Communiqué
WOUB Senior Spotlight: Matthew Gebhart
By: Andre Norrils
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When Matthew Gebhart, an Ohio University student studying media arts production, graduates this May, he’ll be leaving Athens and headed to Louisville, Kentucky to start a career he’s been interested in since high school. Gebhart recently accepted a position as a technical media producer at WAVE 3 in Louisville, Kentucky.
Gebhart’s journey into the media industry began his sophomore year of high school when he took classes at a career technical center, which exposed him to video editing, photography, and studio work.
“I toured the career center, and I remember walking into the room, and something just clicked,” Gebhart said. “When I went in there I was like, ‘This is what I want to do. I want to be doing video production.’ It just felt right.”
After graduating high school, Gebhart attended Columbus State Community College for his first two years of college. Gebhart decided to complete his degree at Ohio University because he wanted to stay in Ohio but also go to a school with a strong video media program.
Gebhart first got involved with WOUB last summer through the WOUB Summer Internship Program. The internship provided him with an opportunity to learn technical directing, which he found to be a lot of fun. As a result, Gebhart decided to make a career out of directing in news production.
“I had never directed before, and WOUB was willing to teach me,” Gebhart said. “It sounded fun, and I really enjoyed it.”
In Gebhart’s role at WAVE 3, he will be directing the newscasts, editing videos, and assisting with master control operations. Gebhart says he credits this opportunity to WOUB.
“WOUB is a good place to learn, even if you’re not going into news,” said Gebhart. “You can make the mistakes that you’re going to make here and learn and work with other people who just want to make a great show. I think it’s a great place to spend your time at and honestly, I wish I started sooner.”
Outside of video production, Gebhart likes playing video games and making model kits.