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Maggie Cunningham and Jeremy Maskel share similar paths to their current occupation in the Omaha Public Schools communication department.

The two both worked at Omaha’s leading news station: KETV. The skills they’ve learned from the newsroom have transferred exceptionally to any workplace.

“If you can handle working in a newsroom, you can handle anything,” Cunningham said.

Maskel is grateful for his background in reporting, for it has helped him in many ways. Maskel noted that skills he learned in journalism can be applied anywhere. While a newsroom is one of the most high pressure places to work, according to Cunningham, it’s all worth it.

After their time at KETV, both landed jobs in the communications field for OPS. Maskel points to his time as a reporter for the relationships he has built in the community today. Maskel believes that relationship building is vital, especially between the PR and journalism field.

Maskel’s most important tips for building rapport with journalists is to be trustworthy. You must be authentic, straight forward and have open communication.

Cunningham directs social media at OPS, and with the pandemic the world faces today, it has made it all more important. Cunningham noted that the tone has vastly changed on social media. She had to find the balance of seriousness and compassion to being light on social platforms. With the uncertain times of today, it’s so important to be sensitive online.

For Maskel, the pandemic means that even more media requests are needed to be fulfilled. Communication is key; students and parents are eager for information and so are news reporters. Every station wants to get a story out quickly, so Maskel felt the pressure as soon as the pandemic began. Maskel noted that they get 100’s of media requests for stories. He even received ones from the Washington Post and New York Times.

I selected Oscar’s Pizza and Sports Grille to analyze their crisis communication.

I reviewed Oscar’s website, Facebook page and Instagram account.

Oscar’s posted a general statement to their customers which appears on their Facebook page. The letter states the precautions they’re taking with staff and cleanliness along with their willingness to put customer and employee safety first. They post photos of daily specials still. The specials have been altered to make it even cheaper to order take-out at Oscar’s. All messages are typed out and accompanied by photos. The owner does leave daily announcements on the accounts to remind people about opening and closing times, since they tend to change frequently under these circumstances. Oscar’s has been closing earlier almost every week and notifies customers via Facebook.

Some of the Instagram and Facebook posts would receive feedback from followers. Most of the responses were serious questions just regarding specials or take-out options. People would tag friends and family under their food special photos, which increased traffic on posts significantly. Besides their company statement, most posts did not mention the pandemic, but were rather light-hearted photos and captions about food.

I think Oscar’s has done a great job at constantly updating their social media channels on up-to-date information regarding closing times and their COVID-19 precautions. However, their website is not nearly as informational. I did not find one thing about the pandemic and their response on the website. Oscar’s should utilize a banner or pop-up of some type to inform potential customers on their procedures. It did not even say they were “pick-up” only. Oscar’s could surely improve their crisis response to the pandemic.

Radio is one of the oldest running forms of media to date. Despite common misconceptions, radio still makes up a large part of Americans’ daily lives. Radio remains relevant in 2020. For UNO MavRadio advisor Jodeane Brownlee, she has been involved with radio since the age of 16.

“It’s a medium I’ve loved ever since I was a little kid,” Brownlee said. 

With today’s circumstances and current pandemic, Brownlee sees this time as more important than ever for learning and improvement. Although there are no sports to cast or games to call, Brownlee encouraged her students in MavRadio to forge on and remain relevant. Her team brainstormed ideas to keep producing content despite the absence of sports, concerts, plays and more. 

MavRadio settled on conducting a “Crunch Madness” bracket in light of the March Madness cancellation. The bracket was a field of 64 snacks that were separated into regions such as candy, cookies, chips and cereal. MavRadio took to social media and posted their bracket for the public to vote on to fill the void of bracket-busting and Cinderella upsets we usually witness in March. 

The sports announcers in MavRadio even took to a Zoom meeting to analyze each region of the bracket with their “expert” takes on each seed and debate if Lay’s Classic was really going to take the Crunch Madness crown. Nearly 50 people sent in completed brackets themselves and hundreds voted online using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

In a world full of uncertainty, Brownlee and MavRadio found a way to shine some light during a dark time. Brownlee plans to continue urging her students to create content at home and understands that audio and video quality may not be the same, but it helps students become more creative and innovative. Brownlee believes that through this pandemic, we will come back more tech savvy and stronger as journalists.

