Forge Article

A student with a writing assignment wrote a very flattering article about me in HSU's Forge magazine....it's pretty nice and has nice graphics and pictures of me in 4-H gear. You can read it here. It's on page 6.

Otherwise, here's the copy minus the pictures:

Take your future into your own hands
Henderson alum and adjunct professor
Shannon Slatton-Schwartz shares Emmy-winning advice with students

By Christine Herrell

Small town, southern success
The city limits sign welcoming travelers to Delight, Ark., boasts a population of 311. On average, 30 seniors from Delight High School receive diplomas each year. Out-of-towners associate their visit to this little town in southwest Arkansas with traveling back in time. But what this town lacks in size and modernity, it makes up for in character. It’s the hometown of country musician Glen Campbell, but its most recent claim to fame is former resident, Shannon Slatton-Schwartz, a Henderson alumna and adjunct faculty member. While living on a strip of land occupied by her family for at least 100 years, Slatton-Schwartz was the oldest of five children and 13 cousins. Because she was naturally shy, her family enrolled her in the local 4-H program just “to get [her] talking.” She climbed the ranks, quickly becoming a state officer and eventually blossoming into a real go-getter – always involved, always on the go.

And she always loved watching the news.

On any weekday at 4 p.m, anyone tuning to Channel 12 in and around Minneapolis, Minn., can expect to find Slatton-Schwartz reporting live on the day’s newsworthy events. Covering the stories most relevant to the northwest metro, an area comprised of nine cities, she and her colleagues modestly refer to their station as “ultra-local.” Though the term is accurate, her station recently garnered some positive attention from a broader audience when it was awarded the mid-west regional Emmy for an anniversary special entitled, “25 Years of TV.” The special, which aired in November 2008, chronicled the last 25 years of local programming at Northwest Community Television. Slatton-Schwartz’s contribution included a segment on NWCT’s longest running program, “Seniors on Screen.” The special is archived on the Channel 12 website and can be accessed at http://www.twelve.tv/channel12special.aspx.

Despite her natural talent, Slatton-Schwartz admits that she didn’t always aspire to become a broadcast journalist. After injuring both knees while playing basketball in Delight, she considered entering the field of sports medicine, and her first job during college was as a receptionist at Dr. Robert Dorman’s office in Arkadelphia. After a short time in this position, she decided that medicine was not the field for her. Luckily, an oral communications class shifted her attention to another area – communications. After prompting by her instructor, Rhea Ruggles, Slatton-Schwartz enrolled in a mass media class and soon became actively involved in numerous activities, including the Oracle staff and the debate team. Although she had always enjoyed watching the news, until college, she had “never seen [herself ] in it.” She credits Henderson and its smaller size with offering students the ability to explore many areas rather than being confined to any particular one. While Henderson provided her with a solid foundation on which to build her career, after graduating in 2001, she attended graduate school at the S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University in New York where she was able to “fine tune” her skills as a broadcast journalist.
After graduate school, her first job was as a general assignment reporter and weekend anchor for KTAL Channel 6 in Shreveport, La. Eventually, she became a morning anchor and remained in that position for three years. During her total of five years at KTAL, she reported on stories of national importance including Hurricane Katrina and the Columbia shuttle recovery. While covering Hurricane Katrina, she focused specifically on the efforts of firefighters and law enforcement officials during the emergency. She recalls receiving notes from the service members’ wives stating that they had not heard from their husbands in some time but were relieved to see them during her segments.

People often assume that Slatton-Schwartz, being in broadcast journalism, must want to change the world. That being true, she regrets not always seeing herself making that difference. However, “during the big events,” she says, “you really get to see it.”

Diamond in the rough
Although she enjoyed her work in Shreveport, when KTAL’s sportscaster and Slatton-
Schwartz’s husband, David Schwartz, was offered his dream job in Minnesota, she decided
to resign from her position at KTAL and accompany him. Her impact on the Shreveport community and surrounding areas certainly did not go unnoticed. On the Arkansas TV News blog, one anonymous blogger commented, “Losing Shannon Slatton would be a major blow for
KTAL. She is by far the best anchor they have.”

After a year of working “odd jobs” in Minneapolis, including house cleaning and freelancing, Slatton-Schwartz landed a job as a reporter at Channel 12 News, a station she amiably refers to as a “diamond in the rough,” where she enjoys working with her colleagues and having the opportunity to produce quality pieces. Although she reports on a range of topics, she maintains a weekly consumer segment called “Money Savers,” designed for helping people “get by in this
new economy.”

Her love of travel (her childhood nickname was “Shannon Go”) has certainly been beneficial in helping her become accustomed to her new city. Following the advice of veterans in her field, she likes to “drive around and get lost” just to learn about the area she’s covering and “see what the neighborhoods look like.” While she enjoys vacations to traditional tourist destinations, she prefers “day trips” to those “out of the way” places that don’t typically attract anyone aside from the locals. She’s traveled to Mitchell, S.D., where she visited the Corn Palace, a building whose exterior is adorned with elaborate murals made of corn kernels. Another such destination is Beaver, Ark., home of the Shoe Tree, whose branches are strung with discarded shoes. Soon, she and her husband plan to visit the Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota. Though not Spam enthusiasts, curiosity has gotten the better of them.

Working in one of the top fifteen markets before turning 30 was one of her earliest goals, and she accomplished it just two months shy of her 30th birthday. “[The Emmy] was not anything I ever expected to win,” she admits, “but it was kind of like the icing on the cake.” On her personal blog, in response to many curious friends and family members, she best describes her sentiments, “No, it’s not quite like Susan Lucci’s Emmy, and no, I won’t be sharing a table with Oprah at the awards ceremony, but yes, it’s still really, really cool.”

Many students may have met Slatton- Schwartz during her time teaching a broadcast journalism class at Henderson, which she continues to teach online. She’s always been interested in teaching (her step-mother is a teacher), and acknowledges that the extra paycheck is helpful, too. Students taking her class quickly learn not to let her friendly demeanor trick them into thinking it’s easy. As with any class offered online, students must be self-motivated. In addition, they are quizzed regularly on current events and asked to write about them.

One former student, Jim Miller, referred to her as a “ball breaker” in the Oracle, a comment that she took as a “veiled compliment” and displays proudly on her desk. Slatton-Schwartz hopes that her students, even those not planning to major in broadcast journalism, will “emerge as better writers” with more knowledge of “what’s going on in the world.”

“Take [your] future into [your] own hands.” This is her advice to students seeking similar success. Of course, one must “be willing to do [the work]” to achieve it. This includes aggressive researching and networking within their particular field. Despite her seemingly natural talent, even Slatton-Schwartz had to work to achieve her goals.

During college she displayed a work ethic inherited from “Aunt Peg,” Peggy Stone. “Hard work,” Stone told her, “builds strong character.” In addition to a full-time class schedule at Henderson and three part-time jobs, Slatton- Schwartz maintained a high GPA. But the challenges didn’t stop there. Like most southerners, Slatton-Schwartz spoke with a recognizable southern accent, one considered “too southern” in New York. In the world of broadcast journalism, non-regional diction is essential, so she took a voice diction class at Henderson, then voice lessons at Syracuse. She never hoped to lose her southern accent, but she “never wanted it to get in the way of getting a job.” Aunt Peg is proud to say that Slatton-Schwartz “never forgets where she came from,” and when visiting family and friends in the South, she can’t help but rediscover a little of her southern flair.