Brittany Bassler's Resume

Brittany Bassler

(904) 626-5241

BBassler09@aol.com

Education

University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Bachelor of Science in Telecommunication-News

GPA:  3.6/4.0

Graduation: December 2013

Broadcasting Experience 

WTLV/WJXX-TV First Coast News, Jacksonville, FL                             June 2012 - July 2013

Associate Producer

• Produce content for weekday 5PM shows and weekend morning shows 
• Build segments, choose and write stories for the newscasts using ENPS
• Write/edit web stories for station website

Assignment Desk Editor

• Oversee breaking news and viewer tips that come in to the newsroom 
• Relay information to producers and coverage managers 

WUFT-TV News, First at 5, Gainesville, FL                                           August 2011 - Present 

Multimedia Journalist

• Pitch lead-worthy stories in the morning editorial meeting
• Contact sources to gather further information for the story 
• Shoot b-roll, stand-up and interviews using a P2 camera
• Edit video and tracking using Final Cut Pro 
• Tease story on social media 
• Finished PKG airs live on WUFT-TV, Gainesville's PBS affiliate 

WUFT-TV News, First at 5, Gainesville, FL                                           August 2013 - Present

Main Anchor

• Anchor a live 30-minute newscast on Gainesville's PBS affiliate 
• Assist producer in writing copy and VO stories, as well as teases 

Leadership

Fleming Island High School Television Production Academy                August 2013 - Present 

Advisory Board Member

• Collaborate with alumni and others in the broadcasting field 
• Create ideas for the direction of the academy 
• Offer suggestions for lesson plans, projects and field trips for students 
• Visit classes and speak to students about my experiences in the field 

Skills

       Newsmaker

       Axis Graphics

       ENPS

       Final Cut Pro

       Shooting video using P2 cameras

       Writing and editing for broadcast and web 

References 

Lewis Turner

• Anchor/Reporter, WTLV/WJXX - First Coast News, (904) 633-8808

Mike Lyons 

• Reporter, WTLV/WJXX - First Coast News, (904) 633-8808

Mark Roberts

• Television Production Academy Director - Fleming Island High School, (904) 215-6500

What does the FWC do?

When people think of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, many people think of game wardens (this is a pet-peeve of Travis').  The folks at FWC do much more than just monitor hunting areas and enforcing those laws and issuing hunting/boating licenses.  All of these things are important but some of the other things they do are pretty neat too.

The FWC is involved in many projects across the state that research things like breeding, migrating patterns, biology of the animals, and of course conservation efforts.  They strive to educate the public about wildlife and teach people about what they can do to help preserve Florida's wildlife and their natural habitats.

I encourage you to get to know more about the FWC and I plan to post more about specific research they've done that's helped manage fish and wildlife resources for their long-term well-being and the benefit of you and I.

Being aware of bears while driving

I've posted a lot of information about living with Florida black bears and how they're a bigger population than most believe.  But something I want to hone in on is what we can do to keep it that way.  At one point these animals were endangered, but luckily their population has been able to rebuild itself.

Something we can do is really focus on the roads when we're driving.  Automobiles are the number one killer of Florida black bears. 

Here are some tips to think about next time you're driving in the Ocala area, or anywhere that's heavily wooded:

1.  Focus on the road.
2.  Be alert if you're driving early in the morning, or right after midnight.
3.  Look out for the yellow bear signs - this indicates that bears populate the area.

Baby Bear on Boss's Day!

Normally I post about Florida wildlife, and it's no secret my choice animal to post about  is Florida Black Bears.  But, in honor of National Boss's Day, I wanted to share a video with you that's gone viral and has over 6 million views -- that YOU can share with your boss and coworkers and brighten your Hump Day!

Now, the video is in Russian because according to the person who posted this that's where this took place.  I hope you all enjoy, the cutest bear attack ever:




And Happy Boss's Day!!!

Why I love animal releases

Seeing the Florida Panther siblings being released, and really any Florida wildlife release after being rescued is always exciting to me.  There's so many wildlife populations in Florida that are endangered and are quickly dwindling.  But seeing that small effort to help restore the Panther population in Florida shows that we're doing our best to protect these species that are becoming more rare.  

