Howard Alumni Return for 'Men in the Media' Panel Discussion

Endustry Power Players hosted a panel discussion Friday evening in Drew Hall, which featured some of the entertainment industry's most successful men.

The panel, entitled Men in the Media, featured Jawn Murray, an entertainment and pop culture analyst, Leonard DeShield, Jr., the owner of the international media and marketing firm DeShield Enterprises, LLC, Andre Showell, a news reporter with BET Networks, and Jonathan Burns, an entertainment lawyer.

Two Howard alumni and former residents in Drew Hall--Sydney Margetson, the Vice President of Publicity for Atlantic Records, and Keith Alexander, a reporter and writer with The Washington Post--were also on the panel.

Alexander covers court and crime stories for The Washington Post, he described his experience with the Post as an exciting experience.

"I had a weekly column about the airline industry. I did it for about six years, and then Katrina happened, so I went to New Orleans to cover Katrina." Alexander said he was ready to cover different types of stories, and, as a result, he began covering crime stories.

At Howard, Alexander was a broadcast journalism major and an entertainment editor with The Hilltop. He said, "I started out as a reporter my freshman year, and then an editor my sophomore and junior year."

Working for The Hilltop encouraged Alexander to stay in print, and he added that print jobs were easier to find and paid more money when he was entering the job force.

A 1991 graduate of Howard, Alexander is happy to return to his alma mater to speak on the panel.

"Oh, its home. Whenever home calls I plan to be here as often as I can, and as long as my schedule permits," Alexander said. "Howard will always be a part of me, and whenever Howard calls, I will be here!"

Margetson is the only black male vice president of publicity that Atlantic Records has ever had. In describing his workday, Margetson said, "every day is a different day."

Margetson is responsible for getting Atlantic's artists exposure through a variety of platforms that include television, radio and print. He also works with a team who helps decide which media approaches are necessary for a particular artist.

In reflecting on his experience at Howard, Sydney confesses that although he was a finance major, his interest was in entertainment. During his tenure, his friends presented him with information that Def Jam Records was coming to campus to start a promotional club. He smiled as he reflected on that day, and the experience that he had with the club and added, "It was then that the clouds parted." He realized that he did not have to be an artist to work with a record label. Right after graduation from Howard, Margetson began working as an assistant with Atlantic, and he is now a vice president.

In reference to Howard and it success in preparing its students for the future, Margetson declares, "Howard prepared me for life." In regards to interns, Sydney claims that in comparison to other interns across the country, Howard interns have a drive like no other.

"I carry that Howard mentality in the business world, where you learn to set a certain goal and go after it," he said.

Endustry Power Players has been recognized as the premier entertainment organization on campus since its founding in 2003. Every year, hundreds of students apply to the organization in hopes to get one step closer to the entertainment industry. The organization's president, Zon Damour Dumas is a senior film major from New Orleans, Louisiana who said she has "a vested interest in black males in education."

Dumas also recognizes that there is a lack of black males in the industry, and therefore, this panel was important to her. She said she "wanted black males at Howard to see that there are people that look like them who are doing well in the industry."

Dumas encourages anyone who wants to learn more about and get involved with the entertainment industry to join Endustry Power Players. The organization's next event entitled, Women in the Media will be held this Wednesday, November 2nd at 7 p.m. in the Carnegie building.