Communiqué
WOUB Senior Spotlight: Max Brunke
By: Andre Norrils
Posted on:
Brunke worked as the social media coordinator for Gridiron Glory and served as a technical director for both Gridiron Glory and NewsWatch
ATHENS, Ohio – Max Brunke, a journalism news and information major at Ohio University, has created content for social media since he was in high school, but working at WOUB helped him expand his media skills into new areas that he never imagined before. Brunke grew up in Lewis Center, Ohio, and while in middle school, he ran a few social media accounts that gained traction. While making the transition into high school, his sister, who was an editor for the high school newspaper, strongly encouraged him to take a journalism class.
“It’s probably the best thing she has ever done for me,” Brunke said. “She knew what the experience was like and that I would enjoy it.”
In high school, Brunke helped run a Twitter account focused on the school’s athletic teams. He decided he wanted to pursue a career in journalism and mainly focus on sports. When it was time to decide where to go to college, Brunke only toured two schools, Ohio University and Ohio State University. He picked Ohio University because he liked the fact that it was located in a small town.
Starting his freshman year, Brunke got involved at WOUB working on the high school football program, Gridiron Glory. By the end of his junior year, Brunke decided to stay in Athens to work as a summer intern for WOUB.
“I knew I wanted to do the WOUB Summer Internship because my mindset at the time was that it would be easy. I would get to be with my friends and spend the summer in Athens,” said Brunke. “ It turns out that it wasn’t easy.”
Brunke became a technical director for NewsWatch and was in charge of the production aspects of the live newscast. It was his first time as a director, but he was up for the challenge.
“The first two to three weeks was nerve-wracking because I had a lot of control over something that I didn’t fully understand. But, once I got over that hump, I truly started to grow into it. I think it was great for me to use the summer to get into directing.”
When the summer was over, Brunke became the social media coordinator for Gridiron Glory, but he also decided to continue in a technical directing role on the sports show because of the satisfaction he got from it.
“Being a part of a live production like NewsWatch or Gridiron Glory, and having a flawless episode would be better than anything I could ever create content-wise. That’s how I got into directing and why I’m still in it.”
Brunke will graduate in May and hopes to one day run a professional sports team’s social media accounts. But, he plans on spending another year in Athens to enjoy living in a small town while building his personal brand.