Broadcast journalism is a difficult business to get into, but once you’ve gotten the first bite it’s an awesome thing to be a part of, Longhorn Network anchor Lowell Galindo said.

As part of the fall lecture series hosted by the Communication Council, the Committee for Career and Alumni Relations presented speakers from the Longhorn Network in an effort to allow communications students to get a perspective on how communication skills are applied outside the classroom, said Bobby Hammelman, vice president of Communication Council.

The speakers, Galindo, Brittany Horine and Andrea Williams, began with introductions about who they were and their roles at the Longhorn Network. They then proceeded to answer questions about their struggles and successes in the field of journalism.

“The biggest thing we want to stress is that you’re about to go through one of the toughest businesses out there,” Galindo said. “Once you’re in, you’re set to go — but that first part, the breaking in, that’s going to kick you around a bit.”

The speakers answered many audience questions about the Longhorn Network and the challenges they faced in forming the first university network.

“As great as an opportunity as it’s been, we’re going into the unknown,” Williams said. “We can’t go off of, say, the University of Arizona and see what they’ve done, because this is it. There isn’t another guy.”

Galindo also addressed the blame the network has faced in the loss of Texas A&M from UT’s athletic conference and the feared break-up of the Big 12.

“I would say the biggest challenge is that we have to have thick skin,” Galindo said. “There was a dicey two-week period where we were blamed for losing the Big 12, and we’ve been blamed for holding UT football hostage. I had no idea what this network was going to do — I wasn’t part of negotiations.”

Ultimately, all the speakers were very satisfied with the network and encouraged students to take advantage of it by applying for internships or by communicating with them personally, going so far as to offer their own emails to the audience in case they needed help with anything from their work to their resumes.

“You have the opportunity to take advantage of ESPN being just down the street,” Galindo said. “It’s so much fun. We get paid just to watch sports all day.”

Printed on Wednesday, October 5, 2011 as: LHN teaches about reality of industry