For 20 Communication, students the classroom just got a whole lot bigger. Professors Jerry Gibbs and Bob MacNeil took the students on a three day trip to New York City designed to educate them on the real world of broadcasting. The group attended show tapings, toured production facilities, and had their questions answered by the people who make it all happen.

Among those who took the time to work with our students were Steven Cohen, producer of The Early Show on CBS, Russ Mitchell, anchor of The Early Show and CBS Nightly News Weekend Editions; Joan Preztunik, Executive Director of News Coverage at ABC; Lauren Fritz, Assistant to the Vice President of News Operations at FOX; Jeffrey Hodes, Executive Producer of ABC’s Hope and Faith, as well as that show’s star, Kelly Ripa.

Other stops where the students were given special access were MTV’s TRL, Guiding Light, Saturday Night Live, The Conan O’Brien Show, The NBC Nightly News, Network News Service, ABC News, and ABC’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

The first night of their trip the group was welcomed by the Office of Alumni & Parent Relations to a private dining room at Trattoria Dopo Teatro in midtown Manhattan for a special dinner and reception attended by 16 New York City area alumni. Many of the attending alumni are presently working in the industry for companies like MTV, CBS and Sony among others. The students had an opportunity to ask questions, listen to stories and get advice about breaking into the business, all from people who share the Curry experience.

Special thanks to alumni Alan Suhonen ’76, who runs Network News Service and John Wolk ’92 of ABC Television whose industry connections helped to make this unique opportunity possible.

View photos from the NYC trip...