Jacob Buckingham, multimedia journalist, talked with my Media Storytelling class

On October 8th, Jacob Buckingham visited my Media Storytelling class to discuss his experiences in the world of journalism and his experiences being a filmmaker, director, producer, and editor.

Buckingham was a University of Nebraska at Omaha student and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Broadcasting. He has a strong background in digital storytelling on multiple different platforms, social media, and public affairs for over 14 years. His main motivation in the field of journalism is his passion of telling powerful stories and collaboration with others.

Buckingham has worked with many different broadcasting/journalism organizations. He started working as a News Photographer and Video Editor for WOWT in Omaha for three years. After getting that initial experience, he worked as an intern for a semester at ABC news in New York City providing support with producing and editing.

After working with ABC News, Buckingham moved back to Nebraska and worked with UNMC in Omaha and Bryan Health in Lincoln as a Video Producer and helped promote these businesses through multiple platforms. He also worked with Omaha Public Schools as a Public Information Technician and Immanuel Communities as a Digital Media Specialist.

Now Buckingham is self-employed and works with production, camera-work, and directing for clients that request his service.

Buckingham discussed the importance of being skilled in many different areas, and how much it can impact ones chances of being successful in the field of journalism. For example, he possesses expertise in the areas of production that make him more valuable to a company who needs someone who can do many different things. According to his website, he is capable of working with areas that deal with graphic design, newscast production software, editing copy, and with photo and video (along with the production and editing of those).

I really enjoyed his speech to our class. My biggest takeaway from it all was being skilled in many different areas and optimizing your efficiency and availability to work on different kinds of projects in different areas of journalism. He is a prime example of how you can accomplish anything with determination and grit.

Mike Mackie, local basketball coach, taking The Factory to new heights

When the doors of The Factory opened in November of 2016, Owner, Mike Mackie, didn’t even have enough money to hire a staff.

Mackie, 30, was a basketball coach/trainer at Omaha Sports Academy before creating The Factory. This was during OSA’s growth from a top local basketball program to becoming a competitor at the national level, playing in the Adidas Gauntlet circuit. After years of coaching at OSA, he bought the property formerly known as “School of Hoops” which was also a basketball training facility owned by Jim Seward, and Mackie turned it into his own facility. With little money in the beginning, he was forced to train youth players for a majority of the day just to make ends meet before even worrying about putting teams together.

Now, less than three years after opening their doors, they have had multiple nationally-ranked AAU teams and have begun their rise to prominence.

Mackie went to Hamilton College, a former Division II school in Lincoln, to play basketball; he also went with the intentions of studying landscaping. He left college early, and moved back to Omaha. Then, he took a part-time job coaching at Omaha Sports Academy.

“I didn’t have the intentions of coaching for awhile, but after coaching for younger teams and training sessions, Bob (Franzese) offered me a full-time job coaching,” Mackie said. “I just wanted to help kids get better at basketball.”

Mackie trained some of the best basketball players in Omaha. These players include NBA players Khyri Thomas and Justin Patton, along with many other current and former Division I and II players. Mackie built a reputation around Omaha as an elite youth coach.

After 10 years at OSA, Mackie felt like he was going through the motions. He sought a new start. He wanted to branch out independently and build a new program that not only offers elite-level coaching, but at an affordable price. He wanted to cater to people who are serious about the game of basketball.

“I don’t have time to coach kids that don’t want to be there, it wastes everyone’s time,” Mackie said. “Unfortunately, I’ve had to give money back to some of the parents and told them not to come back because their kid won’t listen or do what is asked of them. I’m trying to make this program different.”

The Factory consists of two separate entities, The Factory and Team Factory. Team Factory is a non-profit program in which The Factory competes in tournaments both locally and across the country. Team Factory teams range from 3rd grade all the way up to high school teams. The Factory is the training aspect of the program. They offer many different types of training to tailor to specific players. They offer individual training sessions, small group sessions, and team training sessions for coaches looking for assistance.

In the less than three years The Factory has been in business, they have experienced great early success. This last summer, the U15 Team Factory team finished the AAU circuit ranked 8th in the country. The U14 team finished ranked 3rd nationally.

“I had kind of built a reputation in Omaha, so getting players to come play here wasn’t as hard as it could’ve been,” Mackie said. “I was fortunate to build relationships with some of the parents and kids that I coached, which helped a lot.”

The Factory has brought in major youth talent in Nebraska, including Division I recruits in high school like Jadin Booth and Chucky Hepburn. As a sophomore, Hepburn currently holds offers to Nebraska and Creighton. They’re also training even younger players with high potential, such as Jasen Green. Green is currently an 8th grader at Davis Middle School in Omaha, who was invited to Chris Paul’s Rising Stars camp last year and is considered a Division I prospect.

Mackie wants to expand The Factory, but his concern is about doing it the right way. He doesn’t want so many players coming into his doors that there isn’t a personable relationship between the player and the coach, or potentially players coming in who don’t buy into the culture he is implementing.

Mackie’s thoughts of coaching collegiately have passed. His focus is on The Factory and how he can improve it. At the end of the day, his primary goal is bettering youth basketball in the state of Nebraska, all the while holding true to the values that Mackie and the rest of the Factory staff practice every day.

“I think if I was going to be a college coach, I would already be doing it by now,” Mackie said. “I’m here to help better the talent in Nebraska because I know it is there, and help get these kids exposure to play at the next level.”

Matt Tompkins, co-creator of Omaha Live, talked with my Media Storytelling Class

On September 24th, Matt Tompkins came to our Media Storytelling class and discussed his experiences in the world of journalism and his creation of Omaha Live with his brother.

 

Tompkins attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha and graduated after seven years. He majored in Journalism and Media Communications, and even had a role on MavRadio.fm on Omaha’s campus (which I found especially neat because I am a part of MavRadio).

