Some classes in college are like duplicates of high school classes. You can sit through them absent-mindedly, maybe even miss a few days, meander over the powerpoint slides on Blackboard the night before an exam, and yet still manage to pass with flying colors. Other classes in college, however, can cause more stress than even the most studious, natural-born geniuses can handle. Media Law 411 with Professor Tom Hodson is arguably one of the most challenging courses here at OU, at least for the Journalism majors. He’s tough, fair, and extremely knowledgeable in his field. How did he reach success, what’s his story?
Hodson has done way more than teach, and he has paved a remarkably extensive career path; one that likely resembles the same dreams that many students right now are shooting for. Ironically enough, Hodson started out right here at Ohio University–in James Hall to be specific. For him, it began as early as high school when he knew he wanted to pursue Journalism. For a while he had thought about being a pharmacist, but that didn’t last. Hodson was sports editor of his community’s local newspaper as well as editor of his high school newspaper. He admits that while he was always a good student, he was a bit of a troublemaker too. Somewhere in-between applying for college and working at the two newspapers his senior year, he also dealt with very strict parents. “In high-school I got in trouble for being argumentative, for being a ‘wise ass,’ and for talking too much,” said Hodson.
When Hodson came to OU as a freshman, the Scripps School of Journalism did not exist yet, and wouldn’t until the mid 80’s. So he entered in what was simply called the School of Journalism and was considered a print and broadcast major. During the late 1960’s, the Ohio University as we know it was not the same. Not only was there no big “HallOUween” party, but not much partying was going on at all. Rather than being known for its parties, OU was known for its political stance as a radical, liberal college. Students were constantly protesting the Vietnam War; quite different from the OU we all know and love today.
In fact, Hodson’s graduating class of 1970 was the class that didn’t officially graduate because the schools were closed after the Kent State killings. It wasn’t until recently, in 2010, that Ohio University held a commencement ceremony for the class that never got to experience graduation.
“Ambitious, driven, and political,” is what Hodson chose to describe himself as when he was a college student. When asked about what he did for fun, or for a social life, he laughed and said that “fun” today is not what it was back then. There wasn’t much time for a social life, for him at least. “Back then, I’d work 80-100 hours a week at The Post, and you went to class when you could fit it in.” However, Hodson describes all the work as “incredibly satisfying.” He joined The Post as a reporter sophomore year and eventually became Associate Editor. Hodson said that the staff actually changed The Post from Letterpress to Offset, and they used the first computers in 1969. “We took pride in the quality of our product,” said Hodson.
From there, Hodson went to graduate school at Ohio State University and earned his Law degree to become a better reporter. Upon graduation his career took off. He explains that it was fairly easy transitioning from college to his career, something many college graduates today worry about due to the struggling job market. Although there were more jobs available when he graduated than there are in today’s economy, he believes the advantage that journalism students today have is the wide variety of media jobs readily available. When asked what advice he would give to students today, he said, “Party less and work more.”
Hodson has ventured down many paths, from sportscasting, to political public relations, to trial judge, to teaching us college kids. Even though he could not pick a favorite, he said the highlight of his career was definitely when he worked on a Judicial Fellowship for the U.S. Supreme Court as Chief Justice of the United States. With as much as he has accomplished, Hodson said that his only true regret is that he “hasn’t been able to do more.”
