Purple socks, ribbon snips and a crowd of media hopefuls kicked off the reopening of two of TCU’s most iconic student spaces: the KTCU radio station and the Roxo advertising suite. Students, faculty and alumni gathered in Moudy South to celebrate the upgrades, which blend tradition with innovation and prepare students for careers in media and marketing.
Broadcast legend Bob Schieffer, a TCU alumnus and longtime supporter of campus journalism, stood in front of the newly renovated KTCU studio wearing a grin, and yes, purple socks.
“I said if you guys win, I’ll wear purple socks forever,” Schieffer said, referencing a past bet with students when TCU was in the Rose Bowl. “I didn’t think they were going to win. They won. I’m a man of my word.”
Schieffer didn’t just bring his quips. He shared advice rooted in decades of experience.
“One of the most important things you do on the radio is get off on time,” he said. “You have to figure out how to write something that fits the place you have where that’s going to be broadcast. And remember — it’s your job to tell the truth.”
He also recalled working 44 hours a week at a local radio station while attending TCU.
“Somebody asked me how I managed school with that schedule,” he said. “I said, ‘I’ll have to show you my grades sometime. They truly reflected that.’”
On graduation day, Schieffer didn’t know if he had passed until he received his diploma.
“I got out of there as quickly as possible,” he said, laughing. “I was worried they might try to take it away from me.”
Inside the Roxo suite on Friday, donor and friend of Schieffer Roy Eaton emphasized the importance of client-focused learning.
“It’s important to know what the client wants,” Eaton said. “And with Roxo, they’re finding that out. When they go to work out of college at a bigger agency, they’ll have this background knowledge.”
Eaton and his wife funded the renovation and helped design the space to mirror professional agency environments. Students now collaborate around shared workstations and breakout areas.
“A group of seven or eight kids sitting around and talking — that’s very important for getting everybody’s opinion,” Eaton said. “You’ll come out with a much better product and a much more balanced product.”
Schieffer and Eaton both stressed the importance of foundational skills: writing to time, verifying sources and understanding audience needs.
“There are two things in communications,” Schieffer said. “There’s journalism and there’s activism. You can’t really do both.”
The renovated KTCU and Roxo suites invite students to take creative risks, build campaigns and tell stories that matter.
“I’m proud to be here,” Schieffer said. “The thing to do when you’re in college is learn how people do what it is that you aspire to do. I learned that from my Air Force colonel. Once you do that, then you can ad-lib off it.”
