Eli Wilson. Communication: Broadcast and Digital Journalism

My name is Eli Wilson. I am a senior Broadcast and Digital Journalism major. I am from a small town about 45 minutes north of Noxapater, Mississippi called Starkville Mississippi, maybe you’ve heard of it or maybe not. I never really knew I wanted to do broadcasting, but I slowly came to the realization that I am extremely passionate about sports, and I love to talk about them. Throughout high school I began to realize that talking about sports and being a nerd head for all things analytical was my forte. This is where my journey into broadcasting began.

I entered college knowing only that I wanted to be in sports in some way. I thought about coaching sports, but I didn’t play them so how would I ever coach them and I also debated on being a sports medicine major, becoming an athletic trainer. Turns out I am very bad at science and none sports math, AKA whenever math turns into letters. I have developed a passion for being able to provide accurate sports news to anyone who will listen, which I have found a way to make work with my major.

Mississippi State (State) has always been at the center of my family. I grew up going to every home football and basketball game and going to The Dude every weekend in the spring to watch Wes Rea Hunter Renfroe and Jake Mangum just to name a few. I also had an understanding that I was going to attend State it never really was a guessing game for me, and I’m not so sure my parents would have allowed me to go anywhere else even if I tried. State will always be in my DNA and I will always have a special place in my heart for this place I get to call home.

I chose Broadcasting Digital Journalism because I found it to be the easiest way for me to have an ‘in’. By that I mean a way into an industry and getting my foot in the door. I thought of all the majors I could use, the broadcasting and journalism one mixed allowed me to be very flexible in my job searching exiting college and it also was going to prepare me to be very versatile in the workforce, setting be apart from other job applicants.

One of my favorite things I have worked on or produced for a class is a package I did for Backpack Digital Journalism. I love the story it tells and how everything came together and talks about a hard topic that not a lot of news outlets will cover. That topic being food insecurity. The package covered food insecurity in Starkville, but the state as a whole as issues with this as well. I think the story really well spreads the awareness I wanted it too, while also allowing people to help their situations used Starkville Strong as a backbone to keep family in Starkville fed.

My favorite type of media would have to be podcast type video settings mostly. I love the way a podcast can bring a viewer in and allow them to feel like they are immersed in the environment that the people talking on the podcast are in. I hope to one day be able to replicate that with a podcast about sports, I even threw the idea out to my broadcasting capstone teacher about having a sports-based podcast for the campus to allow students just to listen in on a more casual setting.

I also really enjoy researching things and topics. As I said before I’m a big statistics and nerd guy about sports, so digging up old stats and bringing in new information for people is a really fun thing I enjoy doing. I also enjoy stumbling through archives and things to find niche and interesting information.

In this class I hope to expand my ability to not only write but allow myself to use different styles of writing. I think the multimedia part of the class will help me step out of my comfort zone and make me venture into something I wouldn’t normally just go do for fun or write about. I also want to build relationships with my classmates and grow from each other’s work allowing all of us to become better writers and content creators ourselves.

I have technically worked for a company writing before, just not paid by a company to write. Over the past two years I voluntarily covered college baseball specifically Mississippi State for College Baseball Central on Twitter(X) formally known as CWS247. I wrote stories and helped write stories and ideas, but I mainly helped with marketing and pushing content out for the major part of the baseball season. Sadly, I covered the two years State missed the tournament, and then missed hoover. (This is our comeback year, and this is here to prove me right or wrong).

My career plans are definitely not set in stone by any means, but I hope to go to graduate school at State first. I plan on applying for the Sports Administration graduate program at State and trying to get a GA position in the Athletic Department. My plan with that is to get a master’s degree so I can eventually work in an athletic department somewhere, as it is preferred to have a master’s degree to move up in the most prominent athletic departments around the country. I hope to eventually become a Sports Information Director in an athletic department somewhere.

If that doesn’t work out, I plan to try and start my own podcast and become a podcaster about sports, mainly covering the SEC. With that I would also have to have another job, which I would probably try to be a sports anchor at some local news station like WCBI in Columbus or WTVA in Tupelo. I also have considered trying to pursue a media managing job running social media for a company or organization of broadcasting doesn’t work out or pay enough at first. I have always loved twitter and as it is where the main sports news happens, it makes it a lot easier to get into that field without needing to be told how things work.

Email me at ew1159@msstate.edu with any questions