By Lydia Reeves Timmins, Temple University

  

Call me doctor. No, really, I insist. Nine years of grad school is done. Thanks to my (former) employer, all the bills are paid. And now I am one of the scholarly elite—with a Ph.D. in Mass Media and Communication.

My dissertation is titled “Appealing to the Audience: How Local TV News Content Producers Learn about the Viewers.” It puts forth the amazing concept that direct contact with the viewers (face-to-face and email/phone calls) directly impacts and influences how TV people do their jobs, good and bad. Many of you might be saying umm, duh. But this concept hasn’t been approached in a scholarly research manner too often, and not from the inside. So it turned out pretty well, I think!

Meantime, I took my class back to my old stomping grounds for a station tour. I insisted all my colleagues call me “Dr. Lydia”, and they were happy to oblige. As I walked into the building, it felt like I had never left. They put some new paint on the walls, but really, it was all the same.

My attempts at lecturing were constantly interrupted with screams and hugs from my former colleagues—I think my students actually liked that part. Seeing an anchor jump up and run over to say hi made a positive impression on them (although sometimes with students it’s hard to tell). We toured the newsroom, control room, technical areas, studio—and my former news director was kind enough to invite us into his office and speak to us for a few minutes. It was a very positive experience for me personally, returning home (as it were) as the successful professor.

After the tour, one student asked me how anyone could possibly work overnight hours “like, all the time. When do you have a life?” I smiled and said “If you do this, it will be your life.” A look of shock came over her face.

Hmm, how many people did I convince to change majors after that remark?