Media Studies majors develop valuable traditional radio and television broadcasting skills and cutting edge technology and media production skills. Students and alumni regularly win prestigious awards and recognition including: Academy Awards for Visual Effects, Emmys, and National Association of Broadcasters and Kansas Association of Broadcasters awards. Majors begin studio work as freshmen. Students interested in production have unique opportunities in new media animation, including motion picture production. Growth also exists in corporate, promotional, training, and communication video production. FHSU is a national leader in application of new media.
Links:
Alumni work at: NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, CNN, Fox affiliates, video post productions, Honeywell, Steven Spielberg's Amblin Imaging, Eagle Communications, Cox Media and the New York Film Institute.
Alumni own:KGMT-KUTT Radio, VROC (virtual reality company), 12 Inch Design (animation media), Triumphant Productions (video production company), and First Son Productions (audio production studio).
Sample Careers:
Students get once-in-a-lifetime opportunities: Informatics Media Studies students have the chance to take part in internships in broadcasting, cable, advertising, and new media. Students gain full-time "real world" experience at leading stations such as CNN and NBC. Students have taken internships in Orlando, Miami, Kansas City, Colorado Springs, Wichita, Great Bend, Hays, Topeka, and Bunker Hill.
"Media Studies at Fort Hays State University provides students with great opportunities. Between all of the activities that I involved myself in I was able to broaden my education
and grow as a person. Without the education at FHSU I would not have been able to receive awards for the work I did, participate in an incredible internship, and land the job of my dreams right out of college."
-Brandon Billinger '07
Videographer
NBC Action News KSHB-TV 41, Kansas City
"I was completely prepared for the "real world" after graduating from the Informatics Media Studies Department. I did not feel overwhelmed after being hired for my first news position. FHSU and the Informatics Department taught me everything I needed to know to begin my broadcasting career."
-Jenna (Stout) Miller '04
Producer/Director
Smoky Hills Public Television
"FHSU and the Informatics department gave me an education that didn't waste my time or money. I was able to get involved in the broadcasting program as a freshman, instead of my junior year like most other universities. The hands-on experience gave me an opportunity to learn early on whether broadcasting was what I wanted for my career after college. I can safely say I can't imagine doing anything else. I'm proud to be a FHSU Alumni."
-Mitch Weber
Reporter/Anchor, WKOW-TV27
Madison, Wisconsin
"The direction of the FHSU Informatics program is right on the mark. Media instructors in the Informatics Department have worked in broadcasting and know the business. The real world experience that they've brought to the classrooms has increased my personal knowledge of the radio business."
-Mike Koerner
Kansas DJ Personality of the Year
- Medium Market 1998 and 1999
Kollisa McVay,
Informatics Media Studies Student,
pictured with Junior Seau of
the Miami Dolphins.
Taryn Everhart,
Informatics Media Studies Student,
pictured with Donald Trump in
New York.
"I was offered the experience of learning ‘hands-on’ immediately in my freshman year. Professionals look at FHSU first before other larger universities. The News Director here at KWCH turned to FHSU first, for potential employees before looking at bigger schools like KSU or KU, because of the quality and prestige of the Media Studies program at FHSU."
-Michael Schwanke
News Anchor/Reporter
KWCH TV, Wichita
"The Informatics Media Studies Department gave me experience with the most advanced equipment. Some of the computer programs we used to create graphics for KFHS are currently being used in the graphics department at KSNW TV."
-Ryan Newton,
Graphics Department
KSNW - TV
Informatics Students and Faculty at the 2005 Kansas Association of Broadcaster's (KAB) Awards Banquet: Several Informatics students were recipients of awards in Television production for works produced for class-room and KFHS-TV programs.
FHSU Student Casey McAvoy interns at Capital News 9, Albany,NY
"Although my internship was short lived I feel that it was a great opportunity. The staff at Capital News 9 were eager to give me advice and take suggestions from me. They complimented highly on the Informatics program at Fort Hays State University and how right after college, its students will be prepared for the real world. I am truly thankful for all the help, advice, and mentoring I have received from students and faculty in my extended five year program with the department."
-Casey McAvoy
Offerle, KS
Informatics Media Studies Student
"My time spent in Heather Hall prepared me for life after college. I learned everything from time management to learning new equipment to dealing with a client. The best part was the
hands-on experience right from the start. I was able to take my ideas and put it in projects. We were allowed to make mistakes, learn from it, and do better next time. Without my time spent at KFHS and FHSU, I wouldn't have been offered a job before my college experience was over."
-Jennifer Montenegro
Producer
KWCH Eyewitness News 12 Television, Wichita
Informatics Media Studies 2008 Graduate
"FHSU Media Studies gave me the experience that has made me successful in the television advertising industry. I started gaining the valuable experience I needed right as a freshman, which allowed me to expand my skills over my four years at FHSU. The Informatics Department not only taught me about all areas of the media industry but about technology in general. This knowledge made me very marketable in the industry because in today's workforce, you need a multitude of skills. Plus, my professors in the Informatics department took a genuine interest in me and my career path, and I will never forget them or the foundation they helped me build."
-Penny Madden '00
Promotions Specialist
Cox Media, Wichita
