Jill Konopka has wanted to be a television news reporter since she was a little girl. She is from Glenville, New York, and graduated from SUNY Geneseo in May of 2002. Jill was a Communication major at SUNY Geneseo and participated on the campus TV station, GSTV, as well as being a varsity field-hockey and lacrosse player. She is currently working as a free-lance reporter in Hartford, CT.

At Geneseo

     Jill said that the broadcast writing class that she took helped tremendously in her professional career as well as the hands-on experience that she recieved from her time at GSTV. "It definitely prepared me for future reporting jobs," Jill said, "just getting used to being on camera and comfortable on camera takes time. And the earlier you start, the better... There is so much to learn, you will be happy you have that knowledge under your belt when you enter the workforce. And I also suggest you not just learn one aspect. I wanted to be a reporter, but I also learned how to produce."

Her First Job

     Jill's first job out of college was a position as an associate producer at a 24-hour cable/news station, Capital News 9 in Albany, NY. She wasn't on-air yet but says that she learned how to write the anchors' voice-overs and voice-over sound on tape and had the opportunity to shadow two of the reporters at the station. One of those reporters put in a good word for her at KEVN in Rapid City, SD, helping her get her next job.

"I consider KEVN my other first job, because I was a one man ban there. That means I was the photographer, the editor, and the writer. I did everything from hauling a heavy tri-pod and camera to doing the interviews and piecing everything together. It was such a wild experience ... Don' be afraid to spread your wings and go somewhere far from home where you don't know a single person. You'll make great friends and memories."

-Jill Konopka

Advice for Future Grads

     Jill's advice is to take advantage of your opportunities while in college, explaining that internships and campus-activities can lead to job experience and possibly a future job. Also, she says that new grads entering the work-force must have persistence. Jill told me that she thinks she was able to make it from Geneseo to her current job because she was persistent, worked hard, and never gave up.

     She sent out 800 resume tapes to small market stations around the country. Meaning she constantly updated her tape and re-sent it to stations. She recommends setting up informational interviews with any small-market station within driving distance. Setting up the interview and showing up with your resume tape in hand will show the news director that you have the drive and the determination for the job.

     Also, Jill had a lot to say about getting into the industry. She wants students to know that they have to BE PREPARED.

"Be prepared for little pay, long hours and many times being far away from home. I had to get two extra jobs during by first reporting gig because the rate of pay was just barely above poverty level. You have to realize that the business is super competitive and if you don't want it badly enough there are hundreds more out there who will do whatever it takes to get that foot in the door."

-Jill Konopka

Jill's Stories

Here are two examples of reporting Jill has done for WFSB-TV in Hartford, CT.

 www.wfsb.com/news/18001365/detail.html

www.wfsb.com/news/18001821/detail.html

Thank you to Jill Konopka for answering my questions and giving such great advice.