More Than A Game: MGA Media Majors Get Practical Experience As Macon Bacon Photographers/Videographers

Author: News Bureau
Posted: Monday, July 19, 2021 12:00 AM
Categories: Pressroom | Faculty/Staff | Students | School of Arts and Letters | School of Aviation

Macon, GA

MGA media and communication interns working for the Macon Bacon this summer are shown at Luther Williams Field before a recent game. L-R are Brandon Johnson, Brant Daughtry, Justin Sheppard, and Diana Yanez-Robles. Photo by Anna Lipson.

Once he graduates from Middle Georgia State University (MGA) later this summer, Brant Daughtry is off to Auburn, Ala., to work for Tiger Communications as an entry level sports journalist. He’ll be part of a team covering Auburn University athletics.

The 23-year-old Warner Robins resident partly credits his current internship as a videographer for the Macon Bacon baseball team with helping him land a job before he graduates.

“I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to get out of the classroom and into the real world,” said Daughtry, who rotates with three other MGA media and communication majors in attending the Bacon’s home games at Luther Williams Field. “Practical experience has been the best teacher I could have.”

The Macon Bacon belong to the Coastal Plain League, a summer league that features college players from across the nation. Over the past few years, several members of MGA Knights baseball teams have played for the Bacon or other league teams, which include the Savannah Bananas, Lexington County (S.C.) Blowfish, Spartanburgers (Spartanburg, S.C.) and Florence (S.C.) Redwolves. Knights pitcher Hunter Varnadoe of Warner Robins is playing for the Bacon this summer.

This is the first year that Rebecca Edwards, assistant professor of media and communication and intern supervisor, has placed MGA students with the Macon Bacon as intern photographers and/or videographers.

“Media internships allow students to gain valuable experience while learning firsthand how media jobs function,” she said. “The internships are essentially teaching students how to work and figure out what kind of media jobs they enjoy doing - from photography and videography to graphic design, to news or scriptwriting, to editing. Internships allow students to build their resumes, make professional contacts, and ultimately be better prepared for whatever job they choose within the media industry.” 

Along with Daughtry, media majors Diana Yanez-Robles, Brandon Johnson, and Justin Sheppard are interning with the Bacon this summer.

Sheppard, 23, a senior who lives in Stone Mountain, hopes to find an entry level position in TV production after graduation. His long-term goal is to start his own company. Sheppard said that while he is a sports fan in general, he typically doesn’t follow baseball.

“My Macon Bacon internship gave me a chance to enhance my skills when it comes to sports, and it also introduced me to another sport,” he said.

Yanez-Robles, a 21-year-old senior living in Warner Robins, said she chose the media and communication major because she has always been interested in filmmaking and photography. She hopes to enroll in a graduate program after she finishes her MGA degree and, like Sheppard, someday start her own production company.

“I shoot with a variety of lenses at the games,” she said. “I (focus on getting images of) the fans interacting with Kevin (the team mascot) and the players running out on the field. It’s great experience for us if we decide we want to go into sports media.”

Johnson, 24, who lives in Macon, said he takes his best clips after each game to create photo and video reels using editing software skills he learned through the degree program. He said he enjoys applying what he’s learned in a professional setting.

“My career goal is to work in media, hopefully on the entertainment side” of the industry, he said.

The Macon Bacon is not the only organization hosting MGA media interns this summer. Ben Captainino is finishing up an internship with Middle Georgia United Football Club, part of the Georgia Division of the United Premier Soccer League. Morgen Kent is completing an internship with the Atlanta Police Department, where he works for the director of Community Engagement and Events. 

MGA’s bachelor’s degree in media and communication offers concentrations in film production, public relations, and sports broadcast production. Students have the opportunity to earn a production certificate from the Georgia Film Academy in conjunction with the degree. Learn more about the media and communication program at mga.edu/mca.