Melanie Haspels鈥淚 want a story to move me or provide me with what it means to me or to my world,鈥� said Rebecca Zepick. 鈥淎s a viewer of TV, if I don鈥檛 feel something or feel wiser afterward, then I feel it鈥檚 a waste of my time.鈥�
One might never guess Rebecca Zepick got her start in communication through opera while watching her on Studio B or listening to her passion for political journalism. But following her graduation from Wichita Collegiate High School, she studied music performance in New York, a choice she says taught her how to be a communicator.
鈥淚n opera, I had to figure out how I was going to make a two-hour boring thing interesting while communicating through foreign language, music, acting and dance,鈥� said Zepick.
Though she soon realized opera wasn鈥檛 the career path she wanted to pursue, she credits the skills she learned in opera鈥攌nowing lines, performing and making something interesting for the audience鈥攚ith preparing her for the world of broadcast journalism.
However, when she realized she didn鈥檛 want to make a living through opera, Zepick pursued another interest鈥攑olitics鈥攁nd enrolled in law school with the assumption she would one day work in politics. Though she worked with the campaigns for Carla Stovall, Ken Glasscock and Sam Brownback, she was practicing law when her big break came in October 2007.
John McCain鈥檚 campaign contacted Zepick with an offer to be the communication director in Iowa. Zepick agreed to take a leave of absence from her law firm and volunteer through the Iowa caucus. For six weeks she booked spokespeople鈥攃alled surrogates鈥攆or the McCain campaign in media outlets around the state.
鈥淣o one in Iowa thought McCain was still in the race but that changed in a few weeks,鈥� said Zepick. 鈥淎ll of a sudden people began showing up from both major and cable networks.鈥�
With the surge in momentum, Zepick traveled to Arlington, Va., to book surrogates for print, radio and TV in every major media market in primary states, a task she did through the primaries before returning to her law firm.
But she was not done with the McCain campaign. They called again to ask her to come on staff as the national veterans communication director, a position that would have her creating messages and drafting talking points on the military aspect of the campaign for the surrogates she booked.
Zepick was responsible for booking appearances and creating media tours for people in intelligence, marines, the 9-11 commissioners, the director of the CIA, astronauts, even the guys who pulled Saddam Hussein out of the spider hole.
鈥淵ou basically create news stories for the nightly news and give radio drive time stories,鈥� said Zepick. 鈥淚 had no idea that鈥檚 how it worked. There are people who make their living doing that.
鈥淚 got along well with media outlets when I got to see them as a client instead of being scared of them.鈥�
When the election was over, Zepick鈥檚 law firm wasn鈥檛 in a position to have her back, but she received an offer to host a bipartisan, political show in Arizona. The offer led her to 新加坡六合彩开奖网 and Studio B.
While Zepick had been involved with placing people in the media, she had never been on the other side of the camera reporting and anchoring, both of which she would need to be able to do. She was put in touch with Elliott School faculty member Kevin Hager who suggested she take Studio B.
鈥淚 love it,鈥� said Zepick of Studio B. 鈥淚 love that he (Hager) turns us loose with a camera and TV show once a week.鈥�
Zepick has made the most of her time in Studio B and with her internship at KAKE TV, including flying to New York during spring break to interview Elliott school graduates Jeremy Hubbard and Taunia Hottman.
Zepick will be well equipped to shoot and edit video, as well as report and host the show that will cover state-wide political issues, when she gets to Arizona.
鈥淚f I had gone out to Arizona before doing this, we would have produced a far lower quality product,鈥� said Zepick. 鈥淎nd I wouldn鈥檛 have understood how to be competitive in the industry. I now know how to make a story more visually interesting and emotionally compelling, and I understand how the rest of the industry works.鈥