Career comes full circle for BECA alumna

Posted Fri, 04/03/2009 - 10:10am by Matt Itelson

At this year’s Northern California Broadcasters Association job fair, Wanetta Doty realized that her career had come full circle. The graduate of the Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts Department was no longer the aspiring student seeking an entry-level job. She now sat behind the table at the KGO-AM 810 booth, talking to today’s students.

Doty serves as executive assistant to KGO President and General Manager Mickey Luckoff, a fill-in producer and occasional reporter. She joined KGO after an interview at the 2004 Northern California Broadcasters Association job fair, the same event she attended this year on behalf of the station. Starting as a temporary ground crew member, Doty has impressed her colleagues with her persistence, dedication and quality work.

”Rather than simply enjoy being at KGO, low on the totem pole, I set up an appointment with Mickey Luckoff to chat with him on how best to navigate my career at KGO,” she said. ”He suggested that I shadow producers, so I did.”

Doty said covering the inauguration of President Obama is the highlight of her KGO tenure. She provided several reports and wrote a blog about her experience.

”Although I am technically not a reporter, I haggled our news director, Paul Hosley, and Mickey until they agreed to allow me to broadcast, so essentially I created my own opportunity,” she said.

Noting that her degree from the Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts Department is invaluable, Doty is thankful to all of her professors and keeps in touch with several of them. ”I have met so many people at KGO, including President Obama,” she said. ”How cool is that?”