Board Blog: Our new Secretary goes live

Hello, everyone.

Paul Crutcher, CBI Secretary

My name is Paul Crutcher and I am the Broadcast and Emerging Media Specialist at Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina. I teach two radio production courses here and serve as General Manager for XLR – Lander University Radio. It is a great honor to be elected as interim secretary for the CBI board. I look forward to working with the existing leadership as we continue to champion the cause for college broadcasters.

“Going live” on social media has become a trendy thing to do over the past few months. Luckily, college broadcasters have a head start on the trend.  Maybe you went live the first time you were alone in the radio studio. Your training was over, all of your friends left, and it was just you, a microphone and your audience. Perhaps you went live the first time you were at the anchor desk, IFB in your ear, trying to get in rhythm with the teleprompter operator, reading the opening and first few stories. Maybe you went live directing a newscast or when you conducted an audio interview with a community leader for the first time.

I feel very passionate about protecting college media as a safe place for students to go live expressing creative freedom and developing career-building skills. It is beyond novelty, in my book.  It’s been a great pleasure to see students put in the hard work – those who are dedicated – and see them connect with faculty and staff members, their peers and their listeners or viewers advancing on in the field or other respective careers.

I look forward to working with each of you over the next year.