Hance Colburne, host of Information Morning Saint John on CBC Radio One, delivered a talk to approximately one hundred students from a number of classes in Ganong Hall on Thursday afternoon.
Directed at the Transformations in Media course, the aim of the talk was to introduce students to professionals working in media, as well as providing insight to the role of traditional media in a shifting landscape.
Focusing on the role radio broadcasting plays in a world gravitating toward new media, Colburne spoke about his experience in radio and how it has remained relevant throughout the past couple decades.
“[When I was in school] we did not have a Transformations in Media course because media wasn’t transforming at all.” Colburne stated.
This idea recurred throughout his talk, including questions on what that means for his own career as the media landscape changes: “Will I have a job in two years, or five years from now? I don’t know.” He stated at one point.
Colburne argued the place of radio throughout his hour-long discussion saying “I believe radio is still a more intimate way to get news. It provides us with a sense of place.” Which can be supported by the recent resurgence in podcasts or on-demand-radio.
The two points that Colburne emphasized, however, were “[radio] is local in its news and it is, at its best, live and personal.”
“There is a voice and the voice delivers much more emotion than text on the web.” – Hance Colburne
Students responded positively to Colburne’s presentation.
Lauren Verner, said “I definitely found it interesting and he had a lot of cool stories to tell.”
Emphasizing that Colburne’s points on the intimacy of radio were particularly striking saying, “whenever I listen to CBC and they have someone with a big personality on the show you really hear it come through in their voice. I think that is really true and [Colburne] definitely hit the nail on the head with that one.”
First year, Jessica Raven, was interested on Colburne’s thoughts on entering journalism. “I thought it was really nice how he answered questions at the end and it’s really interesting to hear how he entered the journalism field.”
If you are interested in radio production and/or journalism, there are many opportunities on campus including Local 107.3 FM, the campus and community radio station, and, of course, The Baron.
