Jim Overbay

What do you do? Retired as news manager for Meredith Broadcasting. Previously, news director at KCTV, Kansas City, communications manager at the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City, and the assistant news director at KMBC-TV, Kansas City. How did you get your job? Perseverance. Contacts. Luck. What is the best professional lesson you learned … Continued

Ron Osborne

There was little in Ron Osborne’s early years to suggest that he would become a full-time playwright. His family didn’t attend theatrical performances. Like many of his classmates, he participated as a cast member in a few high school productions. Osborne majored in advertising, and his first job was as a technical writer. But it … Continued

Gayly Gardner Opem

Gayly Gardner Opem, BJ ’70, recently retired from her position as executive vice president of marketing at the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES) Abroad, a study-abroad program provider. During Opem’s five-year stay at IES, she helped double the organization’s revenues and the number of study-abroad participants. She built an impressive portfolio of … Continued

Diane O’Byrne

Preparation for a Career in Broadcast Journalism “You’ll work so hard at broadcast and you’ll be good, but you would be great in sales!” Not exactly the words broadcast news student Diane Campbell (O’Byrne) wanted to hear from her Missouri School of Journalism adviser and much-respected professor Dave Dugan. Little did O’Byrne know that Dugan … Continued

Mark Obbie

What do you do? I am a freelance writer specializing in stories about crime, courts, criminal justice policy, law and business. How did you get your job? I quit my day job! After a career that started in reporting and then moved into editing, then editing/publishing, then teaching journalism, I realized all my promotions and … Continued

Nancy Newton

What do you do? I’m a vice president/account supervisor of public relations at Cramer-Krasselt. In this role, I work with local and national companies to develop and implement public relations strategies that bring them visibility in consistent and meaningful ways while positively impacting their business objectives. Best professional lesson? Speak up. Do not assume anything. … Continued

Jonathan Murray

Jonathan Murray, BJ ’77, had no idea one PBS documentary would influence the course of his career – and television history. But it did. The emotional storytelling and real-life characters featured in the series, “An American Family,” captivated young Murray, then a high school student in upstate New York. “You actually heard people talking the … Continued

Courtney Murphy

The “easy button.” That’s how Courtney Murphy describes finding balance in her life. For a woman who has traveled around the world to pursue an award-winning career in revamping and redesigning magazines, she has to push this metaphorical button every now and then. Living closer to work, choosing her projects wisely, and making time to … Continued

Karen Mullen

What do you do? I’m a portrait photographer, working for myself. How did you get your job? I was only doing stock photography when Leo and I decided to put our oldest son in private school and we needed to make more money. I spent two years getting educated in the very different art of … Continued

Larry E. Moore

Describe your TV station and what makes it interesting. Our station is a major ABC affiliate and most of the news that flows out of the Mid-West to the network comes through our facilities and personnel. For news, we consistently rank as the highest rated news viewership in the entire nation for ABC stations. Our … Continued