A group of journalism seniors traveled to New York City this semester to gain information in the journalism and media business with hopes of expanding their media contacts.  The trip lasted one week and included visits to different print and broadcasting stations.  

Twenty-two eager students boarded a plane early Sunday morning destined for the Big Apple.  After checking into the Hilton on 6^th Avenue, they only had a few hours to themselves before the business part of the trip took over.

The trip began with a group dinner at an, what some would call, artsy Italian restaurant called Pala where a recent UT grad and now music public relations representative met with the students and discussed her new life as a "New Yorker".

Professors Naeemah Clark and Carolyn Lepre planned the entire trip which included visits to different local and network new stations, magazines, and newspapers, as well as panel meetings that informed students about resumes, internships, moving to New York, and freelance reporting.  Never be afraid to start in a smaller market somewhere. Jim Watkins, evening anchor for CW 11

Each student had a set schedule for each day they were there, some starting at 5 or 6 a.m. and going until 8 or 9 at night. A few were lucky enough to meet some big wigs in the media and broadcasting industry. Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts from Good Morning America, Regis and Kelly from Live with Regis and Kelly, Anderson Cooper from CNN's hit show, Anderson Cooper 360 and Brian Williams from NBC Nightly News were some of them.

Students also visited The New York Post, Playboy Magazine and local news stations such as New York 1 and the CW channel.  Each visit was followed with a tour and an informational meeting with employees.  "Internships, internships, internships," one human resource manager explained at a local news station. That was a very common theme in most of the meetings and panels the students attended.

Jim Watkins is the evening anchor at the CW channel and a UT graduate.  He was eager to speak to his visitors about starting out in the industry and how to move up, "Never be afraid to start in a smaller market somewhere. Trust me; you wouldn't want New York to be your first job as a reporter."

The trip, however, wasn't all work, students got to see a Broadway play.  Some saw Avenue Q, a newcomer to the show biz, but hilariously funny and entertaining while others saw A Chorus Line, a Broadway classic.

Besides the busy schedules and the difficulty of catching a taxi at 5 p.m., everyone was able to gain information about what the Big Apple has to offer in the journalism and media industry and the confidence that if you can make it there, you can truly make it anywhere.