Bob Mihalic proves to himself and his parents that he could make it as a TV sports reporter because of Ohio University and WOUB

Bob Mihalic’s job as the governmental affairs coordinator for the county of Greenville in South Carolina, is 20 years in the making. It’s a job that combines everything he learned at Ohio University and WOUB in a way that is perfect for him.

“When I graduated high school in Conway, Pennsylvania, I knew I wanted to be a sportscaster and journalist. But my parents thought that was risky, and that I needed to have a fall back,” said Mihalic. “So, I majored in telecommunications management with minors in economics and political science. To me it was the best of both worlds. I would still have access to media and the experience, but I was earning a degree that would help me if being a sportscaster didn’t work out.”

The telecommunications management degree allowed Mihalic to take business courses alongside media specific classes and get involved in the hands-on media experiences at WOUB and ACRN in the Radio and Television Building (RTV).

“I remember going on my tour of Ohio University and going to RTV,” said Mihalic. “On the third floor there was a hallway where you could see the WOUB radio studios through glass windows with students speaking into microphones. I applied to Ohio University two hours later. That’s exactly what I wanted. And I got involved at WOUB my second day on campus. WOUB was the seller. That was the way I was going to convince everyone I was legitimate, that I was going to be a sportscaster for a living.”

When Mihalic went to WOUB on his second day on campus, he was invited to come back up and work on a Sunday night AM radio program called Sports Phone.

“Of course, I came up on Sunday,” said Mihalic. “I think many of the other students were surprised that I showed up. But that was how I got started at WOUB.”

Mihalic worked on WOUB radio and TV. He anchored sports on WOUB TV’s nightly half-hour news program NewsWatch. The experience helped him land a part-time summer job working at a small AM radio station in Ambridge, PA.

“I went down to the station with a resumé tape and played it for them,” said Mihalic. “They couldn’t believe the stuff I got to do at WOUB. It got my foot in the door there.”

Mihalic’s first job out of college was at WPDE TV in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He was hired as a reporter and fill-in anchor in the sports department.

“After a couple of years, I moved to weekend sportscaster and then eventually to sports director. I worked there for seven years.”

After that, Mihalic was offered a job in Greenville at WYFF TV as the weekend sports anchor and reporter before deciding to leave the TV industry and move into the role he has now with Greenville County.

“My parents wanted me to have a backup plan,” said Mihalic with a laugh. “It took 20 years but I’m using the backup plan. My Ohio University telecommunications management degree is being utilized now.”

Mihalic says he’s grateful for all the experiences he had in TV sports and the ones he’s having now in Greenville County, and it all started at WOUB.

“The most important thing in media is that first job. At WOUB, you got to spend all that time at the station in front of a live mic on radio and in front of a live camera on TV. You end up so far ahead of everybody else and are able to get a great first job. The first job sets up everything in your career and working at WOUB gave me the ability to get that first job. WOUB was everything.”

About WOUB Public Media

As a member station of both NPR and PBS, WOUB Public Media is a trusted source of news, local content and educational resources that have proven to be worthy of the time, effort and support of our users. WOUB, an experiential-learning unit of the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University, is a non-profit, community-supported multimedia organization which provides online and broadcast services, along with non-broadcast educational services and student professional development. WOUB serves 55 counties throughout southeastern Ohio, western West Virginia and eastern Kentucky with its broadcast signals. WOUB Radio’s FM Network has transmitters in Athens, Chillicothe, Ironton, Zanesville and Cambridge, while WOUB AM serves the immediate Athens area. WOUB TV is made up of seven television channels (WOUB HD, WOUB Classic, WOUB World, WOUB Create, WOUB Ohio, WOUB Kids and WOUB Voicecorps Reading Service) which are broadcast from two transmitters.

Through its support of public service, teaching, research and administrative missions, along with its high-quality local content and programming, WOUB enriches, enhances and expands the lives and horizons of the people in the communities it serves, as well as Ohio University faculty, staff and students.