 

Tompkins talked about his constant passion since he was young to make people laugh, and how it drove him in his career. After doing radio shows at UNO, he decided that it might be possible for him to turn him “goofing around” with his friends in front of a microphone into something that he could work hard for and make a career out of.

 

He interned/worked for several television and radio stations in Omaha, and while he was at WOWT he was given an opportunity. Tompkins’ goal was to have a comedy show similar to Saturday Night Live (sketch comedy), and WOWT made it possible for him. He was told to put together a 15-minute video describing what his comedy show would entail. His brother, Ben, had a similar passion for comedy that Matt did. After a long process of making the video and waiting for word on if they can have the show or not, they were approved to be on air. It would be called Omaha Live

 

Omaha Live is now in its seventh season, and airs after Saturday Night Live on Omaha’s NBC affiliate. Omaha Live films around the metro area and often includes local celebrities and famous athletes in their sketches. It’s very cool and inspiring to see someone who sat in the same seats as I do, take his dream and make it a reality. I also like that the show has a very local feel, and its catered to people who live in Nebraska. He also had very great advice for young journalists, such as ourselves, for how to stand out in a competitive market and be knowledgeable in many areas. I learned a lot from the discussion we had with Tompkins.

 

Calvin Rudolph finds new home after UNK budget cuts terminate baseball

Calvin Rudolph walked out of the final meeting with head coach Damon Day, simply speechless. His confusion turned to disbelief, as he wondered how the administration could give up on the baseball program like that. The Kearney Lopers recorded a 33% winning percentage just two years ago, and one year later, they posted a winning season. Coach Day had pulled their program from the ashes so fast. It seemed so unfair for their dedication and hard work to be overlooked. Rudolph thought to himself, “What now?”.

The University of Kearney was forced to make budget cuts last spring that terminated the Men’s baseball, golf and tennis programs. This forced student athletes to make the decision to either leave the university and pursue their sport elsewhere, or remain at Kearney while being just a student. Rudolph made the tough decision to pursue baseball at another university.

“We had played just six games in the season when we received word about the program being cut,” Rudolph says. “We were all just in shock.”

Many different factors attracted Calvin Rudolph to the University of Kearney. His local ties to Nebraska, and his connections he had toward the baseball program all pushed him toward being a Loper.

“I fell in love with the coaching staff right away, and the facilities were top-notch—especially for a Division II school,” Rudolph says. “It also helped that former teammates of mine from my high school played there and loved it.”

The Lopers posted a 14-35 record in their 2017 season. After finishing a tournament in Arkansas at the beginning of their 2018 season, the administration announced the termination of the baseball program. This left the whole team questioning what was in store for them for not only the remainder of the season, but what their plans will be for the following season.

Because the season had already started, none of the players had the capability of redshirting the season. However, the NCAA grants what is called a “blanket release”, which means these players can transfer to any school and be eligible right away if their program is terminated.

Some of the players on the team who only had a few semesters left remained at Kearney to finish getting their degree as opposed to trying to play baseball elsewhere; they were still able to keep their baseball scholarships while they remained at Kearney. After much consideration of either staying or leaving, Rudolph decided to leave and play at Northwest Missouri State University.

“It was difficult to just pack up my things and leave Kearney, I imagined that I’d be playing at the same school for all four years I would be playing in college” says Rudolph. “Then I had to find a new program that fit myself and my life. I did have a teammate at Kearney who came with me to Northwest Missouri, so that has eased some of the transition.”

This fall semester is Rudolph’s first semester attending Northwest Missouri State. Rudolph says he hasn’t been there long enough to compare the two schools, but he did say it has been an interesting transition.

“It is a bit weird because the programs are set up very differently,” Rudolph says. “It has been a blessing to be able to join such a great program though.”

Rudolph says no matter what team he is wearing on his uniform, his job is still the same when he is playing on the baseball diamond. His main objective is to win.

“It’s just the way the cards were dealt. It’s a shame I had to leave Kearney like that,” Rudolph says. “My goal is still the same. It’s always been to help the team in whatever role needed to win the most amount of games.”

**Picture above via Kearney Hub**

Jessica Wade discussion

In our last Media Storytelling class we had a guest speaker, Jessica Wade; Editor of The Gateway, come in and talk about The Gateway student newspaper for UNO and what it’s like to work for the Gateway.

The Gateway was founded all the way back in 1913. In its first years, it was only a single yellow sheet. Now after many years of developing their product and reputation, they are now transitioning their newspaper to a fully online site.

The Gateway presents many opportunities for students who are either interested in writing, but also people looking to go into Public Relations and Advertising. With the new media outlets being used for the Gateway, and the different writing techniques learned, Public Relations majors can bring many different things to the forefront.

There are a range of different topics and categories that you could explore by writing for the Gateway. People are able to write about local/national news, opinion pieces, local art, and even sports. Kenneth Pancake, the sports editor for the Gateway, gets to indulge in many great opportunities to not only enjoy a fun sports environment, but to grow as a writer and reporter. Pancake was able to sit in the press box and report at the College World Series, and for all of UNO’s best sports.

I enjoyed the discussion that our class was able to have with Jessica Wade. I am the Assistant Sports Director for MavRadio.fm here on Omaha’s campus and I have had the chance to work alongside the Gateway, but I was taught a lot more and feel more knowledgeable about my colleagues. This opens up routes for me to work on my sports writing as well, because students on campus are allowed to submit articles that he/she has written to the Gateway. After a review process, you could get your article published. They create great opportunities for anyone on campus.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Jessica Wade, and I look forward to potentially getting one of my sports pieces published one day. Hopefully I get to expand my horizon.

 

-Matt Philip “The Champion” Kirkle