College Class Has a Q&A with Lonnie Quinn

Lonnie Quinn made a visit to the Pace University campus in Westchester to speak with students in a class called The Art of Anchoring last week. The course is taught by Katherine Fink, who met Quinn when they worked together for a radio station in Charlottesville, VA. He's currently the chief weather-caster for CBS 2.

Quinn discussed his background before he even thought about his career, experiences in the broadcasting field as a reporter, and the day and the life of being a weatherman. Toward the end he answered questions and gave advice. One of his tips was for students who struggle with interviewing other people.

“Don’t go into an interview with preconceived notions of what the story is," Quinn said. "I see reporters do it all the time. They're writing stories before they even meet the person. That's not journalism."

He also touched upon live interviews where he talked about having at least two questions written down as a safety net, just in case the interview doesn't seem to be going anywhere. However, having the opening questions memorized is essential. After all, it is awkward to be looking at your list of questions while the person being interviewed is speaking.

"Have a conversation," Quinn said. “Be prepared, know your facts, and let it roll."

Students who are interested in a career in this field are expected to have a demo reel, which are video clips of them reporting in different locations. He encouraged the students to have something to show when applying for jobs.

"If you want to rock this industry, tell good stories. Find a way to make your story stand out," Quinn said. "Insert yourself into a story for your standup that relates to your story. Make it visual. Make them natural." He said that it's okay to make a mistake. He actually likes demo reels with errors because he said that no one is perfect and he likes seeing how people react on camera to unexpected situations, like dropping something and and being able to make casual remarks about it on the fly.

The newest full time worker has iPhone reports, where she video tapes herself, she does her own reporting, and edits her own clips. 

"The only people we hire are the one man bands...you've got to wear as many hats as you can," Quinn said.

He explained how the media industry is both a shrinking and expanding industry. His example was that CBS is now a 24 hour news station, as their content is available online and on their mobile application.The life of an anchor may look glamorous, but Quinn said that anchors' salaries decreased. However, he did reassure students that there are other avenues than just being on television. Podcasts and online news content has become increasingly popular, and he suggested that students take advantage of these new opportunities.

Quinn acted as a mentor to the students but he didn't have anyone like that in his life. He went from acting to being a waiter. When he thought he was set with his acting career, the NBC soap opera he was hired for ended up getting canceled. While on the show, he started flying planes because he wanted to become a pilot, which is when he decided to get his meteorology degree.

At the Santa Monica airport he met Dave Cupp's wife. Dave Cupp worked as a news director for WVIR-TV, the NBC affiliate in Charlottesville, VA for more than 25 years. Cupp's wife connected Quinn with her husband who offered him a job as an on air weatherman for the weekends with a salary of $12,000 per year. Quinn didn't feel as if he would be able to support himself with such a low salary so he denied Cupp's offer but soon found out that with no prior experience, he had given up a great opportunity. He wound up coming back to Cupp, but the job was no longer available. Cupp still offered to train Quinn to shoot/edit videos and that's where he learned more about working behind the scenes.

Although his career has taken off since then, it was a journey. Quinn revealed that the current assistant news director was a receptionist 30 years ago. She climbed the corporate ladder, which is something he inspired all of the students to do.

At the end, he took pictures with everyone and even agreed to do an interview with a student named Joanna DeRosa, who stayed after class just to get the inside scoop.

The Hunting Ground

The Hunting Ground is a documentary that describes sexual assault cases at various colleges and universities, clearly pointing out an ongoing pattern at each campus. Students shared their personal stories and addressed issues with policies that claimed the college/university took sexual assault seriously. Yet, students who shared their firsthand accounts of experiences as victims of rape discussed how the actions of campus workers contradicted the actual policies in place.

Shocking statistics were presented, like the fact that one in five women in college are sexually assaulted. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2001, "Among college women, nine out of 10 knew their attacker."

Pace University students saw this documentary at an event last week and were asked to share their reactions. Jonathan Alvarez, junior and communications major said, “The documentary shined light on a topic we have all heard about but the facts hit close to home when you realize the sheer amount of cases happening on campuses nationwide. I feel the movie was great for this reason, and hope it leads to raising more awareness on sexual assault.”

One of the controversies mentioned was by a student named Erica Kinsman who said that she was raped by Jameis Winston, who was drafted to be the quarterback for the Tampa Bay Bucaneers NFL team on Thursday night. However, Winston has not been charged in the case. Prior to the NFL draft, Winston was a quarterback for Florida State University. Kinsman said that Winston raped her off campus in 2012.

A Pace University student from Miami, Florida said, "Students who attend Florida State University worship him like a god. It's sickening."

There were several cases where students were ignored, even by the police. The documentary also shed light on a conflict of interest, which explained why presidents at different colleges and universities don't want star athletes or fraternities to get into trouble. Fraternity alumni often donate and adding money to the budget is a top priority for presidents. In the end, more and more victims have suffered.

“I loved the movie. It was very eye opening," Vinona Rugova, a sophomore majoring in marketing and minoring in philosophy said. "It brings light to an important issue.”

Students received a pamphlet that had "Sexual Assault: You are Not Alone" on the cover. This is Pace University's guide to options, resources and support for students on the New York City and Westchester campus. Also included in the pamphlet is advice about how to help a friend, myths and facts about sexual assault, and safety tips.

Another student who had positive feedback about the documentary is Kayla Graniero, junior and communications major at Pace University. “I thought the movie was a great example of very necessary exposure to a difficult topic to talk about amongst our age group. It was very frightening to become aware of the number of universities that treat sexual assault with such discrimination and heinous discretion.”

To see it live in theaters, bring a group, host a screening, take action, or donate, visit:

http://www.thehuntinggroundfilm.com/