James Humber. Communication: Broadcast and Digital Journalism

My name is James Humber, and I am currently majoring in Communication at Mississippi State University with a concentration in Broadcast & Digital Journalism. I grew up in Clarksdale, MS, and I’ve always been a fan of MSU. I’ve been living in Starkville for over five years now. I took multiple long breaks from my college education and changed my major multiple times, but I came back to school at the beginning of last year to finish my broadcasting degree. I’m now set to graduate in May, and I’m very excited about it.

I chose to pursue broadcasting for a few reasons. I’ve always been passionate about TV and film. The stories this medium of art can produce have helped me a lot in life, providing me with motivation, escapism, cautionary tales, themes that I think deeply about, and much more. I’d love to be part of those productions, helping to provide people with the same kind of meaningful entertainment that inspired me. I’ve also always been interested in writing my own stories someday, but I have little experience with writing fiction.

I am personally more interested in being part of the production side of those projects. Editing for scripted TV and film is something I’m interested in. There are many instances where I’ll see an otherwise good project get dragged down by poorly paced action or dialogue, and I think to myself, “I think I know a way they could do this better.” Being in that position and being able to make those kinds of decisions about a project I’m passionate about is something I would love.

Another reason I’m interested in broadcasting is my dad. For a good few years he would set up the audio for our varsity football games at my highschool. I remember he’d have this big audio interface sitting on the kitchen counter the day of a game, plugging in and switching out all these weird cords whose purpose I wasn’t aware of yet. He always seemed so interested in it, and it made me want to learn more about it. He also loves filming with his drone, but I’m not allowed to touch that.

 

I think my favorite thing about the concentration I’ve chosen is the practical nature in which we learn information and skills. I remember really enjoying going out with my camera and setting up shots for Photographic Communication. I was able to hone my skills and get real life experience in a fun, rewarding way. I feel the same way about my TV Production courses. Going out to an event, filming B-roll, conducting interviews, writing a script, and editing the footage was certainly stressful, but it felt so much more rewarding than sitting through a lecture on all that stuff and getting quizzed on it the next class. 

One of my favorite projects I’ve done for class is a news package I did for Open Mic Night at Dave’s Dark Horse Tavern. I got a lot of great footage of some really talented singers and managed to get a lot of good B-roll of the crowd. I interviewed some lovely people, who I’ve actually grown to become close friends with since. That’s another thing I like about this concentration. Its practical nature provides you with opportunities to make connections in places you might not have considered.

Between writing, photography, and video, all of which I have experience with now, I think video is my favorite in practice. I’ve had the most practice with it, and I think it’s my strongsuit out of the skills I’ve developed in college. I also have a newfound admiration for photography, which is really annoying for my friends when they just want me to take the picture already. However, I honestly think writing is the skill I respect the most. A movie or episode of TV can look, sound, and be edited perfectly, but if the story and characters are just badly written, then all that effort is wasted on a project audiences aren’t likely to respond to positively. 

About Me: https://youtu.be/RTlLSfYP3Ws

For this class specifically, I’m interested in learning more about website design. I remember working with and learning about Dreamweaver in Digital Communication, and I’m guessing our activities won’t be too dissimilar here. I’ve also used Wix a couple of times since then in other classes, but not much. The formatting of visual elements on a web page is something I think would be very useful to learn for myself. I remember mostly following along with the video tutorials for Dreamweaver in Digital Communication, so I want to push myself in this class to try to fully memorize the skills we learn so I can do it on my own.

My career plans for the future aren’t concrete yet, but I do have some ideas of what I want to do fresh out of college. I’d love to start by interning at a nearby news station. I currently work at the University Television Center, where I often help with productions of news shows. I often run a teleprompter and roll tapes for the weekly agricultural news show, Farmweek. I think news productions are a great way to get hands-on experience while pushing yourself. I recently visited the WCBI news station in Columbus and watched them do a live show, and it made me more excited to work in an environment like that. I’m planning on attending every event the Career Center puts on to try to make some connections to possibly get a position like the ones I’ve mentioned after I graduate.

Email me at jfh231@msstate.edu with any questions