All of my family and friends know that one day I want to anchor the news in Detroit and ultimately work for The Today Show on NBC. I like to think that I was born with an innate love for the news and the ability to deliver it. My mother always tells the story of how I got my nickname “Newspaper”.
As an infant I would play in the newspaper every day. Mom says I would sit at the table and put on my Grandmother’s readers and act like I was reading the newspaper. She said I would literally do that single day. So she says she always knew that I’d being something with entertainment, news and media. So it did not surprise my mother when I declared Electronic Media and Film Studies as a major and Journalism as a minor here at EMU.
As a young person I have always enjoyed watching the news more so than reading the newspaper but I loved them both nonetheless. I loved and still love ALMOST everything about the news. A great thing about our local news station WXYZ Channel 7 Action News which is an affiliate of ABC is that they are good at communicating with their audience beyond the television set.
Channel 7 has been my favorite news channel for a long time mainly because of the great Diana Lewis is also one of my personal mentors in the industry. They became my favorite when they launched their Facebook and Twitter pages. On those pages you can get up to the minute updates of the news happening in the Southeastern Michigan area narrowing in on the Metropolitan Detroit area.
Another cool feature is that you get to know your favorite personalities from the station on Twitter and Facebook. It is all so interactive and informing. I believe that Channel 7 has successfully created a human extension of their brand on the two largest social media websites in the world.
Viewers also get to use those pages as a soundboard for discussing some of the most of controversial news items of the day. The station also does live tweeting and chats during every single broadcast. This is most effective especially when they’re doing telethons for the Michigan Humane Society to try to get people to donate money and adopt animals.
I am a full participant of all things news on the internet be it CNN, MSNBC or the local Channel 7 Action WXYZ Detroit. I love the up to minute updates, I love being able to give my opinion on things and I love that I get to talk to some of my favorite news personalities. My mom would tell you that I’ve been a news junkie or newsy from infancy.
-Orlando P. Bailey
thebusystudent 
What is your plan after college – how do you plan on achieving this dream? Are you going to try to intern at the Today Show? Gina