By Tara Conry

“Media superstars” shared their secrets for success to students seeking a career in this highly competitive industry. The forum, followed by an opportunity to meet the panel members in small “breakout” groups was held Wednesday during Common Hour as part of the University’s Career Week.

This is the seventh year the School of Communication, in collaboration with the Alumni Association and the Career Center, have sponsored the event. The event allows students to interact with successful professionals in the field of their prospective careers. The panelists present at this year’s career forum included alumni from the University and other professionals in the fields of television, radio, print and public relations.

“When looking at careers, it’s not uncommon to not know what you want to be yet,” Dave Widmer, president and general manager for Long Island Radio group, said. Widmer urged students to schedule “informational interviews” with professionals and companies working in the industries that are of interest to them. These meetings allow the student to learn about the industry and the interview process without the pressure of applying for a job.

Bob Buchmann, on-air and program director for Q-104.3 Clear Channel Radio, further stressed the role “informational interviews” played in helping him break into the business and rise to the top. At age 14 he called top broadcasters in New York City from a phone booth requesting an impromptu interview. Buchmann stated in the past 25 years he has never refused to meet with students interested in learning about his career, recalling the eagerness to meet with the professionals he idolized as a student.

Buchmann said these interviews provided loopholes into the industry, but “hard work” and “passion” are the tools that have helped him thrive.

“If you’ve never gotten your hands dirty or interacted with people, but expect your good grades to land you a gig when you graduate, it’s not going to happen,” Buchmann said.

Expressing hesitation to avoid “sounding old,” Buchmann encouraged students to embrace their time in college, which he describes as “the best years of his life.”

Dean Todder, the Long Island editor for the New York Times, addressed students seeking a career in print journalism, instructing them to use their time in college to gain experience working for the campus and local papers.

“The Times usually only hires people with a minimum of five years of experience with a daily paper, but there are loopholes for college students.”

While these internships rarely allow the student to work as a staff writer or field reporter, occasionally the student will be asked to cover story such as car crash if the rest of the staff is occupied.

“There are a number of ways to break into the business,” Todder said, “But persistence is the key attribute.”

“Take a chance,” Kevin Stolworthy, an alumnus of the University and vice president of ESPN, urged students.

Stolworthy said he took a risk six months after his graduation in 1980 when he followed his passion for television to Tyler, Texas. Leaving his hometown in Long Island, he spent a year in Texas directing television programs for a salary of five dollars per hour. He later worked in Missouri, Connecticut and Miami, before landing the position of manager at ESPN, which brought him back to Connecticut.

“ESPN is a great place to work, but it not a utopia,” Stolworthy said.

He originally oversaw a staff of 75 people, but this number it has expanded to over 300. Over the course of his career Stolworthy has interviewed hundreds and advised students not to fake or exaggerate their experience to create a four page resume.

“The most important part of your resume is the cover letter,” Stolworthy said. “This is the chance to tell the interviewer about you and try to hook his interest, for example if I see the applicant is a Hofstra graduate I will spend more time looking at it.”

Stolworthy addressed the importance of personal communication in the industry, especially throughout the process of applying for a job.

“A good communicator can do anything,” Melissa Connelly, an alumna amd vice president of Universtiy relations, said.

Connelly chose to pursue a career in public relations because the job involved combining journalism, business and communication to advocate a worthy cause. She added she recognized the need to be flexible in order to succeed in the communications field, while also keeping her eyes on her dream job.

” You need to adapt as technology and society change, but what remains the same is the ability to tell a story or convey a point of view,” Connelly said, citing those people with the best communication skills as the most capable of succeeding.

The professionals highlighted the need to reintroduce communication into an industry that has been depersonalized due to the advent of technology over the past 25 years.

Joseph Sparacio, the managing director for Prudential Financial and alumnus of the University, labeled himself “the misfit of the group,” since he did not work in the media. As a student, Sparacio studied speech communications and attributes his knowledge in this area as the quality that defines the successful businessman in any industry.

“I’m sure the panel would agree that when competing at these levels, everyone is good,” Sparacio said. “The ability to communicate differentiates the ordinary from the extraordinary.”

“Contacts are currency in this industry,” Jeff Shatsel, coordinating director of Sportscenter and alumnus of the University, said. “I’m sort of incestuous because most of my contacts come from Hofstra.” Shatsel, who admitted even his former students have helped him acquire jobs, stressed the necessity of developing and maintaining relations with members in the same field.

“While technology has made it easier, sometimes it depersonalizes interactions,” Shatsel said. He added that there are circumstances when people should meet face- to- face, rather than speaking via phone or Internet connections.

Shatzel told students since they are only at the beginning of their career they should not be afraid to take chances and adjust their goals as they continue down the path to their professions. Speaking on behalf of the panel he stated, “We are happy to help, but ask you [the students] to return the favor to someone in the future.”

“I thought the forum was very informative, but I would have preferred more emphasis on print journalism,” Carolyn Kurek, a senior print journalism major said. “I understand that they wanted to appeal to a broad audience.”

There were a significant number of empty seats in the audience for this year’s forum.

“I think the event was a great way for the University to bring people from different areas of the media industry to campus,” Greg Rice, a sophomore broadcast journalism major and member of the University Radio station, said. “However, considering the prestigious names that were included in the forum, I was disappointed in the student turnout.”

Media professionals share their success stories with students. (Elizabeth Pierdominici/The Chronicle)