Jackson Kalmar and Nataliya Oliynyk struggled for air time at DITV, the University of Iowa student-run television network, so they had a wake-up call of sorts and formed their own lifestyle show.
Wake Up Iowa City is in its third month of production and the results are better than either University of Iowa senior expected. Found on YouTube, the mission of the show is to promote local events that will bring people to Iowa City. It even includes a sports segment by Hawkeye tight end Johnny Pascuzzi.
“I started this to have resume clips for employers, now it is getting bigger and we’re getting more sponsorships,” said Oliynyk, a journalism and mass communication major from Norridge, Illinois.
“We’re on an uphill,” said Kalmar, an enterprise leadership major from Elk Grove Village, Illinois. “Everybody saw a new show and they watched it; people tell us they are waiting for the next episode. There are a lot of people watching.”
The target audience is University of Iowa students and younger residents of Iowa City. Highlighted subject matter includes hidden gems in Iowa City, like local entrepreneurs, small mom and pop shops, and nonprofits.
Like Oliynyk, Kalmar started his academic career as a journalism major, but after enrolling in business classes, he was overcome by a “This is fun” feeling and switched majors. His experience in business classes and the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (Iowa JPEC) startup incubator assisted in spring boarding the popularity of Wake Up Iowa City.
“Iowa JPEC has helped with business plans and giving us access to that,” Kalmar said. “It gave me tools to bring (Wake Up Iowa City) to fruition and helped us answer questions like, who do I contact, where are we going to post this, how are we going to market it?”
Kalmar and Oliynyk first met in a journalism class and they eventually hosted a show on KRUI. But radio wasn’t their desired destination. Oliynyk has a job with KCRG, an ABC television affiliate in Cedar Rapids, and was intrigued when that station started a lifestyle show.
“I was like, OK, this is what we want to do,” Oliynyk said. “We are going to emulate this and try to make it our own.”
The first episode of Wake Up Iowa City aired on Valentine’s Day and included advice on local dining options — including information on a Cookie Crawl, followed by date choices like a couples Pilates class. The 10-minute shows run weekly. On March 27, Wake Up Iowa City hosted its first in-studio interview, with Chicago rapper TheZeffsterr (this show went nearly 18 minutes).
Kalmar and Oliynyk hope to continue Wake Up Iowa City, even though Oliynyk graduates in May and Kalmar has a semester remaining.
“I don’t know where I’m going yet (after graduation), so there is a possibility I stay at KCRG and work there and continue with Jackson,” Oliynyk said. “I don’t think this is an end game, I do want to pursue this. We met with a consultant at the (University of Iowa) Magid Center For Writing and he told us if we genuinely want to pursue it, then keep going, especially since we live near each other in Chicago, it wouldn’t be crazy to meet up.”
“We have been offered decent opportunities from our work, so it has been fun,” Kalmar said.
To watch episodes of Wake Up Iowa City, click HERE.