SCAN highlights School of Communications alumni who recently landed jobs in their field. Todd Hicks (BA, Broadcast Journalism, 2005) works as an anchor/executive producer for WSAW-TV in Wausau, Wisc.



SCAN: How did you land your job?
Todd Hicks: My first job following graduation was at KSAX Eyewitness News in Minnesota. I was under a one-year contract and knew I was ready to move on following my 12 months. I had heard through a friend WSAW was looking for a reporter and sent my tape. Within two weeks, I had a new position in a new city.

SCAN: What’s the best way to prepare for an interview?
TH: There are so many applicants going after so few jobs, prospective employers want to know you’ve done your homework. Do research on the company or station and look the part. If you are seeking a reporter position, you’d better look like a reporter. News directors first and foremost want to see that you can write. Practice your writing before you go. While it’s always helpful to be attractive, looks will only get you so far. Nobody wants to work with a diva, if you can’t write, you will not be around for very long.

SCAN: Any advice for those looking for a job?
TH: The news business is extremely competitive; you have to be diligent and assertive. Be prepared to be flexible where you will live and the position you accept.

SCAN: What classes taught you the most about your chosen industry?
TH: Television producing and reporting taught by Professor Eileen Solomon. Solomon laid out the reality of the news business from day one. She told the class, if you want to be in this business because you want to be on TV, this is not the business for you. It is not about lights, make-up and hair. It’s about journalism and providing accurate and factual information to hundreds of thousands of people watching you everyday.

SCAN: Best on-the-job experience so far?
TH: Handling yourself when things go wrong, (and they will!). One day last August, the power went out at the station around 3 a.m. The power company came by and told us there had been a terrible accident on a nearby street. While we didn’t have any power, we sent out a photographer and found the accident. A driver had come over the top of a hill, hit a deer and crashed into two power poles across the street from a power sub-station. The accident blew out power to thousands of homes in Wausau.

Power to the station didn’t come back on until 5:30 a.m., which was thirty minutes into our show. My co-anchor and I went on, without Teleprompters and scripts. We finished the last hour and a half of the show with scripts that were from the garbage from the show the night before (talk about pressure!). After the show, I continued to do live shots from the scene throughout the afternoon. Needless to say, by the time I got home I was exhausted.

My work didn’t go un-recognized; I was awarded "Best Spot News" by the Associated Press for the entire state of Wisconsin for 2007.



SCAN: Worst on-the-job experience so far?
TH: Contacting a family after a loved one has died and asking them to go on camera. While some say the media can be vultures when it comes to these types of stories, I think for many families it’s a way of moving on and giving them some closure. However you look at it, it’s never easy.

SCAN: Company you’d love to work for?
TH: In the television market, the majority of anchor and reporters aspire to get to a particular city or television market, rather than working for a particular company.

I would love to get back to my home state of Washington or Oregon. I also would like to come back to the St. Louis television market. I interned for a year at KTVI Fox 2 News, and they’re an excellent station with lots of extremely talented people.

SCAN: Person you most admire in your field?
TH: ABC News anchor/reporter David Muir has one of the best on-air deliveries. For feature stories, Steve Hartman (CBS) can turn the interests of an ordinary person into an extraordinary story.



SCAN: What Web site do you visit just to kill time?
TH: I’m always watching the major news Web sites for breaking news (including when I’m not at work). Those include several sites, like CBS, Reuters, Fox News and the local newspapers.

I also watch WSAW’s competitors very closely to make sure my station has the information first on the Web. In journalism today, in many cases you also write and post your stories on the web in addition to writing for television.

SCAN: Best way to fuel creativity?
TH: Watch your competition and the people you admire and try to imitate it. As a journalist, I’m always looking for ideas that no one has ever used for a story. That means, watching, listening and talking to a lot of people.

SCAN: What’s on your desk right now?
TH: Two dozen ties, a cactus that I have managed to kill and several maps.

SCAN: How many hours a week do you work?
TH: I come into work around 12:30 a.m., I write the 2-hour show along with a co-anchor and three producers. After the show, we tape two cut-ins that air during the CBS Early Show and a topical that airs during the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. news for the following day.

If there is no breaking news, I’m lucky to get out of the station by 9 a.m., If there is a breaking news story developing, be prepared to spend a good 15 hours at the station. I never work less than 50 hours a week.

SCAN: Favorite fringe benefit of your job?
TH: Having access to newsmakers, politicians and celebrities — people the general public will very likely never have the ability to talk to one on one.

SCAN: Is your current salary more or less than you expected to be making at this point?
TH: Less. In journalism, there are a few people that make great money, but if you’re not in this business for journalism then you are in the wrong business.

SCAN: Things you miss most about Webster?
TH: Mainly the people; Professor Eileen Solomon, Professor Diane Boyle and Professor Jan Hayes. I cannot express the impact the three made on me, both professionally and personally. I think about their advice everyday.

I love being around learning, so I really enjoyed Webster. I plan on getting my master’s degree from Webster, so I will be back in the future and can’t wait!

Did you just land a job in your field? E-mail scan@webster.edu and tell us about it.

Return to Top  

• Words from the Dean

• You Can’t Always Do What You Want: Sarah Carmody Shares Insights from Running Her Own Business

• Meet Me in Vietnam:
  SOC Professor Reunites with Webster Thailand Alumni
• Education Never Ends: Weekend Seminars
  Keep Alumni on the Cutting Edge

• Todd Hicks ’05
  Broadcast Journalism
• Alfredo F. Molinar ’06
  Video Production
• Crystal M. Ginn ’06
  Interactive Digital Media

• Home Page
• About SCAN
• Become a GURU
• Send This to a Friend
• Contact Us
• Archived Issues
• Subscribe/Unsubscribe
• Copyright
• SOC Home Page