KERI MURPHY
Autumn 2006

With perfectly groomed hair and trendy yet sophisticated attire, she looks the part of a prime-time news anchor. Two years ago she was a UW journalism student struggling to balance the demands of school, work and the occasional internship. Now 23-year-old Beth Witham is a producer for KOMO-TV.

On a Thursday during autumn quarter, the 2005 graduate told UW News Lab students about the path she took and what life is like in a television newsroom.

She describes her job as “half journalism, half marketing.” On a typical day Witham starts work at 1:30 in the afternoon and goes until about 11 at night. During that time she writes and formats teasers that air on the station throughout the day in an attempt to get viewers to tune in to their evening news program.

During her college years, Witham majored in print journalism and soon found herself drawn to realm of TV news. Since UW does not offer a broadcast program, she stressed that students need to design a curriculum for themselves involving as many internships as possible if they want to gain experience in the television market. Witham seized this opportunity and before she graduated spent six months interning for KOMO-TV.

“I can’t put a price tag on how valuable that was,” she said and emphasized that making connections and knowing people in the industry is a key tool in securing future success.

Along with various other responsibilities, Witham now manages her own group of interns and expresses excitement about the opportunity to help them get where they want to go. With her experience as an intern fresh in her mind, she strives to be “really down to earth and professional but not rigid.”

Hailing from the Seattle area, Witham graduated from Ingram High School where she served on the yearbook staff junior and senior year.

She reflected that she always had a strong interest in writing and explained, “I feel like I was always a very focused writer and wanted to write well.”

She recalls childhood memories of drawing pictures and making up names and stories to go with them.

Eventually Witham would like to move up the ranks in TV news, but she recognizes that in order to do so she might have to pursue work in smaller markets. She does believe, however, that she can do anything she wants as long as she is willing to make sacrifices.

For now, she says, “I feel very fortunate to be working in such a large market at such a young age.”

KERI MURPHY is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.