In the US, the media holds the spotlight as one of the most important industries influencing American consumers. In 2026, this influence has become an example of reinvention under pressure as streaming platforms grow and change, and traditional broadcast revenue methods fizzle out. Generative AI is reshaping how content is created, translated, and distributed. For any college student seeking a career in journalism, television, or digital media, the question isn’t whether the industry will change but whether they can keep up with that change and find a career in the process. At High Point University in North Carolina, three of the country’s most experienced media executives have been teaching HPU students how to stay on track.
Byron Pitts, co-anchor of ABC News’ “Nightline” and HPU’s Journalist in Residence, is just one of these professionals teaching at HPU. In addition, students have access to advice from Theresa Patiri, senior vice president of production, business affairs, and global program partnerships for WE tv at AMC Networks and HPU’s Media Production and Sales Expert in Residence. Finally, Sellers Shy, the CBS Sports’ lead golf producer and HPU’s Network Television Producer in Residence, has also offered advice to media students.
Together, these professionals bring more than seven decades of industry experience to High Point University‘s Access to Innovators program. Their individual visits offer a cross-section of what careers in modern media actually require, with tidbits of advice like the following.
Byron Pitts: Resilience Is the Real Curriculum
Byron Pitts, a multiple Emmy Award-winning journalist named Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists in 2002, has served as HPU’s Journalist in Residence since 2018. During a campus visit titled “Resilience from the Frontlines,” Pitts sat down with Dr. Bobby Hayes, chair and professor of the Practice of Journalism at HPU, for a Q&A about how challenges in his personal life and career helped him build his capacity to report on some of the most difficult stories in American history, including 9/11.
Pitts reminded High Point University students that journalists have choices about how they respond to the facts, shaped by their feelings and beliefs. His approach involves seeking the truth, treating others with respect, and keeping personal opinions and biases out of decisions. When asked how he could endure witnessing tragedy after tragedy over a 50-year career, Pitts pointed to the helpers and first responders he has consistently found in those moments. He responded, “I say this as a person of faith: I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future. That’s what sustains me. In every bad situation I’ve been in, whether warzones, natural disasters, or manmade disasters, there are always good people around the edges, and so I look for that.”
Theresa Patiri: The Business Behind the Storytelling
Theresa Patiri has had more than 25 years in entertainment, as the executive-in-charge of more than 5,000 hours of TV and digital content at AMC Networks. Since joining the company in 2001, she has helped drive record-breaking growth and overseen hit unscripted series including “Bridezillas,” “Braxton Family Values,” and “Growing Up Hip Hop.” Her message to High Point University students emphasizes an asset that creative professionals sometimes undervalue: the operational and business infrastructure that enables storytelling.
In her session, she said, “I’m honored to be a part of HPU’s Access to Innovators Program and look forward to mentoring the next generation of storytellers and trailblazers as they develop their unique voices and perspectives while preparing to enter the workforce.” Her career offers HPU students a concrete example of pairing creative ambition with financial and operational discipline, which benefits students as budgets tighten in the job market.
Sellers Shy: Prepare So You Can Pivot
Seller Shy’s message to HPU students has centered on adaptability, a survival skill in live broadcasting and any fast-moving career. During his Nov. 6, 2025, Q&A in the Callicutt Life Skills Theater at HPU titled “Calm in the Spotlight: Adaptability in Broadcasting,” Shy told students that one habit was more important than others in success. That one habit is over-preparing to the point that improvisation is possible.
Shy stated, “The game plan doesn’t always go the way you planned. Expect the unexpected. What breeds confidence is your preparation. Work on the game or tournament well in advance, then you’re ready to pivot.” He is only the third lead golf producer in CBS Sports’ roughly 70-year history of golf coverage. He argued that the longevity he has been able to maintain stems from preparation being non-negotiable and a willingness to take on roles early in his career that felt beneath his long-term ambitions. Humility can be a part of this decision for students as they begin their lives in their chosen industry.
A Shared Core: Integrity and Craft
Despite network news, cable entertainment, and live sports differing significantly, the lessons Pitts, Patiri, and Shy bring to High Point University converge in a similar energy. For example, all three professionals emphasize that careers in media are built on integrity and craft. Pitts underscores the importance of truth-seeking and respect, while Patiri emphasizes the discipline that protects creative work, and Shy insists on the preparation that allows professionals to respond calmly, even when plans don’t work out.
For HPU students, watching executives from such different backgrounds arrive at similar principles can be inspiring. By working with these mentors, students can learn that the specific industry segment they go into matters less than the underlying professional habits. A journalist who has seen 49 deaths and two executions, a cable executive who has shepherded thousands of hours of programming through production, and a live-broadcast producer who has overseen decades of PGA Tour coverage all discuss preparation, composure, and an unwillingness to cut corners on the work itself as the most important traits to have in the current job market.
Real Coaching, Not Just Inspiration
At High Point University, students can use the Access to Innovators program to gain real-world mentorship from executives who don’t just give a speech and leave. For instance, Pitts has regularly taught introduction-to-reporting and interview classes at HPU’s Nido R. Qubein School of Communication. Additionally, he has watched students’ stories air on newscasts and provided specific feedback. Finally, during his November visit, Pitts shared lunch with sports media students and taught a sports reporting class, and, since joining the program in 2024, Patiri has been mentoring students on both the creative and business sides of media careers.
For students at High Point University considering careers in a reinventing industry, the combined mentorship of Pitts, Patiri, and Shy offers a unique advantage. Few undergraduates anywhere in the country can say they have been coached in person by the co-anchor of ABC’s “Nightline,” the senior vice president of production at a major cable network, and CBS Sports’ lead golf producer. When preparing to enter an unstable industry that requires significant growth, combining technical competence, personal integrity, and real mentorship can make all the difference. HPU is betting that a program built around those three ingredients can still produce the next generation of competent media professionals.
