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Welcome to the Tomas Howie Television Page! Thanks to the pressures of needing a job right out of college, I wandered into television. I didn't plan on staying long. Fifteen years later I'm a laid-off Assistant General Manager. At points along the way I had some memorable experiences and picked up some interesting and instructive information. Here's a sampling. |
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| I got started in television
at WLUC in Marquette, MI. Ground-floor stuff: part-time camera. After learning
the ropes I progressed to director. During the week I assisted the news
producer, on the weekends I directed the news, so I got to see the show
from both sides; a rarity in this business!
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Mountain
Lake 
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When I started here it
was called WCFE-TV. Now it's called Mountain Lake. It's still the same
small public television station that hired me as a Producer/Director in
1984.
My first assignment was producing Adirondack Outdoors, a series for which I won numerous awards, including a national Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The series was about the Adirondack region, a wonderful outdoor haven full of forests, mountains, lakes, and superb recreational activities. Unlike its predecessors, my series avoided the often-times rancorous issues surrounding the Adirondack Park and private property rights. Instead I focused on how people use the outdoors. I stayed at Mountain Lake for over 11 years. During that time I produced fundraising, on-air promotion, and collaborated on an image campaign that won a national award from PBS. Mountain Lake has always been about people. I hope it can overcome its current difficulties and find a steady footing so it can continue to serve its viewership.
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| Here's an interesting
tale. WBVT began as WWIN, a promising startup station and had high hopes
of shaking up the market. Promises of vast resources lured many employees
into its maw - promises that have yet to be fulfilled. I had been hoping
Mountain Lake would provide me with the management position I had been
seeking, but when that fell through WBVT delivered. Within six months I
was Assistant General Manager.
We had big plans, and a young, ambitious staff, peopled by profissionals who were tired of the complacency and pretty-boy attitude of the other stations in the market. We wanted to shaked them to their roots, and would have if the money was there. But, it wasn't; just alot of empty promises. Within two years 75% of the staff was on the dole - myself included - and the prospects for world dominance were left in the mad rush to find the exits. My understanding is that the station has since folded and no longer exists. Except for the humble position of Webmaster for WBVT, my television career has now come to a grinding halt. But, God is opening other avenues: I am now on Staff with Campus Crusade for Christ's Keynote ministry as a professional musician. The whole story can be seen on the Keynote page. Suffice it to say for now that a long-standing dream is being fulfilled. I haven't been this excited in years!
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WBVT-TV
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A r t | C a r e e r | M a s t e r s W o r k | M u s i c | R e l i g i o n
F i l m | T e l e v i s i o n | R e s u m e | L i n k s
