Career in news, marketing, PR and political communications began at WOUB

John Damschroder’s (BSC ’78) communications career has spanned a variety of positions in news, marketing and politics. And while he may be multifaceted, Damschroder says his success in every position he’s held comes back to his time working as a student at WOUB Public Media.

“WOUB gave me the confidence to see that I could hold my own with smart, ambitious high performing people,” said Damschroder. “And it also showed me the real secret of success is being willing to do the work.”

Damschroder grew up in Gibsonburg, Ohio near Toledo. In high school, he wrote sports stories for a small weekly paper and wanted to continue developing his journalism skills in college.

“I chose Ohio University because of WOUB,” said Damschroder. “None of the other schools I looked at had any student involvement outside of class. When I learned about Ohio University and how students were involved at the public station and that the station was instrumental to the College of Communication, I knew that’s where I wanted to go.”

Once arriving in Athens, Damschroder didn’t waste any time pursuing the hands-on experience he wanted to get at WOUB.

“I put my stuff in my dorm room on day one and then went straight to the WOUB newsroom to get signed up,” said Damschroder. “I got involved in the WOUB sports department. WOUB confirmed to me that I enjoyed the work, and I enjoyed the kinds of people who also enjoyed the work.”

Damschroder took his love for WOUB and what he was learning there into the classroom and even wrote a paper about the history of the station.

“The first English composition paper I wrote during my freshman year was about the history of WOUB,” said Damschroder. “I found that the early communication graduates at Ohio University with experience at WOUB rose very quickly to leadership in the industry.”

Because of the experience Damschroder gained at WOUB, he was able to secure a quarter-long internship at WRFD radio in Columbus where they let him be on the air.

“Because of my WOUB experience doing sports, they let me do a sportscast on the hour from noon to 6 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio as a college kid. All of that experience helped me get a job after graduation.”

Damschroder started his media career after graduation at WLIO TV in Lima, Ohio as the weekend sportscaster. During the week, he covered news and specialized in city and county government stories.

“The guy who had the job before me was an Ohio University graduate and friend of mine from WOUB. He helped me get the job,” said Damschroder. “And I paid that forward because the guy who took the job after I left was also a Bobcat who worked at WOUB. The shared connection of WOUB and Ohio University will open the door to you. It’s a strong network.”

Damschroder went on to work in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus as a television reporter before moving into marketing and publications and then later political communication. He’s now back in the news business but on the print side working for the Toledo Blade as an editorial writer and editor.

“WOUB was full of ambitious, driven people which established the culture of excellence that was expected to do well in this industry. I’m so glad I was a part of it.”

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