Russ Jackson has had a varied media career, working in news and sports radio, both on the air and behind the scenes. He is currently doing freelance work for IMG and Westwood One broadcasts of NFL and college football games. And he credits all of it to his start at WOUB.
“I grew up in Cincinnati and I wanted to go into media from an early age. I had a gift for talking and always wanted to be behind the mic,” said Jackson. “My dad advertised on WLW radio all the time and I knew a lot about the station. I was interested in sports media. So, when it was time to look for a college, one of my high school counselors told me about the reputation of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University and that was it.”
In addition to the fact that the journalism school was one of the best in the nation, Jackson also picked Ohio University because of the opportunities to gain hands-on experience at places like WOUB.
“WOUB made another great reason to pick Ohio University,” said Jackson. “Being able to get on-air experience from early on in your college career is so important. You didn’t get to do that at other schools. WOUB played a huge role in why I picked Ohio University.”
Jackson worked at ACRN and WOUB during his time on campus. He worked for the WOUB Sports Department doing radio and television, and also hosted the Night Shift music program on the radio.
After Jackson graduated in 1989, he got a job working at a radio station in Lima, Ohio. He was the news and sports director at the station. Then, Jackson moved to sports radio in Cincinnati working for stations that carried Cincinnati Bengals football games and Cincinnati Reds baseball games before moving on to work for IMG and Westwood One.
“Getting the hands-on experience in the studios with microphones as early as we did at Ohio University is such a big deal,” said Jackson. “We got to do things they did in the real world and having the stuff to show to potential employers was amazing. Thanks to what I had done on the air at WOUB, I was able to get a job literally two weeks after graduation.”
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