Several graduates of Klein College of Media and Communication have found a home at Waterman Broadcasting, which has two different broadcast stations located in south Florida. Madison Seitchik, KLN ‘20, is the newest Temple alum to join Waterman, known affectionately amongst the university’s alumni as “Temple South.” Seitchik started a position as a news producer for the NBC morning team this month, and her experiences with Temple University Television’s (TUTV) Temple Update and other student media organizations were ideal preparation for her new role.

Seitchik was introduced to Waterman because of Temple’s unique relationship with the broadcasting company. Many of the alumni who started at Waterman before Seitchik were able to pave the way for her arrival and give her insight into the company. 

Seitchik, who graduated with a degree in media studies and production and a minor in public relations, fit the bill for Waterman due to her years-long involvement with Temple’s student media outlets. She was a supervising producer, producer, reporter, anchor and foreign correspondent in Dublin for Temple Update, and was one of the primary producers who helped TUTV transition into online formats and socially-distanced production when the ongoing pandemic first struck. She was also a multimedia editor for The Temple News and an account executive for PRowl Public Relations, Temple’s student-run public relations firm. Additionally, she completed a stint as a production assistant at Philadelphia’s NBC10. 

“I think that that’s kind of one of the most important things that has guided me throughout my entire college career and now will keep guiding me is networking, and just making connections and really building those bridges,” she says. “Because I wouldn’t have gotten the job I have now without Temple Update and without the connections that I made at NBC10 where I worked as a production assistant — a job that I got because of Temple Update.”

Since starting at Waterman, Seitchik has realized just how much her Temple experiences have prepared her for her career.

“Temple Update is so similar to what I’m seeing here, it’s just done once a week and not once a day — let alone nearly 20 broadcasts up on two channels each day,” she says.

Peter Jaroff, executive producer of Temple Update who recommended that Seitchik look into working at Waterman, is confident that Seitchik’s time management and organizational skills are the keys to her success.

“Everybody at Temple Update and at Klein and Temple is very excited for her. And we just know that she’s going to do a great job and she’ll help continue to pave the way for other folks to get in,” he says. 

Seitchik is choosing to maintain a positive attitude about the future, especially regarding the uncertainties surrounding the pandemic. 

“I feel super ready,” she says. “I think that’s something huge that I’ve gotten, especially actually within the pandemic. It’s forced us to make a lot of changes, it’s given us a lot of things to think about.”

Overall, Seitchik believes that the practical experiences she gained from her previous production roles complement the media ethics that she learned about in her classes at Klein. She is looking forward to putting those skills to use as a more developed news producer with Waterman.