By Audrey Helms | BG Falcon Media intern
Between her time with BG Falcon Media and years of experience as an editor and reporter, Debbie Rogers (‘88) has had a flourishing career in journalism.
Her success all began with her varied experiences at BG Falcon Media. Rogers, a journalism graduate of BGSU said, “I knew I wanted to do newspaper, but I thought I kind of owed it to myself to explore some other things.” BG Falcon Media was the perfect place for her to do so.
At the start of her time with BG Falcon Media, Rogers worked briefly with WFAL (now known as Falcon Radio), working primarily on PR, making a brochure. However, she said that she quickly realized that newspaper was what she was truly passionate about.
So she then joined the BG News team where she was assigned to the graduate student senate beats. She was also a copy editor for the team. Rogers “had an overall great experience” with her time in BG Falcon Media. She remembers being close with the copy editing staff. She said, “We were a really tight-knit group, which you really had to be working from 8 o’clock to midnight a few times a week. We had a lot of laughs but we learned a lot too.”
One of the most influential parts in being a part of BG Falcon Media for Rogers was the notorious red pen slashes. She said, “In past years when we still had the print, a lot of our advisors would get together and just take out a red pen and slash the newspaper of a style that we missed or god forbid a misspelling.”
While this may seem harsh to some, Rogers said, “It really made you check your facts, check your stories, because somebody’s going to be reading it and grading you on it and giving you a lot of feedback immediately.”
While most students have quite a difficult time adjusting from the demands of college life to their professional post-grad careers, Rogers said, “I felt so prepared when I first started right after graduation at the Sentinel Tribune,” crediting much of her post-graduate success to her time with BG Falcon Media.
“I just felt really prepared to write, interview, and to jump into these meetings, pitch story ideas right away,” she said.
Currently, Rogers is a reporter for The Toledo Blade, covering Toledo suburbs mainly including Maumee, Perrysburg, Rossford, and Northwood. Her days are spent “attending city council meetings and board of education meetings,” she said.
Rogers shared the importance of all journalism students to “serve as a copy writer, even if it’s not your thing. It gives you a good view of what the other side is doing once you follow your story.”
She shared that ironically, The Toledo Blade is starting an initiative where everyone on the news staff is going to serve three nights at the copy desk. Rogers said that it is important to know “the editing process, the headline process, and the deadlines.”
Rogers has left an impact in the journalism field, which leads back to her beginnings at BG Falcon Media and her go-getting personality. She shares some other advice for aspiring journalists.
“I would say get out in the real world as much as you can. There are a lot of small newspapers out there still.” She continued, “Don’t just stay on campus, explore and get out, and maybe write a few stories for some of these papers, even if you’re not paid. It’s a great experience that your future employer will look at and appreciate.”