 A Knack for News Story by Kristin Hall Photos by Danny Grigsby |
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| The first thing that jumps out about Holly Thompson is her great laugh. It's a loud, unconstrained laugh, which for some reason makes you giggle. Holly, a jack-of-all-trades in broadcast journalism, anchors in the morning for the local Channel 4 news station WSMV, so hearing her big, loose laugh is not inappropriate, but is unexpected at first. Maybe it's not expected because Thompson, an MTSU alumna, has proven herself as a hard-working professional. She started at WSMV almost six years ago at the bottom and tried practically every job in the newsroom. "When I first started, I was doing what is traditionally called a one-man band," Thompson says. As a one-woman band, Thompson reported her own stories, set up the camera, taped herself and edited the story. "You have to set up the camera, and then you get back to the station and find out that you've cut your head off," she says, laughing again. Since that point, she's tried practically every job in the newsroom: producing, editing, shooting, writing, reporting and even weather forecasting at a CBS station in the tri-cities of Johnson City, Bristol and Kingsport. Experiencing so many jobs firsthand has helped her understand her co-workers' responsibilities better and helps her work better with others. Lisa Spencer, one of WSMV's weathercasters and an Emmy-nominated reporter, used to work with Thompson in the morning but since moved to nights. "No matter what part of the building you work in, whether it's a person in the production crew or a photographer or a salesperson, she really reaches out," Spencer says of Thompson. Still, she likes anchoring and reporting the best because that's where she gets to deal with the public most often. "That's really where my heart is. That's where the real people aspect is," Thompson says. The chance to work with the public and her boyfriend at MTSU were the two main reasons Holly decided to study broadcasting. Her college sweetheart, Lee - now husband - studied broadcasting at MTSU and convinced Thompson to switch form her first major, accounting. "I really enjoyed math, but it wasn't for me," Thompson says. "I want to be out there in the middle of everything, knowing what's going on and talking to folks." Thompson is the type of person who can use the word "folks" in casual conversation without sounding like a Denny's waitress, and in the same breath spring the word "awesome" on you to describe the broadcast industry. "It's very deadline-oriented in that it can be extremely hectic and very stressful. But it's an awesome business," she says. "The one thing you'll notice about Holly is she is an extremely hard worker," Spencer says. "She's here early, and she stays late." Thompson's day starts at 2 a.m., when she has to get up in order to be at the station by 3:45 a.m. She prepares for the 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. show by reviewing the stories, copy editing and adjusting the wording of her script to suit her style. An admirer of Today Show anchor Katie Couric, Thompson tries to incorporate a friendly personality and professionalism into her shows. "I'm not one of those anchors that is just a real stiff person, and that's what is wonderful about a morning show because there is a lot of time to show personality, whereas you can't really in the evening shows," she says. As a result, Thompson receives incredible feedback from viewers in the form of, as she described it, "a gajillion e-mails." "You really do become family to people because they wake up to you. You're in their living room every day," she says. After the morning show, she spends the next three hours voicing radio updates and Today Show cut-in updates every half hour. As the coordinating producer for the morning show, she has to plan and advance stories for the next day. Thompson anchors for the noon news segment and More at Midday, which airs at 12:30 p.m. "That has a lot of guest segments, so you're trying to familiarize yourself with the topics," she says. "At the same time, you're trying to make the noon news as fresh as it can be." Besides all the responsibilities at work, Thompson just became a first-time mother to a baby boy named Joshua, now five months old. "How has this changed my life?" Thompson jokes. "I guess a better question is how has this not changed my life." She took three months off work to care for Joshua after his birth and admits that her schedule makes it harder on her and her husband. "I have to go to bed early and someone has to watch the little pumpkin," she says. Thompson also comes back to MTSU to talk to broadcast classes, encouraging students to get an internship before graduating. "That's the only way to get out there and get a feel for what it is you're going to do," Thompson says. As someone who worked her way to the top, Thompson sees a lot of new college graduates with misconceptions about the broadcast industry. "They think they're going to start off huge, prime time, with a huge paycheck, and it will never, never happen that way," she says. There are good reasons Thompson made it as a broadcaster, mom and wife. She's down-to-earth enough to use the word "awesome" repeatedly without becoming conscientious. "She always goes the extra mile. She wants the best for the morning shows and she has a lot of initiative," Spencer says. This is why it doesn't come as a shock to hear how Thompson advises students of broadcasting. "You've really got to work your tail off, but it will pay off," she says. |
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This article has been reproduced with permission. The original story was printed in the March 5, 2003 issue of Sidelines .Photos by Danny Grigsby. |