Update News

"Before You Shoot Off Your Mouth, Make Sure Your Brains Are Loaded." Abe Lincoln

Prof bob visits Update News 9/16

Former CNN Correspondent/JMC School Director Engages YOU!

Be ready to talk about your new class, and the news of the day when Bob Rucker is visiting! He's going to ask each of you several questions, and you are welcome to ask him questions about working in TV News. How does it change your life and prepare you for exciting new jobs in the future? Expect a VERY DYNAMIC guest interaction and very candid talk! Don't waste time being shy or holding back!. Speak up!!!

Grads of this class go on to do great things!!!

Former Update News students:

Kevin Wing Dennis Ackerman

Devin Fehely Kiet Do Damian Trujillo Amanda Del Castillo Dustin Dorsey Madison Wilber Steve Scott

Will Thomas

How to Succeed!

what to STUDY FOR update news class

Grab VIEWERS Interest!

Identify timely news angles for stories that YOUR AUDIENCE is thinking and talking about EVERY DAY.

Be curious about what THEY are saying about news topics.

Listen for story ideas and start thinking REALISTICALLY

what kind of a NEW ANGLE & VISUAL STORY you could do.

See here how the pros keep viewers watching every day.

See More: IN THE NEWS and

HOW TO PITCH STORIES

Be Clever In Approach!

What video can you shoot, pictures you can find and use, or create special effects to tell YOUR story with eye opening impact? Think outside the box, push yourself more & prioritize being safe, responsible, but also UNIQUE & CREATIVE IN APPROACH. Brainstorm ideas and RECORD unique responses. Let emotions be SEEN and felt in YOUR VISUAL STORY.

This video report is a bit long, but it shows how stories CAN

touch viewers hearts on many levels.

Write The Way We Talk!

Good story telling is never boring! Resist being predictable & stiff with your words. Your writing should flow the way you naturally talk to friends and family to keep their attention. As you write stay in the moment with your story and EXPLAIN (not narrate) what's happening. If you write too much your editor will help you make cuts. When you have something recorded that's very special trust your gut. Discuss this with your coach/editor and don't worry "can I show that?"

SJSU graduates' career success!

Known Across America

SJSU Class of 1995 journalism graduate Marc Spears vowed in college he was going to cover sports nationally. He's now one of ESPN's best known analysts, and is a member of the NBA Hall of Fame as a sports writer. In 2023, SJSU presented him the Hearst Foundation national award for exemplary reporting in sports.

Randy Vazquez

Some students love using a camera to tell a powerful story! Randy Vazquez' passion for photography at SJSU has now earned him two Emmy Awards and the coveted Edward R. Murrow award for his multimedia stories for the Boston Globe.

As an SJSU graduate Randy Vazquez was on the front lines of history in the making after the tragic death of George Floyd touched off national Black Lives Matter protests..

Justin Allegri

Justin Allegri is now the play-by-play voice for CAL sports teams, and in 2025 he'll broadcast four games for the San Francisco 49ers. As an undergraduate in SJSU journalism, he excelled at producing and editing special feature story videos. In 2009, he documented the historic cross country travels of ten JMC School students to the inauguration of the first African American president of the United States. His videos were seen on CNN national newscasts.

Prof Bob's 49 Years in tv news

Prof. Bob Rucker

Former TV News anchor, reporter & photographer who became the national news correspondent for CNN in San Francisco before he went into university teaching at U of Illinois, UC and SJSU. He was born and raised in Chicago.

TV Academy Career Recognition

Bob was a member of the Board of Governors for the San Francisco Chapter of the National Association of Television Arts & Sciences. He received their broadcast news lifetime career achievement top honor in 2022.

Many ways to caREER success

San Francisco TV Anchor

One of the best in the business in local TV news anchoring & reporting talks to Prof. Rucker's SJSU class on Zoom about his experiences, talents and career perspectives. Students asked Dan Ashley very engaging and interesting questions.

Distinguished SJSU Grad

This professional social media host talks about how her TV news reporting and anchor career unfolded after Update News at SJSU. By focusing on her skills development, Colleen Odegaard later transitioned to new and exciting online opportunities.

Being Open To Change

Flexibility in your thinking and willingness to try new and exciting broadcast opportunities. In 2022, after working in graphics production full time for ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut, Keanu Haghighi is now a TV producer for the new Fanduel TV network

in Los Angeles.

FLASHBACK: Unique Insights on Trump Presidency, 2018

Jim Acosta at SJSU 2018

He covered President Trump's first term in the White House.. Acosta received from SJSU Journalism the national Hearst Foundation Award for his nightly critical thinking and reporting.

Part 2 - Acosta Hearst Remarks

SJSU journalism faculty selected top CNN correspondent to meet Hearst Foundation honoree requirements for being a "role model for First Amendment rights" of a free press in America.

Students Say THANK YOU!

3,000 Bay Area college students came to SJSU to see Acosta in 2018. After a Q & A session at Hammer Theater, SJSU students insisted on a group photo and a handshake with a history making TV journalist who gave powerful remarks.

Prof Bob's tv News 1st JOB!

Nobody's Perfect, Right?!?!

Funny outtakes of Bob and news colleagues in the 1970s in their first television newsroom jobs in Des Moines, Iowa. The good old days starting out in exciting TV news!

Go Beyond The Easy

A top television news executive tells you what to expect, how to survive and be respected.

WHO SAYS DREAMS DON'T COME TRUE?

Bob Rucker studied political science and education at Northern Illinois University, a state school just like SJSU. As a child he and his family in Chicago watched the CBS Evening News and talked about it over dinner. As history unfolded on TV in the 1960s, Bob was impressed by Walter Cronkite and his news staff's' ability to explain news to the nation. In college a buddy of Bob's working at the campus radio station asked him to read news headlines on Sunday mornings from 6 AM to 9 AM. Eventually a journalism professor would hear Bob and invite him to be a sport anchor on the nightly student TV newscast. Believing he could do television reporting, before graduation Bob sent out 300 resumes and cover letters nationwide. WHO-TV 13 gave him his first job in 1976 in Des Moines, Iowa. In just two months Bob was co-anchoring newscasts on the weekend in that state capital city.

Learn More from the pros in TV Journalism

Bernard Shaw's Question

During a live nationally televised presidential debate in 1988, CNN's Bernard Shaw offered a precisely worded, timely, stunning but pertinent question to the Democratic nominee. Millions watching thought the response cost the candidate the election.

Writing Voice Over Scripts

Breaking down the process of writing a good and most informative voice over copy for the anchor to read.

Reality Check

TV reporters write in conversational style to connect better with audiences. But coming across in an interesting and believable way is a career long challenge. Expect no easy or quick fixes. Practice over time enables you to develop YOUR most inviting style. Never try to just copy someone elses.

How good journalistS think & Write