Maddison Raynor

By Alana Zeilander '23

Maddison Raynor, who graduated in 2019, chose to go to UMass Amherst because of its large undergraduate population but close-knit Journalism Department. Raynor has a love for film and broadcast and pinpointed this after taking Greeley Kyle’s broadcast classes. “He teaches you a lot about life lessons, and those aspects of the class were what prepared me most for entering the workforce," Raynor said.

Raynor learned about the importance of internships from recently retired Professor BJ Roche. Her first internship was at the Daily Hampshire Gazette, where she felt they gave her a lot of responsibility. For example, while working in the art department, Raynor had the opportunity to interview James McCartney and Julie McNiven from Mad Men and Supernatural. “As a rising sophomore, it was a good stepping-stone for an internship, and it offered a great learning curve,” she said. The following summer, she interned at the Maine radio station, HOT 104.7, where she concentrated on event planning and social media. 

After this, she landed her dream internship at NEWS CENTER Maine, a position she believes she could not have gotten without her previous internship experience as well as the curriculum she learned in Kyle's class. As an intern, she shadowed reporters, worked on digital desks and cut VOSOTs. “I did anything and everything I could do to help,” Raynor said. She quickly realized she preferred producing more than reporting. Then in the fall of her senior year, they re-signed her as a news intern where she hosted a weekly segment of live stories, the “Senior-itis Stories,” which she created during her time there. These stories touched on seniors dealing with burnout, finding a job after graduation and self-care.

Raynor loves producing and content creation and says her favorite aspect of producing is building out local stories and pairing them with national news to create a big picture. She had established a work ethic which led to a full-time job at NEWS CENTER Maine after graduation. She recalls later finding out that an employee in the production department told the news director that he needed to hire her. "It is important to talk to everyone in the newsroom. The trash guy, the maintenance workers, IT, engineering, sales... because you never know who is going to give you a recommendation," Raynor said.

Editor's Note: Raynor has since left NEWS CENTER Maine, she is now with Spectrum News Maine as a digital producer for its news bureau.

This profile was written as a part of the 2021 Alumni Spotlight Series by students in the Writing for Public Relations course.

Raynor is now a marketing and operations lead at Jessie Ann Design and an engagement specialist for Mazda at VML.