(Photo credit: erietvnews.com)
Garth Jensen: How did you get started in journalism, and what led to your career at WICU and WSEE?
Vince Slomsky: My career in journalism unofficially started when I was in fifth grade. My friend and I started a morning announcements program at our school. But it was a bit more advanced than most morning announcements. We would arrive to school an hour early to put the show together, interview students and teachers, and think of creative segments. We spent a lot of our recess time with camera and microphone in hand interviewing and creating fun stories and segments. It's all downhill from there!
I eventually went to Kent State University in Kent, OH to study Broadcast Journalism. After graduation I was offered a part time video journalist job in Lansing, MI. Quickly after packing up and moving to Lansing, I was offered a full time job from YNN in Syracuse, NY. I spent nearly two years as the Corning/ Elmira one-man-band bureau reporter covering a very wide region of the Southern Tier of New York state. Beyond the on-camera duties of a reporter, I also shot and edited all of my own interviews and video.
In October 2010 I made the move to WICU and WSEE in Erie, PA to become a reporter and anchor. I split my time reporting during the week and anchoring our Saturday newscasts. I continue to shoot and edit a lot of my own video here as well.
Vince Slomsky gives viewers coverage they can count on in this station promo! (Seen June 4, 2011 via WICU, RF12.)
GJ: You mentioned your work with Time Warner's cable news outlet YNN. Are there differences in working for a news operation on cable versus a traditional broadcast station?
VS: There are definitely some differences between cable news and traditional broadcast news. YNN is a 24-hour operation. This means any time there is breaking news, the reporters and anchors can go live right away. With cable news, you don't have to wait until "the news" starts at 5 or 6 p.m. Also, the deadline process is different. At YNN we had soft deadlines, meaning we had a target time our stories should be completed to run on air, but if we missed the deadline it wasn't a huge deal because the story could just run in the next half hour of the show. If we finished our stories early, they could run in an earlier than expected show. With traditional broadcast news, a deadline is a deadline. Your story has to be done no matter what, otherwise it won't run until the next show, which could be several hours away.
GJ: Your resume states "I can do it all," and your work as a multimedia journalist, a reporter and an anchor appear to prove that! With your variety of experience, what do you enjoy doing the most and why?
VS: I take pride in being able to do it all and I think this makes me a more valuable employee. I can produce, shoot, write, edit and speak in front of a camera. Honestly, every one of those skills are my favorite. When I work as a one-man-band shooting and editing my own video, I have full control over what my final product will look like, so there's no excuses with how it turns out. When I work with a photographer on stories, I have to make sure to communicate exactly what I'm looking for in my final product. I enjoy the process either way.
AccuSpec Electronics is one of the many companies that have been profiled on Giving You The Business. (Seen June 30, 2011 via WICU, RF12.)
GJ: How did you come up with the idea for Giving You The Business? How have the reactions been in the community?
VS: Giving You the Business is a weekly segment I came up with in 2011. When I moved to Erie I kept hearing "There are no jobs left here." "There are no cool businesses here." "Erie is just a dying industrial town." I wanted to find out if this was true. This segment has proved it certainly is not. I'm able to show our viewers the Erie business community is thriving and it continues to evolve over time. I think it's a very crucial segment for our community and the comments I've received have supported that. At first businesses were leery of letting a reporter come in and see what goes on inside. Now, I receive calls and emails every week from business owners asking how they can be featured in the segment.
Segments like Giving You the Business are important to keep in local news to break up the monotony. I think any time a reporter can develop a local segment like mine it can benefit the station and the community.
Giving You The Business is sponsored by the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership. (Seen June 30, 2011 via WICU, RF12.)
GJ: You recently completed an investigative report that examined the potential abuse of Erie's take home police cruisers. What are the challenges or risks of putting together a report like that?
VS: There are always risks when putting together an investigative story. But isn't that what journalism is all about? We are the gatekeepers of information. We are the ones that can expose a potential problem and share the information with the community. Of course you may make some people mad or upset, but as long as you do the necessary research, present the facts, and remain non-biased in your reporting, you'll be okay.
Vince appears in a live shot during his recent investigative report Keys To The Cruiser. (Photo credit: erietvnews.com)
GJ: What would you say have been the most interesting or rewarding experiences in your career so far?
VS: With my job nearly every day is rewarding. I meet new people and hear new stories every single day.
One of my most memorable experiences has been traveling to New York City leading up to the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. We followed a city councilman as he received a piece of the World Trade Center to bring back to Erie to serve as a local 9/11 memorial. I learned so much more about the tragedy and spoke to so many people whose lives were changed forever. The saying is definitely true, "We will never forget."
GJ: For people visiting Erie, what places would you recommend checking out?
VS: If you visit Erie, there are some great places to check out. In the summer you have to visit Presque Isle State Park. There are some amazing beaches and a lot of fun activities to do. There is also some type of festival or block party nearly every weekend in the warmer months downtown.
There's a lot of entertainment venues and a great arts scene.
Erie also has a great "going out" scene downtown. There are plenty of bars, clubs and hangouts along State Street.
GJ: As a proud Canadian, I have to ask, have you ever been to Canada?
VS: Yes, I have been to Canada a few times. However, I've only been to Windsor, ON to do some gambling when I was younger!
A big thanks to Vince Slomsky for chatting with TV Garth! Check out Vince's website, Facebook fan page, as well as his Twitter! You can also visit Erie TV News for more information on WICU and WSEE, as well as view segments from Giving You The Business!
Have you tried looking for the new digital signal from WBGT out of Rochester? They fired that up over last week.
ReplyDeleteHey there! Really glad to hear that WBGT finally went digital, but haven't had any Rochester reception lately. (I caught WXXI and WUHF briefly in Feb but that was it so far.) Hope to see more Roc reception with the warmer March temperatures coming in! From what I've read, Canadians living across from Rochester (Brighton/Rice Lake) are having trouble picking it up, so it'll be a challenge! But crossing my fingers that I'll see it! :-)
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