Southeast Missouri State University mass communication major Jeffrey Bullard has taken his experience from his major and transferred it to a full-time job before even graduating.
Bullard woks as a multimedia journalist and fill-in anchor with KFVS-12, the CBS affiliate, in Cape Girardeau. He started as a spring intern over a year ago, and it manifested into a full-time gig with huge opportunities for the rising senior.
"As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to work at a news station," Bullard said. "What started as a spring internship turned into a lifetime of memories being made and a career that I know I'll remember for the rest of my life."
Bullard has utilized his time on campus. Outside of mass communication: TV and film work, he worked in Career Services for two years with Dan Presson and Amy Aldridge. It was those two who encouraged Bullard to send an email to KFVS and take an interview the next day with his current news director.
Bullard had always imagined himself behind the camera. In the last year with KFVS, he's learned how to produce a show and has definitely worked on camera. However, most of his job is on-air, creating and telling stories.
“The biggest piece of the job for me is storytelling,” Bullard said. “It's truly an honor that so many people are open and willing to open up."
Bullard has covered a wide range of stories, from local elections to alpacas getting stuck in an elevator. He even went live for CBS News from the scene of the Glenallen tornado, his first appearance in national news.
The day-to-day of multimedia journalism includes arriving, pitching story ideas, picking a story with the news team, setting up interviews, shooting on-camera interviews, editing and writing the story for air and web, and then going live on air with the final product. He primarily fills in for the 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. anchor positions when he's on the desk.
"It can be a complete surprise which person or community's story you get to tell," Bullard said.
Bullard will graduate this fall, and now he has a wealth of real-world experience to go along with his degree.
"Honestly, I'd love to be a full-time news anchor and report special assignments," Bullard said. "SEMO is the stepping stone I needed to get in the door of my career."