Newhouse School of Communications

Dow Smith
Associate Professor, BJ; MIL Head Instructor; Dir. Media Management
Broadcast_Digital_Journalism

B.S. University of the Pacific, 1963
M.A. University of Missouri, 1969

Office: Newhouse 2 Rm. 333
Telephone: 443-5331
Email: dcsmit02@syr.edu

An Associate Professor in Broadcast Journalism, Dow Smith brings 25 years experience in both local television station management to the Newhouse School.

He is author of , The Power Producer, a Practical Guide for TV News Producers published by the Radio Television News Directors Association. The book is the only guide available for television news producers and is widely used in the industry for training news producer.

Smith developed the Broadcast Journalism department's first advanced producing course in 1998. He has also written a number of articles for the RTNDA's publication, Communicator, on newsroom management issues. As part of the RTNDF's diversity project, Smith does workshops on producing for women and minorities both at Syracuse University and around the country.

Prior to joining the Newhouse faculty n 1995, Smith served four years as President and General Manager for WVTM-TV, the NBC affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama. Before moving to WVTM, Smith was Vice President and General Manager of WTEN-TV (ABC) in Albany, NY. His first station management experience came in Washington, DC as Vice President and Station Manager of WJLA-TV (ABC) from 1982-1985. He originally joined WJLA in 1980 as Vice President of News and served as the Vice President, News for Allbritton Communications' five stations.

Before becoming a station general manager, Smith was News Director of WDIV-TV (NBC) in Detroit from 1985-1987. From 1976 to 1980 Smith served as news Director of WPLG-TV (ABC) in Miami.

Smith's broadcasting career began in 1969 after receiving a MA in broadcast Journalism from the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. The decision to enter broadcast journalism was based on his experience as a Navy Public Information Officer in Saigon in 1965 and 1966.

After graduate school, he moved through a series of news producer jobs at KOVR-TV Sacramento, KPIX-TV San Francisco, and WBBM-TV Chicago. He was also Assignments Manager for CBS owned KNXT-TV (now KCBS) in Los Angeles in 1975 and 1976.

Smith has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration (Marketing) from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.

As a news director, he received a number of awards including two duPont Columbia Awards, including WJLA's award for coverage of the 1982 Air Florida plane crash.

Expertise:

• Broadcast Journalism
• Broadcast News Producing and News Management
• History of Journalism
• U.S. Military and the News Media