The prevalence of photos in newspapers has drastically changed in the past decades. From only text covered front pages of the NY Times, to ones today full of photography, the current era has shifted visually. In 2020, it would seem odd for a front page of any daily paper to not have a photo on it. For us, photos tell the stories when people seem to be reading far less than before. 

Photojournalism has become ever more enticing during the internet and social media age. It’s nearly impossible for a post to gain popularity without a photo accompanying it, especially for news stations. Photography has surely changed the game for news. It adds a more personal component than just text alone can accomplish. 

Professor Charley Steed highlighted the importance of photography and its impact on the news cycle today. Photographers also have the duty of telling a narrative truthfully, just as journalists do in print. With every editing application today, it’s easy to manipulate a photo to convey almost any sort of message one wants. The task for photographers is to not over-edit photos that are for a news piece. Excessive editing can ruin the credibility of that photo and the news source itself. 

Steed had some basic tips for photographers seeking to tell a truthful story through visuals. Steed noted that you don’t always get the photo you “want”, but should always go for the photo you “need”. It is frowned upon to stage a photo, every snap should be taken as if one was blended into the background.

Another tip Steed added was to watch for the rule of thirds and depth in photos. These are easy ways to make pictures visually appealing. Lastly, Steed touched on ethics and rights. He mentioned invasion of privacy, and how to go about taking photos at public versus private places. Knowing one’s rights as a photographer and journalist is vital.

The five Instagram influencers I chose are all reporters in Omaha, NE or on the national level.

1. Laura Okmin
2. Samantha Ponder
3. Brianna Mellon
4. Julie Cornell
5. James Wilcox

On all accounts, it’s a mix of personal and business. Many of them including Okmin, Ponder and Mellon post some personal content with their significant other and/or children. Overall, the majority of the posts are work related. There are many photos showing the reporters covering events such as NFL training camp and the Super Bowl down to local news coverage from Cornell and Wilcox at KETV.

The reporters use Instagram to enhance their storytelling and overall image. The personal accounts offer a platform for the reporters to reveal “behind the scenes” photos and videos. Instagram serves as a place to show one’s off-camera identity. Instead of just being a figure on one’s screen, the audience can “get to know” reporters on a deeper level. This will enhance the trust viewers have with a local or national reporter, as they realize they’re just like them.

I didn’t see any content I would think to be inappropriate. At this point of the reporters’ careers, they know to keep it professional at all times. Even if they’re on their “personal” account, everything is public. The only thing the reporters may juggle with is oversharing personal information of family and friends. From a privacy and security standpoint, that could be an issue. Otherwise, all the reporters provide content the viewers want to see. For example, the sports reporters like Ponder, Mellon and Okmin do a great job of showing the behind the scenes of players and coaches they interview and tell unheard stories.

Instagram users do engage with the reporters’ accounts. Many of the comments are praising the reporters, filled with “Congratulations” or “This is amazing!”. Okmin and Ponder have the most engagement due to their high following. The less-national reporters like Wilcox, Cornell and Mellon still have a solid following for how local the reporters are. The local ones still have a good amount of engagement with users.

Matt Tompkins, from the radio station “101.9 The Keg”, stopped by the University of Nebraska-Omaha to give students words of wisdom from his years in the radio and T.V. industry. Tompkins currently hosts the morning show at his station from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on weekdays. The show host is a graduate from UNO and credits his roots in school to his career path today.

In college, Tompkins was a part of MavRadio where he began his weekly radio shows. Along with his club involvement, Tompkins interned at radio stations KVNO and KFAB in Omaha, NE. Tompkins spent nearly 40 unpaid hours each school week and even on weekends to learn all he could at his internships. 

Tompkins encouraged the audience of UNO students to get involved early and learn every skill possible to make them an asset to any company. Tompkins learned video, editing, writing, radio, imaging and more to avoid being expendable. This proved vital as he was eventually promoted to an Imaging Director in radio. Tompkins knew that he wasn’t going to land his dream job upfront, so he learned all of the behind the scenes work first.

“It was learning how to do the things behind the camera that put my brother and I in front of the camera,” Tompkins said.
As for his T.V. side, Tompkins and his brother created “Omaha Live”, a comedy skit show that aired on WOWT NBC for six seasons. 

Tompkins relied heavily on three key words throughout his career which he shared with students. Those words are consistency, quality and resilience. He believes these three keys can lead students to success in any field. 

