Filed under: Journalism
Life has a funny way of leading you through life with unexpected happenings. In December of 2008 Dave Madsen lost his job of twenty-nine years at KTIV when his higher-ups decided his position was no longer essential. For Madsen and his family it meant a hard time ahead. After having his job loss published in the newspaper and by knowing many people in Sioux City, it was only a matter of time until he got a phone call about a job.
One of Madsen’s good friends just happened to be the President of Morningside College. Reading his story in the paper, he gave Madsen a call and wanted to meet and talk sometime. With a degree in Journalism and working on his Masters Degree, along with over thirty years of experience in media and broadcasting, Madsen immediately got a job as the Head of the Mass Communications department at Morningside. During the six months between getting the job and actually being able to start, Madsen worked in public relations.
Madsen has taken a long path to get where he is today. He grew up in Omaha and attended Omaha North High School. After that he attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he majored in Journalism and Chemistry. Needing money he worked as a weekend reporter/photographer at KETV in Omaha, followed by an internship in Kearney, Nebraska. He first got to Sioux City and started working at KMEG where he wrote commercials. After a few years he moved to KTIV as a Studio Manager. After working there for a period of time, Madsen applied for and got the Production Manager job, where he stayed for the remainder of his time at KTIV.
In the article published about Madsen being let go he was discribed at the “heart and soul” of the studio. Madsen said he had “no bad blood with the local people at KTIV.” Madsen doesn’t plan on ever going back to work in TV because he has made a good transition and enjoys teaching at Morningside. He believes moving to Morningside was an opportunity, and said, ” I can see myself spending time here now, I can retire here.”
Today Madsen enjoys being the Head of the Mass Communications Department, as well as teaching his Media Management Passport classes. He hopes to expand upon the radio station KMSC Fusion 93 as well as the television station MCTV. He would like a 5 o’ clock news cast with weekly reports. The problem is getting students together to form this news cast and getting them on the air.
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