2018 Alumnus Josh Croup is an Anchor/Reporter for WDTV Alumni Profile
Meet Josh Croup
- Job Title & Employer
- Anchor/Reporter, WDTV
- Major
- Broadcast Reporting
- Minor
- Broadcast Production and Public Relations and Advertising
- Graduation
- April 2018
- College Activities
- U-View, The Globe, WPPJ, Point Park Athletic Communications, Point Park Sports Network, Pittsburgh Center for Sports Media and Marketing, United Student Government, Honors Program, Broadcast Education Association, Society of Professional Journalists, Student Production Services
- Scholarships
- Vice Presidential, Myron Cope, Margy Snyder Memorial, Bernard/Thomas, MARC USA
- Hometown
- Butler, Pa.
- High School
- Butler High School
- Now Living In
- Bridgeport, W.Va.
"It was clear from the beginning, the education Josh received at Point Park University prepared him for his career right after college. Josh jumped right into the thick of things and easily understood how things are done in the business."
"The news director at the time visited Point Park in the fall of my senior year to talk about the industry to students. I followed up with him via email after his visit and he reached out to me when my position opened up at the station late in the spring. I signed my contract before I even had my diploma."
Josh Croup is now a multimedia journalist at WTVG-TV in Toledo, Ohio
What steps did you take to secure your current position before graduating from Point Park University?
The news director at the time visited Point Park in the fall of my senior year to talk about the industry to students. I followed up with him via email after his visit and he reached out to me when my position opened up at the station late in the spring. I signed my contract before I even had my diploma.
What are your key responsibilities as an anchor/reporter?
I anchor and produce the evening newscasts on the weekends and I cover two counties during the week. As a producer and anchor, I'm responsible for building each newscast and communicating with reporters about their stories for the shows. I'm also responsible for maintaining our digital presence on the weekends. As a reporter, I regularly enterprise story ideas, develop contacts in my counties and report on breaking news when it happens. I'm also the backup evening anchor during the weekdays.
What college experiences impacted you most in your new career?
Point Park gave me the opportunity to get hands-on experience from day one. The faculty and mentors I got to work under at Point Park helped develop my skills to make sure I was as prepared as possible to work in this industry.
Tell us about your recent Emmy nomination.
My piece on Point Park's Anna Shields' "Road to Success" was an assignment as part of my apprenticeship with the Athletic Communications Department. The assignment was to get Anna's story out there in the best way that I could as I was in my final semester. Anna is Point Park's first national champion and a track and field athlete.
Anna and her head coach, Kelly Parsley, were incredibly supportive of the piece. She shared videos and photos of her competing in the past, and we used Point Park's Center for Media Innovation for the interviews. I won the 2017 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award for College/University Talent for my work on camera, but this nomination focuses more on feature storytelling. I really enjoyed the work that went into it and the final product. All of the other nominees in my category are incredibly talented groups of students at Temple University, so we'll see what happens in October. It's an incredible honor just to be nominated now for two Emmy Awards.
What advice do you have for a student interested in Point Park?
Experience is incredibly important if you want to work in this field. Not only will Point Park give you experience if you seek it out, but it will provide you with mentors and professionals who are actively working in the industry and know what it takes to succeed. Learn from everything you do, learn as much as possible, even if you don't think you'll benefit from it, and don't waste your failures.
Connect with Josh Croup
More About: WPPJ, student production services, broadcast reporting, athletics, School of Communication, Center for Sports Media and Marketing, Honors Program, SPJ, Butler Area High School, U-View, The Globe, United Student Government, success story, Broadcast Education Association, alumni