Tyler Lance, a resident of Chagrin Falls is playing a huge role in the journalism and digital media program at Ashland University

2017 Apr 10

Tyler Lance, a resident of Chagrin Falls is playing a huge role in the journalism and digital media program at Ashland University. Lance, who is a double major in digital media journalism and sport communication, holds multiple positions and jobs within the campus radio station.

For the 2016-17 academic year, Lance is serving as program director for the radio station, which is 88.9 WRDL. With a primary listening radius of about 40 miles, WRDL is committed to bringing Ashland and surrounding counties its news, sports and information.

Lance said that being the program director leads to a wide set of responsibilities for the station.

"I monitor all of the on-air content, from music to talk shows, and am responsible for booking guests for the station and creating an on-air schedule for the student DJs," he said. He also monitors the DJs' progress and tries to help them develop as on-air personalities.

Lance also serves as host of an afternoon talk show on WRDL and he is one of the broadcasters for the sports broadcasts on WRDL. His radio segment, Afternoon's With Tyler, centers around bringing guests from around the university in for interviews, along with providing news and sports updates from around Ashland.

Lance described his experience working with the JDM program.

"First of all, it is a lot of fun. You are serious when you are on the air and the action is going on, but it is always fun to joke around with the rest of the crew during breaks along with before and after the broadcast," he said. "I wouldn't be involved with broadcasting if I didn't enjoy it. It is always fun when you get into the flow of the game with the other commentator on a sports broadcast and you're just going back and forth. It is the same with talk radio, I enjoy the back and forth between myself and the other hosts. Even solo broadcasts are a lot of fun."

When broadcasting an athletic event, he tries to use the days ahead of the game to get to know both of the teams immensely. He said the more information he finds out, the better off he will be on the broadcast.

"A great piece of advice I once received about broadcasting sports was, 'Be prepared with so much information that you could never run out.'" He says he tries to prepare with that in mind and he likes to know ahead of time what he is going to talk about so he can prepare himself accordingly.

One of his mentors, David McCoy, associate professor and department head of the journalism digital media program, had many kind words when describing Lance.

"I am so proud of him. Tyler is an undergraduate and he has gone beyond my expectations for our student sports broadcasters. Tyler has a bright professional career ahead of him. I have worked with numerous sports and news broadcasters in my career and I rate him in the top 10 from a collegiate perspective," he said. "He is a role model for our younger students who wish to broadcast Ashland University games for both WRDL and AUTV 20. We have partnered with Sports Time Ohio (the only media program in Ohio to do this cooperative venture) and the producers at STO have remarked that Tyler is as good as many of the young professionals that they have worked with and better than job applicants from broadcast media programs at larger universities."

Lance said he looked at many different schools when trying to decide where he wanted to continue his education. His number one priority with finding a school was finding a good program in his respected field. Sports were just a supporting part of his decision, rather than the main factor. The person who recommended Ashland to him did so because he knew of their good running program, which is how he ended up finding Ashland. He saw how incredible the Ashland running program was.

"I looked into it and also saw that there were a lot of opportunities in student media. It was a tough decision that took a long time to figure out, but talking to Trent Mack, who was the cross country coach at the time, really sold me on Ashland because he gave off a very welcoming presence and made me feel like I could be a big part of the team," he said.

Lance said that factor, combined with the ability to get hands-on experience in media as soon as his freshman year, were the key components of his decision. He thought Ashland would be a good fit for him from both a running and academic standpoint.

Lance said his parents, Ken and Lisa Lance, who played a big part in his success, live in Chagrin Falls. His sister, Lauren, who is a freshman in college, is a part of his life as well. He graduated from Kenston High School in May of 2014.

Lance said he plans on using his majors to gain experience for a sports media career. If that doesn't work out, he believes he will definitely be prepared to work in radio, TV or in a sport organization. Lance has many aspirations when it comes to his future career.

"I want to have a career I enjoy. There are certainly a lot of fields where you can make more money than broadcasting, but I wouldn't enjoy them as much. I would rather have a job I love that I make less money from than I job that I don't enjoy but make a lot of money in," he said. "I have a passion for sports and broadcasting is the most logical way for me to follow that passion and apply it to my career."

Ashland University, ranked in the top tier of colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report's National Universities category for 2017, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) deeply values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students. ###