I have a heart for wildlife research and biology.  FWC biologists are making a real difference in our state with the work they do so directly with animals.  Their efforts are demonstrated in the video I posted.  I encourage you to learn more about Florida Panthers and other animals to get and understanding of why releases and rescues are such a big deal in the wildlife community.  

FWC Releases Rescued Florida Panther Siblings

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologists released two endangered Florida panthers in April 2013.  The Panthers are a brother and sister that they rescued as kittens about one and a half years earlier.

FWC biologists captured the then 5-month old kittens after their mother was found dead in September 2011. Without that intervention, the kittens likely would have died a short time later. The kittens were taken to the White Oak Conservation Center in northeast Florida, where they were raised until they were ready for release.

The female panther was released first, on January 31 in the Picayune Strand State Forest in southwest Florida. Post-release monitoring has shown her adapting well and behaving as typical wild female panthers do.

The male panther was released on April 3 at the Rotenberger Wildlife Management Area in South Florida. Early monitoring has shown the male also acclimating himself well to the wild, however, biologists caution that young male panthers face the added survival challenge of encounters with older, established male panthers.

For more information on Florida Panthers, click here. 

"Don't Make Me Think" summary/review

“Don’t Make Me Think” was a great read about basically what the title says: a common sense approach to web usability.  The author, Steve Krug explains how he is a web designer and how his clients send him links to their websites they want him to redesign or rebuild.  He looks at the sites and figures out whether they’re easy enough to use and then writes a report describing the problems that he found that are likely to cause users grief and suggests possible solutions.  Krug admits that much of his work is common sense and anyone with an interest in it can learn to do it. 

I think it’s interesting how the title of the book is “Don’t Make Me Think”.  Krug explains that this phrase is his first law of usability and the overriding principle when deciding whether something works or doesn’t work in a Web design.  Krug explains how when we’re looking at a website, we don’t want to be asking a bunch of questions.  We should be able to look at the layout and say “Ok, there’s the categories section, and there’s today’s special deals”...etc.

Krug uses Amazon.com as an example frequently about how an efficient website is designed.  For example, he explains how with Amazon’s search bar, all you have to do is type in what you want to search and Amazon takes care of the rest.  You don’t have to drop down and filter your search yourself in a category like “books, authors, or keyword”.  I think Amazon is a great example of what makes a good website.  I’ve never had a problem navigating the site and I’ve never gotten overwhelmed when looking for something.  The relatively simple layout and search tool on Amazon make online shopping a simple task… Unfortunately too simple – as I have to limit myself on how much time I spend on the site or I will be spending all of my money.  Touché Amazon. 

I love how one of the sections in the reading says, “Fact of life #1: We don’t read pages.  We scan them.”  This statement holds so much truth!  I know as a college student, I will admit I’ve gotten to the point where I hardly read anything thoroughly anymore.  This is not entirely a good thing, but when you’re assigned multiple chapters in each class every week – you learn how to scan through to get the main ideas and get your assignments done.  As Krug explains, the same goes for the web when we’re looking at sites.  We’re usually in a hurry, we know we don’t need to read everything, and we’re good at it. 

We also learn about creating pages designed for scanning not reading.  Krug offers five important things we can do to make sure our readers/clients see and understand as much of our site as possible: create a clear visual hierarchy on each page, take advantage of conventions, break pages up into clearly defined areas, make it obvious what’s clickable, and minimize noise. 

Krug explains another crucial rule for web design and writing for the web in general: omitting needless words.  He says getting rid of all those words that no one is going to read has several beneficial effects.  It reduces the noise level of the page.  It makes the useful content more prominent.  It makes the pages shorter, allowing users to see more of each page.  It makes the pages shorter, allowing users to see more of each page at a glance without scrolling.  I think this is absolutely an important rule for what it takes to make an efficient web design.  This is also a good rule for social media and writing for TV and radio.  On social media we’re limited to 140 characters with Twitter updates, and therefore are forced to keep our posts clean and concise.  With TV and radio we have to keep a conversational tone so this rule of omitting needless words can apply there too. 

Overall the reading gave me great insight into how to manage an efficient website and how to design a site that will be easy for my viewers/audience to navigate.