3/30/12

Some students are a pleasure to write recommendations for-- Rodney Harris is just such a student. I whole-heartedly recommend him for an internship with WWJ TV. His passion for journalism and broadcasting make him an excellent candidate. I have the privilege of working with Rodney through WSDP, the student radio station for the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools. Rodney was our Program/Web Director, the top student management position on our staff. He joined the 88.1FM staff as a Sophomore but my interactions with him began during his Freshman year. He had started his own internet TV station as a middle school student. The News 14 Zone was receiving mentions on a broadcasting buzz board. When I noticed that the young man behind it was a Plymouth-Canton student, I began emailing him to recruit him for our staff. He decided to hold off on joining the radio staff because he wanted to make sure he was on top of his school work. When he joined the staff as a sophomore, I soon learned that we had found an excellent new addition. He gained experience as a production assistant, on-air host, web designer, interview host, news anchor and reporter. As a junior, he was appointed to the role of Assistant News Director and Web Director. Because of the responsibilities of his directorships, he was no longer required to do work in our news department. However, because of his passion for news, he continued to report and anchor our newscast. He even created a couple news reports for our website when the school was closed due to a scare over the H1N1 Virus. He went to school board press conferences and filed online video reports. Im also impressed by Rodneys commitment to networking. His contacts have led to many opportunities to job shadow professional broadcasters from Detroit to Traverse City. Rodney spends large portions of his summer vacation building these contacts and learning from their expertise. While many students see the summer as a time to get away from school, Rodney is the opposite. He sees it as a chance to develop his future career. We had Daniel Anstandig speak to our students. Daniel is one of the leading radio consultants in the world. Rodney made a point to speak with him after his talk. Weeks

later, Daniel mentioned Rodney and his TV website in an interview he did with some broadcast media. His work on The News 14 Zone has also drawn the attention of local and national media. He was featured in a report on the CBS Evening News and, through his contacts with their reporter, was able to get an opportunity to meet one of his heroes, Katie Couric. Rodney also took seriously his responsibility to develop opportunities for other students. We brought a student with autism onto our staff. Rodney was there talking Josh up and encouraging the other students to give him a chance. After Josh joined our staff, Rodney took time to train him and work directly with him to ease him into his new responsibilities. Josh looks forward to being a meteorologist and because of Rodneys commitment and dedication; he is getting an opportunity to develop those skills as a student. His work is also award winning. He received high honors from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation and the Michigan Association of Educational Broadcasters. This includes a Gold Mic Award from the MAEB for his Newscast and Talk Show. He also has a strong understanding of the Federal Communications Commission regulations. He assisted the station by preparing a few of our Quarterly Issues and Program Reports. Rodney Harris will make a great addition to the WWJ-TV staff. His passion for journalism and broadcasting set him apart. Ive found him to be dedicated, hard working, and mature beyond his years. It is an honor to recommend him for this internship. I can be reached at 734-416-7732, or by email at bill.keith@pccsmail.net, if you have any questions. Sincerely,

Bill Keith Station Manager WSDP