Broadcasting and journalism are two courses that are very popular today. Last Thursday, some of the students here at CHS had the opportunity to listen to a former alumni talk about his experience in these fields. Mr. Scott Pohl gave a short presentation about his background and why the courses are beneficial to life.
Pohl graduated from Concord High School in 1975 after attending since 4th grade. He lived on a farm that was located between Concord and Albion. In between working on the farm and having a job, he did not have a lot of time to participate in sports. The only sport he was able to play was baseball his senior year. Other than sports, Pohl shares that he was editor of the school paper during his junior and senior years of high school. This was the start of his career as a writer.
Throughout his career, Pohl has learned that journalism can make an impact no matter how small it seems. While still working for the school newspaper, Pohl was able to make a huge change for Concord. Whenever he would go to games, the gym was always so crowded. The staff of the newspaper collectively decided to persuade the community to vote for a new gym. He says, “We printed out several 1,000 copies with a picture of the gym on the front. The article ended up winning the vote of the people and we got a new gym.” He also shares that though he helped make it happen, he never got to actually play in it because it was built the year after he graduated.
Other than writing for the school paper, Pohl was also starting his career in broadcasting during high school. His first job was at 16 years old working at a radio station. He explains that he went to the station and recorded his voice; the next day he got a call from the manager that he got the job.
After he completed high school, he was able to get a job at Michigan State University, which he feels was a lucky opportunity. He explains that many times, when listening, reading, or watching the channels at MSU, you see the host at their worst. Once they start to succeed, it is about the time when they will leave to go onto larger opportunities. Pohl was able to continue with the station at MSU and grow his abilities.
Pohl currently works for NPR. He has been working with them for 39 years, and starting to ease into retirement. Currently, he is writing one story a week that is published every Thursday. He is also only focusing on topics he is passionate about. He also shares some background information about his editing process with NPR, “When writing stories I can not be opinionated. To make sure this does not happen, my stories go through an editing process. We have recently hired a new editor, whose job is to only edit. He fact checks, gives suggestions, and tries to make it more clear.”
Being in telecommunications can present some huge opportunities. Through his time in this field, Mr. Pohl has had the opportunity to talk to a lot of people. Some of the biggest names he has interviewed are: Peter Frampton, Art Garfunkel, Clint Black, and also a lot of members of Congress.
Through his many years of work, Pohl shares that his greatest accomplishment is not completely about what he writes, but instead about longevity. He was able to make a decent living without having to move around a lot. He says, “I am very lucky to not move around a lot, many other journalists are always having to move around.”
Senior Riley Adams was one of the students who got to hear Pohl talk. She says that her favorite part of the presentation was what he said about new sources and broadcasting: “I liked learning about what news sources are to the left or to the right. I also linked learning about what he did to become a broadcaster.” Adams also shares that she thinks he was a good person to come in to speak to the students. She says, “I think he was a good choice because we could learn about somebody else’s life experiences and almost apply that to our own lives.” Overall, Adams explains that she thought it was cool to hear about his journey and that other people have the chance to become a broadcaster.
Junior Grace Thorrez also was a student who enjoyed Pohl’s presentation. She explains that her favorite part was when he was talking about how he got into the business. Even though he was jobless at times, he still proceeded to persevere through the line of work. There was a piece of advice that stuck with Thorrez, that is, “Always write and read because it will be very beneficial in anything you choose to do in life.” In her opinion, Pohl was a good speaker because he has gone through a lot in life, which ultimately brought him to where he is.
Mr. Jursaek has known Pohl for 52 years. They went to high school together and graduated one year apart. They also lived close to one another, so he knew Pohl through that. Jursaek describes Pohl: “He is very smart and intellectual. He likes to think things through, but he is also pretty easygoing.” Jursaek was the person who had asked Pohl to come in and speak. He says, “I heard him on the radio and thought it would be interesting
for him to come in to talk about how to get into that field.” A fun memory he has with Pohl is from when they were kids. He says that when he was 14 years old and Pohl was 16 years old, Pohl let him be on the radio.
Pohl has some advice for someone trying to go into the field of telecommunications: “Write something every day, you only become a good writer by writing. You only become a good talker by talking. Practice talking and ask others for advice about your voice.”
Overall, Pohl has advice for all high school students. He says, “Go to school, get work experience. Don’t wait until you are out of school until you are out of high school to do what you want.”
Pohl was an insightful speaker, with great advice. We thank him for coming in and speaking to the student body, and we hope to see him around more often!
