Communiqué
WOUB Experience Gave Cleveland Editing Supervisor Confidence to Succeed
< < Back toTerry Mullally graduated from Ohio University in 1983
ATHENS, OH – Terry Mullally, the editing supervisor at WJW in Cleveland, remembers one moment in her career when she truly realized the value of her WOUB experience.
“I was floor directing a show at WTTG in Washington D.C. that was hosted by Maury Povich, and he walked up to me and said, ‘Where did you come from? You’re 24 years old, and you take such command,’” said Mullally. “I told him it was my college background. I learned how to be a floor director at WOUB. I graduated so ahead of the game. I feel like I came out of there knowing things that others did not.”
Mullally came to Athens from Cleveland in 1979. She had an interest in theater and drama in high school. But, after being inspired by the Mary Tyler Moore show, Mullally decided to pursue a career in television.
“I loved the thrill of the performance and hearing the applause. Television was like a performance every day,” said Mullally. “I did an internship in high school at WEWS in Cleveland, and some people there recommended Ohio University. When I went down for a visit, I just fell in love with place.”
Mullally got involved at WOUB as soon as she could. She said she learned so much, especially from older students who were her mentors.
“You worked your way up, learning new things and getting new responsibilities all of the time,” said Mullally. “I worked on the production side. I was a master control operator. I eventually got into the director’s training program and became a director for Newswatch.”
Mullally got to work on many different projects at WOUB. She helped produce a 12-part series for PBS, worked the production crew for a WOUB music program called ‘Ramblin, and even pitched some of her own ideas for projects.
“You could be creative at WOUB,” said Mullally. “Sometimes I skipped class to work on productions at WOUB. Professors would be upset. While I understood the value of them teaching us in class about television, I was actually doing television at WOUB, and I loved it.”
Mullally graduated in 1983 and was offered her first job at WKYC in Cleveland four days after graduation.
“It was a vacation relief broadcast technician position,” said Mullally. “I worked there for about a year and a half.”
In 1985, Mullally moved to Washington D.C. to pursue her interest in politics. She did some political work while continuing to work in television as a broadcast engineer at WTTG. After about nine years, she was ready to come home.
“I missed Ohio and a fellow Bobcat was working at WJW and recommended me for a video editor position,” said Mullally. “I’ve been here ever since.”
Mullally says she’s always excited when a new person is hired at the station who went to Ohio University and worked at WOUB.
“It’s such a bonding experience,” said Mullally. “I think it gave me, and so many others, opportunities to learn different aspects of television that other people coming out of college do not have. “