Within 75 years from the day of its foundation, more than 250 thousand of qualified specialists who achieve success in their careers graduated South Ural State University. Specifically, philology students after graduation work in such spheres as pedagogy, journalism, marketing and PR.
Having obtained degree in Philology, a graduate of the SUSU ISSH’s Department of Russian Language and Literature, Anna Aristova, managed to work in several TV companies of the Chelyabinsk region. Presently, she is working as a producer of Vesti program at Yuzhny Ural GTRK (South Ural State TV and Radio Broadcasting Company). Anna told us about her study at SUSU, as well as what means being a producer, and why a journalist needs philological background.
— Please tell us, why did you decide to get enrolled precisely at SUSU? How did philology attract you?
— Basically, I chose philology while still being a high school student. In high school, I had been studying in a philology-oriented group for four years in Lyceum No.11. I chose SUSU based on two reasons: firstly, the university itself is an influential educational institution; secondly, it was convenient to get there from home. And, to tell the truth, I have always loved the architecture and figure of the university’s building.
— How was your study going?
— Studying was very interesting. We were the first philologists to graduate SUSU, therefore teaching staff greatly varied: there were experienced lecturers from other universities and very young assistants who just graduated themselves. So we always had mutual understanding, humor and a bit of mischief. Together we had outdoor trips, organized students’ parties at the Department, played KVN. Of course, there were difficulties as well. After all, philology covers a huge volume of material. Hundreds of volumes of novels and epics, studying Russian language at a very serious level, historical subjects which were simply impossible not to study, because we were unlikely to start understanding, for example, ancient Slavic language, based on our life experience. I remember always worrying during exam sessions and scribbling cheat notes. But when it was time to use them, I understood that I know everything without these notes. Memorized while writing.
— Why did you get interested in journalism?
— Journalism came into my life after I had already obtained my SUSU degree. It happened that my family was planning to move to Magnitogorsk. So I went to sound out the situation, so to speak. Absolutely accidentally, a friend took me to the TV industry to “practice”. And that’s when I got totally consumed by this sphere, with which we’ve been inseparable since. But on my first day of working I had no idea how this mechanism called “Television industry” operates, compared to alumni of the faculty of journalism.
— How was your career evolving?
— I started working in journalism as a reporter. I recorded videos, composed news of various topics – from politics to invasion of cockroaches. For two years, I had been working in Vesti-Magnitogorsk program, in regional division of the South Ural State TV and Radio Broadcasting Company. After that, I returned to Chelyabinsk for family reasons. Here I had been working at OTV channel for almost 10 years: at first, as a reporter for Vremya Novostey (Time for News) program, and then for an analytical summary program, the Proishestviya (Accidents) program. Then I became the editor of the summary program and the Vremya Novostey program. Presently, I am working at Yuzhny Ural GTRK (channels Russia1 and Russia24) as a producer of Vesti-Yuzhny Ural (News of the South Ural) program.
— What is it like – to be a producer?
— Generally, producer is the heart and brain of TV news. Producer is searching for interesting events, keeps track of events literally every second. Together with editor, they determine the topics that are important and interesting for the audience, and which we could display and talk about. Then, when the topics have been chosen, it is necessary to coordinate work of camera crew for a day. Then we need to come to arrangement with all speakers, and allocate reporters and camera operators. And supervise their work, sometimes in very extreme situations. This job also means constant communication with audience, authorities, political parties, media services of industries and enterprises, colleagues from other mass media, including federal ones. Every day we try to find exclusive information, get the most reliable comments and shoot the most flashy videos that speak for themselves.
— How did the knowledge and skills obtained at SUSU favored to your professional becoming?
— Profound Russian language knowledge greatly helps in the work of reporters and editors. A journalist can’t be illiterate. Naturally, general cultural level – the knowledge of world literature, arts, as well as the ability to analyze social and political processes – is the basis of competencies, which had been obtained during the process of studying at SUSU.
— What is important to know for students and graduates so that their career was successful?
— Both applicants and alumni should remember the most important thing: nowadays it is really difficult to find a job, only having theoretical knowledge. Therefore, during the education process, it is important to try to get employed, or at least complete regularly internship in mass media. This is comparatively easy to arrange, because, first of all, the university has its own television broadcasting. Secondly, regional mass media readily recruit students for internships, especially during summer. Some of my colleagues have been working in the profession from the first year of study Those, who understand how TV industry functions, have already participated in video shooting process and composed reports, and have already submerged into this sphere, become in-demand and successful specialists sooner and easier than those who postpone their practice.