Tommy West Communication: Broadcast and Digital Journalism

Hello! I’m Tommy West, and I’m excited to build this website! My background is in Broadcast Journalism, with a focus on the production side! I’ve found my niche in this field especially in the camera side of live sporting events. As a result, I’ve gotten involved with a lot of classes, organizations, and projects focusing mainly on this!

But enough about this! Why did I choose to go into this field? Well, the answer is simple: I just didn’t like engineering! I started college as an electrical engineering major, and I was not good at what I did. Between coding and mathematics, the curriculum was just too much. So after remembering that my high school English teacher said I’d be good at journalism, I thought I’d bite the bullet and give it a try.

Given my background with engineering, it was a no-brainer that I’d focus more on the systems side of broadcasting. And ever since I recorded my first MSU Softball game, it’s been nothing but enjoyment for me. Whether I’m doing camera work, directing, or working a switcher, I feel comfortable with where I am. Truly the best part of my concentration is that I never stop learning! With the many positions and systems that go into a broadcast, the possibilities are endless for a learning mind!

And this learning has been from more than just college classes! I’ve found myself working for the Methodist Church as a Media Assistant! I’ve even recorded and directed High School games with the now-defunct Maxxsouth Sports, and even worked with many ESPN trucks moreover! I have truly gained knowledge from every possible facet that Starkville can offer, and it’s thanks to the knowledge I’ve used from the courses at Mississippi State.

But despite every bit of what I’ve just said about my enjoyment for the behind-the-scenes roles that I’ve fallen for, I believe that my favorite project that I’ve gotten to work on is the radio show that I helped host for Sports Announcing! It had a profound effect on my confidence with speaking, and I really have felt myself become more attuned to speaking in front of a camera! I even got to run the audio board while hosting the show, so I got experience with mixing as well!

On top of this show helping my speaking abilities, I also felt it change how I approached a broadcast as a director. It’s always easy to blame the on-air talent for messing up words or segments. But whenever you get put into the fire as a radio host, you quickly realize just how much can go wrong so quickly. No matter how much you prepare, broadcasts will always have issues. Whether it’s a switcher on the frits or a faulty graphics machine running on windows 2000, you just have to roll with the punches. And even if this means that you get embarrassed in the process, you just have to laugh it off. And if these mistakes are handled correctly, they can even become a highlight of the broadcast!

And as I’ve gained these experiences and gathered myself within the broadcasting sphere, I’ve quickly come to appreciate the photography side of journalism as well as video! Starting with the video side, I’ve grown to become very adept with video; Enough to even earn money off of it! I’ve worked with many ESPN trucks helping their video teams, recorded MSU and NCAA athletic events, and even recorded Mississippi high school football and basketball games! This has all brought me to know many of the people that would become my coworkers and lifelong friends!

And going along with photography, I’ve just recently grown in this sphere. After taking Photo Comm, I’ve realized just how much of a story a single photo can tell. And while I enjoy video for this reason, there’s just something so amazing about a good photo. It can put you in the shoes of a riot, show off the beauty of nature, or even just show how much fun someone has on vacation! The possibilities are as endless as the photographer makes them, and I have strived to become an adept photographer that can accomplish just this.

As for career plans, I’ve recently had a switch up in what I wish to do. I thought I’d continue with sports, but this has become somewhat of a sore spot for me. It will forever be my dream to become a sports director for the SEC Network, but I don’t see this as being a possibility right out of college. So instead, I’ve applied to work at many different news stations in Rogers, Arkansas as a production assistant. This is because I see the market as a much more viable market to earn a living from. And even if the market shifts, local news will always be needed to keep people educated on what’s happening in their communities! Also my girlfriend wants to go to law school at University of Arkansas, so that’s a plus as well as rogers is only 30 minutes away from their campus!

So, this is me. For better or worse, I am who I am! So, from this class, what do I hope to learn? This is simple: I hope to broaden my knowledge of Journalism even further than I already have! I feel as though I’ve become knowledgeable on how broadcasts are run, but I never consider the written side of a news station. Every news station has a written news sector, but I just haven’t dived into this sector. So with this in mind, I’m looking forward to learning everything I can from this class!

Email me at tew221@msstate.edu with any questions