Steve Kowch, a veteran journalist and author of a new book, 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Making it Big in Media said Tuesday- in order to be good in the demanding business, you have to be noticed because “to attract attention you have to be better than everyone else you’re competing against.” And once that happens, “you stand above the crowd, attract attention, and get better job offers.”
Kowch visited journalism students at the Centennial College, Morningside campus Tuesday to offer the aspiring journalists a lecture and speech on his new book along with insightful pointers on the reality of life as a journalist outside the classroom and away from professors and mentors.
With forty years of experience in the media business, Kowch describes his book as being the students’ shortcut on how to chase their dreams, learn how to stand above the crowd, and make it big in the media in 99 bullet points. His life experiences and success stories in the business allowed him to give insight to the students on what they could expect upon graduation. “It is all about attitude when it comes to beating the competition,” Kowch said.
“You need to get into the business with a positive attitude. Positive beats out negative all the time and I can tell you, right now, that 75 per cent of the people you will be working with are the most negative people you will ever encounter,” said Kowch, as some students’ eyes widened while the rest chuckled or gasped with worry. Kowch told them that was a good thing because “a positive attitude raises you above the crowd.”
Kowch’s raw speech on reality in the media business had the journalism students feeling nervous but he provided them with advice and helpful tips on how to survive in the industry. He put the students at ease when he made a judgment on the topic of multiplatform reporting and the high expectations that employers have for applicants nowadays.
“People have to become more polyvalent. You will need to be able to multitask more than ever,” Kowch said. “The more that you want to do, the more valuable you are!”
He says after graduation, “ it means that you’re going to be doing more than the person who graduated five years ago, and you need to take that as good news.” Kowch explains that knowing more and being able to do more helps one get noticed and to stand above the crowd. It’s important to beat the competition in the media business because it moves you to the front of the line when job offers arise. You know you’re doing something right when “they call you instead of you having to call them,” said Kowch.
In such a demanding field, it was only fitting for Kowch to address one of the major factors in the media- the major financial cutbacks. “Today the media is not the growth industry,” Kowch said, but on a lighter note, a lot of these cuts are to save money and the future journalists need to understand that in this business it’s “not about if you’re going to get fired but about when you’re going to get fired” and it’s simply just apart of the business. “You have to understand, there is no shame in being fired in the media,” said Kowch.
Kowch himself was able to sympathize as he was fired last year from Toronto’s CFRB radio station. That was his first time being let go in his 40-year career in the business.
Kowch predicted that there would be another hit list on the financial cutbacks in the media because the economy hasn’t completely turned around. This will continue to mean- cutting expenses, laying more people off, and getting fewer people (upcoming journalists) to do more work! Kowch encouraged the journalism students not to see this as a burden but to say, “Thank you! Not screw you, thank you!” He foresees this as a positive opportunity for the aspiring and upcoming journalists because it opens for greater possibilities, opportunities, and a jump to beating the competition and making it big in the media.
“If you take on a positive approach and you remember why you got into the business in the first place, and that was to do all these things that they now want you to do, then you will rise to the top and you will rise above everyone else… And I can guarantee you that you won’t be on the next hit list!”
The 99th point in Kowch’s book states, “Dreams never die. No one can steal your dream and make it theirs. It’s yours to chase when you want to. But you have to want to chase it.”
Being a journalist means you’re on the clock and you’re in-the-know 24/7 and Kowch revealed his passion and dream behind making journalism a forty-year career. “Believe me, there will be times you’re sitting in the front aisle of history. And you got to pinch yourself and say ‘I can’t believe I’m here. I can’t believe they’re paying me to do all this.’ And that’s when you go home at night and say ‘wow what a job, what a job I have,’” said Kowch, who seemed to reminisce as he spoke with bright eyes and moved with animated gestures.
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