In his senior year of high school, Askin's mother got him an interview at
the local public television station, also owned by the school board, which
led to an apprenticeship. "I would go over to the TV station in the after-
noons and just hang out and learn how to light, run camera, and use profes-
sional gear. They had opened a brand new facility. It was state-of-the-art."
Askin enrolled at Western Kentucky University in the fall of 1973.
"They had spent several million dollars on a brand new facility. The pro-
fessors were excellent. Some came from the outside world; they were pro-
ducers for CBS. On Thursday they would leave and go do NFL Football
[broadcasts] and come back to teach on Monday." Unlike some schools,
where students were only allowed to watch the staff operate the equip-
ment, the students at Western played an integral part in the program-
ming the school produced.
"They would get a federal con-
tract to create programming
and try to make money with
the productions. So it was real
work; it wasn't just student
projects. Out of the senior
class, they would hand-pick
five or six of the top students
to be part-time employees."
Askin was already
acquainted with some recent
graduates of the school, who
made calls on his behalf. When
he went for an introduction
interview with the faculty, he
was offered a student
employee position normally
reserved for seniors. By the
end of the first semester he had
earned the same rights and
privileges. "It was the first time
that had ever happened, and
was a pretty substantial break
in my career." During that
semester, one of the faculty
members alerted Askin to an
opening at the local television
station, which he applied for
and was offered. "I had two
jobs and was a first semester
What do you like
least about your job?
"The worst part is the
creativity, when it's not
there. When what's
handed to me is not very
good and my own ambi-
tion and work ethic feels compromised
because I can't make it good. That is very
frustrating . . . Unfortunately, people that
view it (the footage) a year from now may
not know these situations existed, and are
going to judge the product they're watching.
Sometimes you really have to grit your teeth
and trudge through it."--Joe Askin
What do you love most
about your job?
"The creative aspect is certainly the best
part of my job. It's really fun to work with
other creative people. It's like the old saying,
`I can't believe they are paying me to do
this.' That's really true when someone hands
you great work and you're just taking it and
doing your part. All the elements are there
in the right order: the actors did a great job,
the cast did a great job, and the wardrobe
looks great. Then it's really a lot of fun."
--Joe Askin
VOICES OF
EXPERIENCE
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