ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Tom Walters

At A Blog Converged, we're excited to launch a new segment as a companion to our very popular Intern Spotlight, called Alumni Spotlight! Mr. Walters, you're in the leadoff spot!
 

Tom Walters graduated from Ashland College in 1985, and has worked as a news photojournalist for over 25 years. Originally from Syracuse, NY, he started at the ABC station (where he interned as part of an Ashland College internship), and worked his way up to Chief Photographer. In 1993, Tom moved to Tampa, Florida to work at the CBS station. Then, in 1995 it was off to Indianapolis, where he worked at WRTV, the ABC affiliate for four years. Tom moved back to Tampa, and returned to WTSP for another three years, before heading back home, to help start up News 10 Now (now YNN), a 24 hour local news station, owned by Time Warner. Tom has been the Senior Photojournalist at YNN Syracuse for the last 8 years. Part of his job is to help in the training of all the new One Man Bands or MMJ’s that work at the station.

Name:  Tom Walters

Degree Received upon graduation: Radio/TV Production

Graduation Year: 1985

Current Job: Senior Photojournalist, YNN Syracuse

Brief description of your duties: Shoot and edit daily news and sports stories, and statewide franchise pieces, run microwave/satellite truck, and train all VJ’s and photogs in use of their cameras.

How did AU and the broadcast/journalism department help you receive this job?  My degree at Ashland was instrumental in getting me into a career in television news. Ashland’s influence reached to WIXT, where they helped me to get my foot in the door with a summer long internship. The people at WIXT were impressed with my knowledge of TV production, and it was the multitude of opportunities at Ashland’s radio and television stations that gave me the skills and confidence, which I applied at the station.

What is your favorite aspect of the job? The best aspect of the job is that every day brings something new, and no day is ever boring. This job has allowed me access to people and places I would normally never get to meet or see. One day, you could be in the same room with the President of the United States, while the very next day, you could find yourself shooting inside of a C-130 transport plane. For someone who enjoys professional sports, I have been lucky enough to be in the middle of a Super Bowl, multiple NBA playoffs, Major League baseball games, college bowls and I even got a chance to shoot in a pace car on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with golfer Greg Norman as my personal driver. All of these things were possible because of Ashland University.

We look forward to featuring as many of our talented AU media alums as we can in the coming days! Given JDM's bloodlines and rich history from the R/TV days, we should complete this project in the year 2050!