From Disappointment to Thrills: My Unexpected Journey as a News Photographer in 2009

The summer of 2009 was quite eventful. Fresh out of college, I transitioned from part-time to full-time at KOAM-TV. I was disappointed at first because I wanted to be the weekend sports anchor and reporter, but my boss thought my voice sounded too twangy for the role. That was tough to hear. I ended up taking the open news photographer position, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

On July 17th of that year, I had an exciting night operating a live truck for the first time. It felt like a NASA mission with all the buttons that needed to be pressed in the correct sequence. Our first live shot was at the Four State Farm Show in Pittsburg. Later, we rushed to Buffalo Run, north of Miami, Oklahoma, where a biker named Trigger Gumm was attempting a record-breaking fire jump on a dirt bike. The fire element was thrilling.

That night, it was me, another photographer, and my friend Steve Slivka. The jump was delayed, so our live hit had to happen at the scheduled time during the 9:00 newscast. Steve was supposed to cut to a break when we went live, but instead, we did our full report. This could have disrupted the show’s timing. Fortunately, Gumm landed safely and was not injured.