Journal of Mass Communication at Francis Marion University, Fall 2007, Vol. 1, No. 2
Not always a smooth route
by Garry Griffith
If you had told me when I was a college student that I would attend seminary, I would have thought you were crazy. Some years later, while I was attending seminary, if you had told me that I would enter the mass communication field as a sports announcer I might have conceded that it would be possible, but highly unlikely. Later, when I worked in my first sports announcing job, if you had told me that I would undertake doctoral studies in mass communication, I would have thought that it might happen, but highly improbable.
What is my point? You never know what life might bring your way. Few people seem to take a straight path through life. The majority seem to take a more circuitous route. This can produce two results. First, for those who like to be in control it, life can produce stress for it may appear that your best laid plans go awry. Second, for those who are carefree, the serendipitous adventures keep them excited for the unexpected.
I thought my life plan would be to attend seminary, to go for further graduate study in biblical studies, and then to become a professor. In actuality I acquired a second seminary degree from Duke Divinity School, but then I was rejected for Ph.D. studies at numerous schools. I began waving the mailman to pass my door because I did not want to read another rejection letter. It was a humbling experience that left me unsure of where to go next.
Enter my wife, Debbie. She suggested that I try sports announcing. Sounds simple, right? Just walk into a radio station and declare that help has arrived. Youth’s naivety has way of numbing one to the impossible. Taking my wife’s advice I met with the Sports Director at the anchor radio station for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and asked for a job. He stated that he could not pay me, but would I be interested in recording a five-minute weekly report on Duke Football that would be part of North Carolina’s Football pre-game show. I accepted the “position” and that was “sort of” my first job in mass communication. Since I was not paid I was not yet a “professional.” Simultaneously with the Duke report I convinced a gentleman in Burlington, North Carolina, into letting me be part of his Friday night high school broadcasts. I became the “color analyst.” I was paid,so in my mind I was a professional, and I had acquired my first mass communication job, part two.
After the sting of rejection for graduate study faded, I decided to earn my M.A. in communication. I thought a degree would make me more marketable. Much to my chagrin, the rejections for study began arriving. Finally, I was accepted at the University of Colorado and the University of Tennessee. Colorado’s program was too theoretical and Tennessee’s too unattached to their Volunteer Sports Network for me to gain practical sports experience. There was one other school, Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. I hesitated in applying to their program because I thought I might be stigmatized by its religious orientation. Enter my wife a second time. She pointed out that Wheaton’s religious grounding was congruent with mine and that there might be a modicum of hypocrisy on my part not to entertain their program. I think you can surmise what happened. I attended Wheaton College Graduate School earning my M.A. in communication in December 1988.
In March 1989 I was offered a play-by-play baseball announcing position with the Fayetteville Generals in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It was only for the home games, but I had what I felt was my first real job in mass communication. Although I never announced a full 140 game schedule in any of my four years in Fayetteville, it was the fertile soil for my hope and perseverance to continue my career.
In 1993 I was offered and accepted a job as the Director of Broadcasting for the Knoxville Smokies in Knoxville, Tennessee. Knoxville was the Double AA Affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays and played in the Southern League. While in Knoxville, I began to think of doctoral work in communication, which I started at the University of Southern Mississippi in 1995. After completing my classes and comprehensive exams, I re-entered professional baseball and was the Director of Broadcasting for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans for seven seasons. The Pelicans are the Class A Affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and play in the Carolina League.
While working for the Pelicans, I shelved my doctoral work for several years. For a third time my wife was the impetus encouraging me to work on my Ph.D. She noted that I had time when I traveled with the team that could be used to complete my doctorate. I was fortunate because the team played in locales like Winston Salem, North Carolina, and Frederick, Maryland, which enabled me to conduct research at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem and at American University in Washington, D.C. Slowly I wrote my dissertation in hotel rooms and at home. I was awarded my Ph.D. in 2004, nine years after starting the program at Southern Mississippi.
“What will be your first job in mass communication and how might it unfold?” Of course I cannot tell you the answer. It may be a smooth path for you from point A to point B. Or, like my example, it may take you on an unpredictable route. I would offer three recommendations. First, you will need to persevere no matter what you decide to do. Second, you must earn, at minimum, your undergraduate degree. Take full advantage of a liberal arts education because it will help you to become a well-rounded individual. Third, it is a cliché, but you need to have hope and a dream or else you run the risk of taking no risks.
Garry Griffith has his Ph.D. in communication from the University of Southern Mississippi. He is an assistant professor of speech at Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina. He lives in Myrtle Beach with his wife, Debbie, and children, Anna, Becky, and Nathan.
College of Liberal Arts
