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| - Debra McGaughey at Tsu |
On the morning of Wednesday of April 10, 2019, at Texas
Southern University, Houston Texas, students in class journalism 130 had the pleasure
of meeting the legendary Debra McGaughey, the Director of Communication
Services for Houston Community College Central campus. Many may remember her, she
was the face, seen daily on channel 11 Dallas
news for over a decade. Her expertise in journalism has paved the way for more
many upcoming journalists. within the field of communication studies.
McGaughey was from
Brooklyn New York. Like any other High school student, when she graduated she had no idea of what she wanted to study. Luckily
when she arrived at college, one professor encouraged her to pursue journalism
because she had a way of effectively writing within
her work. After giving it much thought, she
explained her starting point within her studies of journalism. McGaughey ended
up at Boston State University, studying in one of the best journalism programs
in the country. She loved Boston. As a young girl growing up in a big city,
Boston often reminded her of home.
During
her lecture, McGaughey gave a few pointers on how to become the best journalist.
She encouraged the importance of staying focus, becoming an intern, and lastly,
the importance of mastering the art of written language. McGaughey also
described the ways in which journalism has now changed. she stressed the
importance of knowing how to edit and shoot your own projects. “Jobs in media
has changed, it’s not just about being good in front of the camera, its also
about being able to edit on all editing platforms and write scripts behind the
scenes”, Mcgauhey stated.
After
her 14 years of being a news reporter, she felt it was time to move on, she
ventured into Higher education, where she began a career at Houston Community
College (HCC) This was where she put her media
skills to work as she took on the role of
general manager of HCC-TV. This was
HCC’s current Television station. Within this role, she was able to take
control of the direction she wanted the program to move, create great content,
manage creative people, and lastly, help the community by using her platform to
tell stories that the African American people would relate to. It was in this content
that she mastered her skills in TV editing.
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| - Debra McGaughey at Tsu |
Making
her mark at HCC, she eventually went on to become the Public relations director
where she put to work, all of the skills she had developed throughout her
career McGauhey not only gives credit to herself but to the professor who
encouraged her to go into journalism. She urges students to take a step back
and asses their options. “if Are you a shy person” She states, “you cannot be
afraid to speak to people, this is one of the most important parts of
journalism, being able to communicate,” said McGaughey.
