I know I haven't kept up with this blog much since The Justin Files feature stopped on the air, and I'll try to update it more often. The reson I'm posting today is to pay tribute to a man who I can personally thank for getting me to 94.3 The Point.
Thank you, Mr. Ed McMahon.
Obviously it wasn't a direct line from the most famous sidekick in late night TV history, but I truly feel that Mr. McMahon's generosity is what helped me get a demo tape onto Lou Russo's desk. You see, Ed's daughter went to Quinnipiac University many years ago. Back in the early 90's, he made a generous donation for the school to build a mass communications center. I took a tour of Quinnipiac when I was in high school, and it was seeing the Ed McMahon Mass Communications Center that helped me to make the decision to enroll at Quinnipiac.
Thanks to his donation, I was able to learn my trade on state of the art equipment and I was taught by living legends in the broadcasting business (Lou Adler, formerly of WOR radio, Bill McLaughlin, formerly of CNN, etc).
Quinnipiac might not be as big or as well known as Syracuse's Newhouse School of Communications (which I also applied to), but I think that anyone considering a future in communications, broadcast or print, should give Quinnipiac a serious look.
Because one of the biggest television stars of all time was kind enough to "pay it forward" to future generations of entertainers, I can sit here in my office at a job I love.
Thank you, Mr. McMahon, your influence on modern entertainment will be remembered by all, and your generosity will be admired and appreciated by many college students; past, present, and future.
3 comments:
It's funny you mention this. I will be a Quinnipiac Alumni on Thursday (finishing up summer classes) (and my name is also Justin, so another funny thing but I digress...). I had Adler and McLaughlin, as well as Karin Schwanbeck, Kenn Venit, and Bill Schweitzer as professors. There is no doubt that McMahon's generous donation is what makes Quinnipiac the journalism school it is and without him and the donations, I would not have gone to Quinnipiac. Now, tell me any filed reports on CNN or local news tonight will mention the impact he has had on many current and future journalists and producers etc. They won't, but through this donation, he will have a great impact on the field for MANY years to come.
Justin - I also had Bill Schweitzer. In fact I credit him as the person who got me interested in radio. I took his radio class more or less only because I had to in order to complete the requirement. The first day of class, when he talked about baseball and sports broadcasting, he had me fascinated. I actually saw him here in NJ this past Winter, he was calling a QU vs. Monmouth U basketball game for WQUN. I went up to him after the game to say hi and, to my surprise, 12 years later he remembered me.
Just another one of the things that makes Quinnipiac special, many of the professors go out of their way to connect with the students.
Awesome post, Justin...great tribute! :)
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