with Joanne Carl, Geary Morrill, and Karl Kuhn
WBAL-TV 11 - Register Here!
3800 Hooper Avenue
Baltimore,
MD
21211
United States
From the north via Interstate 83:
- Take Cold Spring Lane East Exit (Exit 9A), and stay left onto Cold Spring Lane.
- At second light, turn right onto Falls Road (MD 25).
- At second light, turn right onto West 41st St.
- As soon as you cross the bridge, SLOW DOWN.
- Turn right onto Girard Avenue (right before "Historic Woodberry" sign)
- Make immediate right onto Hooper Avenue.
- Stay straight and follow sign to WBAL-TV parking lot.
From downtown via Interstate 83 (Jones Falls Expressway):
- Take MD-25 North (Falls Road) Exit, Exit 8A
- After exit ramp, turn slight right to stay on Falls Road.
- At third traffic light, make left onto West 41st Street.
- As soon as you cross the bridge, SLOW DOWN.
- Turn right onto Girard Avenue (right before "Historic Woodberry" sign)
- Make immediate right onto Hooper Avenue.
- Stay straight and follow sign to WBAL-TV parking lot.
What: Media Forward: Baltimore
When: November 18, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Where: WBAL-TV 11 - Register Here!
Address: 3800 Hooper Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21211 United States
Sponsors: Televisa Univision , GatesAir , WideOrbit , SCMS Inc , and Blackmagic Design
SMPTE’s Media Forward comes to Baltimore - WBAL! Kickstart Your Media Technology Career! Discover the latest technologies!
Join us for a special Media Forward program at WBAL, Baltimore, designed to introduce students to careers in broadcast media through tours of its AM, FM, and TV broadcast operations, alumni success stories, live interactive SBE study support for CRO/CTO certifications (part of the WKHS training curriculum), and advice on education, mentorship, and professional opportunities.
Cameo presentations will also be shared by industry stalwarts Jonathan Solomon, Kerry Plackmeyer, Perry Priestley, David Van Dyke, Chris Singleton, Bob Eburg, Brian Szewczyk, Kevin Trueblood, Jim Hammond, Camri McKee, and Towson University EMF department leadership.
Our participants include:
- Juniors and seniors from WKHS (Kent County High School) broadcast training program
- Media students from Montgomery College and Towson University
- Educators, mentors, engineers, and media professionals from SMPTE and SBE
Media Forward is a SMPTE and SBE DC initiative that connects high school and college students with broadcast and media professionals through tours, presentations, and mentorship — helping inspire the next generation of engineers, technologists, and storytellers.
The Kent County High School broadcast student cohort will travel by bus and share stories and advice with their community college and four-year university companions.
WKHS is a class B1 full power FM station in the Baltimore DMA, with all facets operated by students and community volunteers. WKHS is one of the few high power HS stations in the country with great success rate of employment to dozens still in the industry, including our own DC market engineer Fred Willard of Televisa/Univision. The station puts solid grade B signal into Baltimore city and has an omnidirectional reception radius of 60 miles.
This Media Forward Town Hall is for students interested in any facet of media technology – audio, video, streaming, podcasting, broadcast, editing, and promotion.
SMPTE is the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, the leading worldwide media technology membership organization. Setting technical standards and offering exemplary training.
For those attending virtually a Microsoft Teams link is provided after registration for the lecture portion of the event, and for the remote speakers that will be presenting to share their screen. TEAMS will not be able to cover the tour portion of the meeting, although teams will be up and running the entire meeting.
About Media Forward:
Media Forward is an initiative of the late Peter Wharton, that continues in his honor, building careers in media technologies and associated fields, providing students with technical knowledge and an understanding of what it takes to succeed in the technical and production areas of the media industry today. Peter was a mentor to many of us in the DC media market.
About SBE:
The Society of Broadcast Engineers--is a technical organization representing more than 4,000 members in the U.S and overseas, and offering certification, mentorship, education, and professional networking. Our combined members run television networks and stations, sports facilities, film and recording studios, production houses as well as cloud services, technology companies and a host of other media technology enterprises.
We encourage local DC and Baltimore SBE and SMPTE members to come support and get to know the next generation of media technology professionals. This is an in-person event that includes lectures and a tour of the WBAL (AM/FM) radio and TV broadcast facilities.
Parking instructions at WBAL Baltimore (television hill): Once through the Hooper Avenue security gate, proceed to park in the lot adjacent the entrance. Allow enough time to show ID and sign in the electronic name tag generation station. We have a lot to cover starting at 9:45, so recommend arriving no later than 9:25 am.
Thanks for the generosity of WBAL and Hearst broadcasting for providing the facility, staff, and time to give tours of their great facility.
This is a no charge event to participants, and lunch is provided by the generosity of our excellent sponsors.