary that relayed a brave encounter with Hells Angels biker gang. This proved his courage and passion at a young age.

Sites’s most terrifying encounter was when he was captured by Saddam Hussein’s Fedayeen militia. An encounter that ultimately defined his career was when he recorded a US marine mercilessly shooting unarmed Iraqi in a mosque in Fallujah. The footage was some of the most raw, real war footage I have ever seen. He received a strong backlash from the press and fans. Even death threats. He returned to the mosque a day later where an Iraqi civilian was still alive and filmed him speaking a witnessing the murders. He regrettably left the man there, and he was killed hours later. Sites humbly admits that he could have saved the man’s life and will regret leaving him there for the rest of his life.

Among Site’s many accomplishments, his most notable may be when Yahoo! sent him to every war zone in the world in 2005. He chronicled his times in this hell, embedded in the troops with his camera in hand. The things he filmed were then put on his blog online, dubbing him the granddaddy of back pack journalism.

He concluded his presentation with the story of a 23 year old soldier. After serving for his family, country and fiancé, the young soldier died from an accidental drug overdose when he returned from battle. I think everyone left Site’s presentation with a greater appreciation for our troops and the brave journalists that risk their lives to tell these stories.

by: Ryan Pando

Communications placed into Music.

Rather than writing about what is going on, I believe that this post should be about what SHOULD be happening.

The music industry today is growing, yet shrinking. The record labels are having a hard time marketing their Artists' albums due to one-hit-songs and singles. Companies like iTunes and Rhapsody make it easier and cheaper for consumers to download songs and not full albums so the audience can pick and choose which songs they want to buy and listen to.

The record labels like Universal Records should be grasping their audience through the field of communications. They need to get their Public Relations team involved and figure out what needs to be done to lure in more customers to buy their full albums rather than singles from the other companies.

The 2010 Job Interview

At twenty-two years old it is weird to think of what my life would be like without Facebook, Twitter, cell phones, ipods and Google searches. I depend on these sites and gadgets daily to get me through my day.

I'll be honest I have no idea what kind of work is involved in doing a research project where an actual book is required, I have no need for phone books, or an address book, or a reminder calendar..My Facebook reminds me (on my Blackberry) when my 700 closest friends birthdays are coming up and what events I will be attending ... Twitter tells me what my friends are doing and where they are, I have no need for a camera because the camera on my Blackberry has more mega pixels than my actual camera- and after all I am only taking pictures to load them onto my Facebook site so my family and friends can see what I am doing and where I have been. I really have no need for my cell phone mins. because I can email and text from my phone with ease- why talk to one person at a time when you can chat it up with multiple people at any one time....

Social media sites and gadgets have changed the way the world works period. Millions of Americans would crumble without their Blackberry and constant access to their Twitter and Facebook sites. Social media is the way the world is doing business these days, using social networking sites that two years ago where considered to be for personal use only, are now considered to be common knowledge. Knowing how to use the sites to gain exposure and generate a profit is considered to be a mandatory skill by companies around the globe.

As a college senior graduating in a matter of days, the job market that I am entering into has no comparison. Every moment of everyday I am on a job interview- my Facebook, Twitter and blog are all a part of my resume and my digital makeup. Our once considered personal sites are no longer that- they are anything but personal. With one quick Google search I can be found in 27 different search results- the good, bad and the ugly can be revealed to future employers whether I like it or not.

This week I was in New Orleans for a job interview, I was speaking with one of my potential future bosses one afternoon when I asked how she was hired by the company. She went on to tell me that she had lived most of her life in NY and had moved to FL to get married. She had no intention of looking for a job in FL and was very content being a mom and a wife. One afternoon she received a phone call from her current employer saying that they had seen her resume on Linkdin and was interested in meeting with her for an interview..SHE HAD NOT EVEN APPLIED FOR THIS JOB! She went in a few weeks later for an interview and was hired on the spot...all because of her Linkdin profile!

Case and point: Every second of every day we are in job interviews. What we post, what we comment on, what we say and who were friends with are all reflections of who we are as potential employees.

By: Maggie Strassel

A Spring 2010 (hopeful) graduate

Mstrassel@flagler.edu

Keep on Communicating

Every year Flagler College hosts an amazing week long event full of lectures, discussions, and networking opportunities. Known as Communications Week Connect to Success, the goal is to do just that, help the students connect and ultimately be successful in their own means. Very few colleges across the country offer such an event and Flagler students know they would be deserving themselves if they did not participate.This year at Com Week Flagler hosted an elite group of professionals to say the least. The keynote speakers were Kevin Sites and Connie Schultz.

Sites is an award-winning journalist and author who has spent the past decade covering global war and disaster for ABC, NBC, CNN, and Yahoo!. Sites spoke about his adventures through the world's most dangerous places carrying only a backpack with his equipment. He described, in depth, what it felt to be a journalist while witnessing some of the most challenging human experiences. Sites had to remove his human feelings to be only a journalist in the toughest of situations, questioning himself about weather to same a man or leave him to die. Working along with the US armed forces, Sites has seen things you and I have only experienced in movies. After his travels, Sites wrote his first book, "In the hot zone: One Man, One Year, Twenty Wars," which shares his effort to put a human face on global conflict, reporting from major war zones. Winning the Edward R. Murrow award and nominated for an Emmy for his contributions to a series on landmines, Sites has opened the eyes and hearts of many, showing us the truths behind the war that we see very little of.

Schultz's presentation was insightful to say the least. She is a nationally syndicated columnist for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, OH, Creators Syndicate and the author of two books. She spoke to us about her life as a writer and her trials and tribulations in the field of journalism. Schultz explained the way she interacted with her readers and followers. She receives around 100 emails an hour, 24 hours a day and she reads them all. "It is fun and interesting to pay attention to who is reading me, I get ideas for columns from comments readers have made," Schultz said. To be in her presents was a treat. She was warm, friendly, fun, and informative. I truly enjoyed listening to the stories she told about her family and about other people and their families who's lives she has touched through her writing.

Amongst the key note speakers, Robbie Gordon, Alfredo Corchado, Anagla Kocherga, and Allen Olivo were featured speakers.

Com Week at Flagler College would not so successful and helpful if it weren't for the variety and wealth of knowledge the speakers brought to campus. It is a time for students to not only think about the next chapter in their lives, but also explore the opportunities that are out there while making connections to the people who make it possible.

Written by

Tessa Manton