Lori Wilson is the co-host of the 10! Show for Philadelphia’s NBC network and an evening anchor for the 5 o’clock news. I have known Lori for almost two years now. I was fortunate enough to meet Lori my senior year of high school while I was on a modeling job; it was for a fashion competition with students from Philadelphia University. Lori happened to be one of the judges and when I was in the ladies room after the competition was over I just went up to her while she was washing her hands and starting talking to her telling her I was interested in studying communications in college. From there she gave me her email and I went to a taping of her show. This show was special because the fashion competition that I modeled for was aired on the 10! Show and after filming I was able to get a tour of the studio from her. We have kept in contact ever since this first meeting. I am using this interview for my blog and to get advice from an already successful person in the industry.
Lori Wilson got started in when she was only in elementary school, during this time she appeared in TV commercials. Later, once in middle and high school, she did the morning announcements along with being a participant in the speech team. Outside of school Wilson was part of a group called “Youth Telecommunications Workshop. In this she was part of a group of teens who wrote, produced, directed and hosted their very own that aired on PBS in her hometown of Indianapolis. From there Wilson attended college for Journalism and had several internships for local stations. From her last internship she sent a tape to an old news director and from that got her first job as a reporter and fill-in anchor for a CBS affiliate in Champaign, Illinois.
Before Wilson could get to the hosting position she has now she had to go through many other jobs and relocations first. Her first job was in Champaign, Illinois and she worked there for eight months until she received a call from KSLA in Sheveport, Louisiana. Here Wilson remained for four years and a morning news anchor and health reporter. She had a similar job after moving to Atlanta, Georgia where she was a morning news anchor and entertainment reporter for the next three years. From Atlanta she moved to Philadelphia, where she still remains, and worked for WCAU as a morning reporter and eventually moved to morning anchor for six months. From all this she got to where she is now which is full time hose of the 10! Show and anchor three evenings a week. She adds that sometimes it can be hard to be on TV because even when she is having a bad day she still has to go on air and appear “up beat.” Overall Wilson says she loves her career and enjoys that its something different everyday along with all the new places and people she gets to meet.
The world is changing fast and so it technology, this greatly impacts every aspect of the media industry. Wilson has two specific feelings about the changes. In one way she thinks it’s great because “it gives people a lot of access to broadcast themselves and can interact with the media.” On the downside though, the new technology can also lead to a loss of many jobs. With the internet people no longer have a need to watch the news. As a result the ratings go down and from decreasing ratings a loss of advertisers will appear. With no commercials people will loose jobs because the news won’t have any money.
Lori Wilson has much advice for college students with aspirations for pursue a career in the media field. She recommends getting as much practice in front of as well as behind the camera. She also insists students practice writing, try to get published if possible, and also do many internships. Internships are a great way to get experience, as well as working for the school newspaper, radio and TV stations, Wilson says. She would recommend reading any and as many trade journals as possible, it’s a good way to learn. Wilson thinks the best characteristics for a person in the industry to have are intellectual curiosity, strong desire, strong listening skills and excellent writing skills. To get started in the industry Wilson recommends visiting talentdynamics.com, which is a site that has many job openings listed by market size on and off air.
LORI WILSON NEWS from Lori Wilson on Vimeo.
