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Summer 2008 KVRX News Team:
News Director: Vanessa Castañeda
Vanessa Castañeda, Broadcast News Journalism Senior at The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Communication, is taking the last undergraduate course she’ll ever have to take this summer (woohoo!).
When I’m not blogging, or interning at News 8 Austin, I’m reminiscing about the years when I reported for and produced KVR News 9 at TSTV.
I was certain my course in life was to author sci-fi thrillers when I first arrived at U.T. Austin as an English major. However, after discovering the crippling pay associated with any jobs available for English majors who don’t want to go to law school, I decided to pursue the more fulfilling, yet equally fiscally-challenged profession of journalism. I graduate in August 2008. Maybe I’ll get a job here in Austin…?
Executive Producer: Xorje Olivares
Hey, my name is Xorje Olivares and I’m a junior here at UT. I’m currently double-majoring in broadcast journalism and Mexican-American Studies.
Aside from In the Know you can find me over at TSTV and KVR News doing my thing. Also, as of this summer, I’ll be interning over at Latino USA. LUSA is a nationally syndicated program for NPR that’s produced right here in Austin.
All in all, I’m having the time of my life. Right now I’m enjoying radio, but I plan on doing more TV in the future. I really want to work on covering urban affairs and racial politics, so we’ll see where that takes me.
Reporter: Abhinav Kumar
My name is Abhinav. I like to do case studies and practice my verbal and written business communication skills by participating in a pretend consulting firm. I live and breath for less restrictions on the environment, and I cannot wait until tax season every year (I try to have them done at least 13 months before the due date).
By day I’m a mild-mannered reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper; by night I’m a milder-mannered reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper. After graduating from The University of Texas at Austin Red McCombs School of Business with a Bachelor in Business Administration, I’ll be heading off to work 80 hour weeks at one of the Big Four accounting firms. After a few years of this, I will have a gut of some sort and a minor drinking problem.
All of that will change when I meet the one woman who will turn my life around. I plan to marry her and then work 100 hour weeks (for that promotion).
Reporter: Aaron Aiken
Aaron Dane Aiken is a broadcast journalism senior at the University of Texas.
I’m an Austin native, born and raised, but I call Colorado home. I always know exactly what I want to do, yet I’m entering my sixth year of college after having attended four schools in three years. At any given time I’ll have the responsibility of two radio shows, four television shows and a full schedule of classes, and still I have entirely too much free time.
When I’m not responsible for anything I love doing stand-up comedy, discovering a new italo track online or just playing my bass when my apartment neighbors are away at work. And driving. I’ll always be a city person, but the open road is my weekend mistress. The second I graduate, this young man is heading west and hopefully settling into a job in one of the Four Corners states. I would like to become the lead game announcer or studio host on radio broadcasts for high school and college athletics. ITK allows me to connect instantly with an audience through both broadcast media and blogging - both things I imagine I’ll be doing all my life.
Fall 2007-Spring 2008 KVRX News Team a.k.a. The ITKers:
News Director: Vanessa Castañeda
Executive Producer: Mireya García
Mireya Garcia is a magna cum laude Alumna from the University of Texas at Austin with dual degrees in Broadcast Journalism and Hispanic Studies.
During her final year at UT Mireya became a founding member and executive producer for your favorite Austin news talk show, In the Know. She also worked with TSTV’s KVR News as executive producer and senior reporter.
Outside of the 40 Acres, Mireya worked with FOX 7 News as the spring 2008 UT Reporter where she met soccer playing robot dogs and worked on investigative pieces on the UT Shuttles and Austin jaywalkers.
As of July 2008, Mireya will be stretching out her Spanish speaking muscles as part of the KORO Univision 28 News Team in Corpus Christi. After her time there Mireya plans to break back into the English speaking market in a place yet unknown to her!
Reporter Jason Lewiss:
Reporters: Abhinav Kumar, Xorje Olivares, , Aaron Aiken, Tori Garcia +The Radio Reporting class at the University of Texas at Austin’s College of Communication
