Time for another in our series of "Where Are They Now?" features on the Director's Cut Blog where we catch up to some Channel 3 alumni as they continue their careers across the country.Ben Holbert was one of Channel 3's reporters who also worked for a period of time as a reporter on our "Akron Canton News" when it aired on WVPX, Pax 23.
We talked to Ben recently and here's what he had to share.
THE PAST:
I spent 25 years in broadcasting. I was pleased to work with every commercial television station in Cleveland. I served as a featured news reporter at WKYC-TV, PAX 23 in Akron, WOIO-CBS/WUAB-TV; WVIZ-TV, Cleveland Television Network in partnership with WEWS-TV. I began my broadcast career in 1980 as an vacation relief engineer at WJW-TV (formerly WJKW-TV). I also spent nearly three years at WJMO-radio 1490-AM as a news anchor/news reporter and talk show host.
THE PRESENT:Most recently, I served as Chief Communications Officer for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District since July 2007. I reported directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the largest public school district in Ohio, helping oversee a 1.2 million-dollar departmental budget and managed 14 full time employees. My responsibility included promotional campaign concepts for the district as well as serving as the district spokesperson.
THE FUTURE:
What I enjoyed most about my career in broadcasting was my ability to being a voice to people who had a story to share. As a native of Cleveland, having grown up on the southeast side, graduating from Benedictine and Kent State University, I have a significant history of the Greater Cleveland community and had a familiarity of the issues and concerns of people. I tried to develop my career around being a "community reporter."
My goal is to report on the positive items in Cleveland and find solutions to problems. My desire was to use my influence as "The Newsman" to make a difference in lives of people in Cleveland.Frank, I was very pleased with my career in broadcasting. I was pleased to have worked with some quality people who taught me a plenty about the industry and about life. There are many days that I miss my involvement in television; I hope that my presence provided a positive difference in the lives of the viewers that I came in contact.
