For those who have listened to WGSU 89.3 FM, watched a program on GSTV or read a sports article in The Lamron any time in the past few years, chances are senior Erik Talbot made a contribution to what you experienced.
A communication major from Albany, Talbot immersed himself in the three major campus media organizations soon after coming to Geneseo. He began writing for The Lamron during his freshman year and then started working for WGSU and GSTV as a sophomore. He now holds a leadership position in each group: assistant sports editor for The Lamron, chief equipment manager for GSTV and station manager for WGSU.
Talbot called WGSU his favorite media organization, but noted choosing a favorite was difficult. As the station manager his duties include, "[making] sure everything runs smoothly and to follow all FCC regulations," he said. "Basically if there's anything that comes up I have to deal with it."
Talbot also does play-by-plays on the air for the Ice Knights' home games and has a sports talk show that he calls "Western New York's Real Sports Talk." He has run the show for the past three years with his friends senior James Costanzo and junior Kenny Cember.
Talbot has been an assistant sports editor for The Lamron since his sophomore year. This job requires Talbot to write an article for the sports section each week. "I think The Lamron does a very good job," Talbot said. "It's a great experience learning how to report like a real journalist."
Talbot describes working for GSTV as "a lot of fun." As the chief equipment manager, he makes sure that all of the equipment is working properly. Talbot also produces a sports talk show for GSTV.
These experiences with these campus media have adequately prepared Talbot for the two internships that he pursued in the past year. Over the summer, Talbot completed an internship with the SUNY system in Albany running its social media. "I learned how to really use social media effectively from both a journalism and PR [public relations] point of view," he said. Presently, Talbot interns at YNN, a Rochester TV station owned by Time Warner. He spends his work days, "following around camera men and helping write and edit video for sports and news."
"I always had an interest in sports and I think that may have been what drew me to media, but now I've expanded to other areas as well," he said. Talbot said that he watches all sports and plays golf regularly but also enjoys working with news media, sharing that his internship at YNN is "more news than sports."
Time management is the greatest challenge that Talbot associates with his position as Geneseo's resident media Renaissance man. He has learned, however, to overcome it. "It's just something that you get used to. You learn to balance priorities," he said.
Whether Talbot's future will involve doing radio or TV shows about his favorite teams – the Yankees, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Buffalo Sabres and the Syracuse Orange, writing news articles, or a combination of the two, he still doesn't know.
"I've applied to grad school at Syracuse, but I'm also going to be looking for a full time job upon graduation," he said. "Decisions will be made when the time comes."u