“Effort is such a key ingredient, far more than talent,” Tompkins said. 

Tompkins left the students with the note to reach out to him for any assistance or advice and mentioned that many of those in the media field are more willing to help students than many think.

Mayor Jean Stothert Announces Support of $200 million Transportation Bond

By Ana Bellinghausen

Mayor Jean Stothert announced at a press conference on Jan. 23 her support for a $200 million bond that would allow funding for long-term pavement rehabilitation and reconstruction throughout Omaha, NE.

The Omaha City Council will need to approve the bond so it can appear on the primary ballot this May to be approved by tax-payer support. The bond would raise taxes about $35 per year for an average homeowner, but Stothert is leaving it up to voters to decide if it’s worth the raise or not. 

“Better, safer roads are an important part of the tax paying experience,” Stothert said. “I’m strongly convinced this is the best way for the city to move forward.”

Stothert noted how the condition of the streets are an issue for the city and is something she pushed to improve since beginning in office. If the bond passes, road rehabilitation can begin as early as this year.

“We need to do more,” Stother said. “Our streets have been underfunded for at least 50 years”.

An analysis by independent engineering experts in 2019 found that the city should be spending $75 million annually on road reconstruction and currently only spends $41 million. Last year, the city spent $13 million alone on pothole repair. 

“We are wasting taxpayer money with what we’re doing right now,” Stothert said. “This is about long-term rehabilitation” 

Instead of just filling potholes, Stothert calls for the long overdue reconstruction of city streets. At townhall meetings, the mayor noted that the issue most taxpayers point to is “potholes, potholes, and potholes”. 

The $200 million bond is renewable every five years with a reissuance. If voters approve, every lane mile in Omaha could be resurfaced within the next 20 years. Stothert finds it important that it does get approved each term. 

“Omaha is a thriving city with an exciting future,” Stothert said. “Our infrastructure needs to match that.”

Follow up questions:

1. What are the long-term benefits of this bond for tax payers?
2. Was last winter and spring the breaking point to implement this bond?
3. How long have citizens been pushing you for this to happen?
4. How does Omaha’s infrastructure compare to surrounding cities?
5. With the MLB Draft, CWS, Olympic Swim Trials and more high caliber events coming to metro-area…would our roads be ready by then to accommodate those events and their traffic?

The Gateway is a student-run organization which produces a newspaper for the University of Nebraska-Omaha. This college newspaper has been around for 107 years and keeps a strong presence on campus as it gives a voice to any student willing to write.

From arts and entertainment to sports and politics, the Gateway has a section for just about anyone. A wide variety of topics allows for an array of voices to be heard. Students can also write editorials which include their opinion to have a voice on debates or current issues.

The Gateway releases two papers per month, but also produces daily website content that is updated regularly. Like many papers nationwide, the Gateway has cut down on pages. The printed paper is put in circulation every other Tuesday. 

The newspaper is led by editor-in-chief Kamrin Baker, who has recruited many students to join the college’s paper. Grant Rohan started off as a contributor and now has a position with the Gateway as a staff editor. Leta Lohrmeyer also began as a contributor and now has an editor position. Lohrmeyer stated that the Gateway changed her life. 

Staff members are given stipends for their work, while contributors are on a volunteer basis. However, contributors are given free range on when they want to produce content, whether that be weekly or yearly is all up to them. Paid staff members are on strict deadlines to finish and post content. Most of the current editors did start as student contributors just like Rohan and Lohrmeyer. 

The Gateway has published more than hundreds of students’ stories over the course of 107 years and has led to real careers for many. A number of former Gateway contributors and staff members now work for the Omaha Magazine and even marketing or public relations firms. 

As the Gateway starts 2020 with new issues every Tuesday, they are surely looking forward to the next 107 as UNO’s true college paper.

In our live-tweeting assignment, I enjoyed getting to truly pay attention to the game as if I was reporting there. I think that it was a good experience getting a feeling of how covering sporting events is like. I disliked having to pay close attention at all moments, a reporter can’t get distracted if they’re live tweeting. It’s a tough job to keep game updates up quick and correctly. I learned that live-tweeting is a detailed process and requires a good understanding of how social media works and even social media slang. It’s just important to be up to date with everything at all times.

Twitter: @anuhbelll