Archived - 2004

OCTOBER 2004

Darci Strickland Named SC Anchor of the Year

Darci Strickland was named South Carolina Anchor of the Year at the Star Awards presented by the South Carolina Association of Broadcasters on August 13, 2005.

“Darci is an outstanding news anchor,” said Rick O’Dell, president and general manager of WLTX. “She and JR Berry are recognized as one of the best teams in the state for their warm and friendly delivery and deep understanding of the people of South Carolina.”

Strickland graduated from the USC School of Journalism in 1997. That year, she joined WLTX-TV as a general assignment reporter and weekend weather anchor. By 2002, Strickland had become evening co-anchor with JR Berry for News 19. The USC Alumni Association recognized Strickland as one of the outstanding young alumni in 2004.

by Sonya Duhe'

She had it, and she’s still got “it!”

She was curious, a solid writer and smart. And she had something extra—those bright eyes and the smile a camera loves.

Folks in broadcasting often say you can spot a television news anchor a mile away. As someone who spent a decade in the business, I’m also a “spotter,” but I see anchors-to-be early in their careers. At first glace, I knew Darci Strickland had what it took to host a television newscast. Colleagues spotted her, too.

Now, the University of South Carolina journalism graduate is the evening news co-anchor at Columbia’s WLTX-TV, News 19, and being honored by USC’s Alumni Association as one of their outstanding young alumni. She’s come a long way in a short time, from weekend weather anchor and general assignment reporter to this top anchor spot.

But in fall 1997, Darci was at the top of her major at USC—a student in “senior semester”-- a new component of the broadcast journalism program. This capstone experience was still young – only four years old.

Faculty worked hard to let journalism schools across the country know about our curriculum. If someone called, I told him or her about it. If any of us appeared on a national panel, we mentioned it. The cover of the college brochure showed a picture of professor Jay Latham and me sitting atop the world, or rather, sitting atop a television with a photo of three of our students on the screen - one of them is Darci. Jay and I bragged to everyone about how proud we were of our new program and our terrific students. The word got out; senior semester is now the model for similar programs at other journalism schools across the nation.

As we tooted the horn, former students were taking prominent places in the band that makes up broadcasting. The “first 18,” as we called them, were well on their way.

Perhaps our biggest success had been in training television producers – we couldn’t “produce” enough of them. We were proud because producers generally start at a higher salary and can move to bigger markets and bigger paychecks more quickly than on-air folks.

But, while news directors wanted our folks behind the scenes, we rarely saw our students in front of the camera. Darci changed that in a big way.

I’ll never forget the afternoon Jay and I invited Mark Leeps, then WLTX news director, to visit and critique one of our student-written-produced-photographed-and-anchored newscasts. It was another great opportunity to show off our product and hopefully get our students jobs. As always, we waited till the end of the semester to invite distinguished guests because students are the most polished then. Although you can see the program on USC’s campus cable and the Columbia cable system, you feel the energy and enthusiasm when you’re inside the studio.

As most news directors do, Leeps watched, took notes and then walked into the studio to give his critique. He patiently went through the broadcast point by point, offering tips and noting areas where students should work to improve. After Leeps had gone, Darci walked up to me and said in her polite way: “Dr. Duhe’, the news director asked me to call him. He said he may have a job opportunity. Do you think he was just being nice?” Darci grinned with that great big smile.

Of course, I told Darci to call him the next day!

The rest truly is history and a moment of working with talented, enthusiastic young people I’ll never forget. Besides Darci, other students who graduated from the capstone experience are on the air from Columbia to Houston to Phoenix. We’re proud of them and just as proud of our behind-the-scenes folks who direct at the networks; produce at ESPN and at stations in Greenville and in Augusta, Ga.; and shoot and report in other markets, small and large, across the United States.

We are particularly proud of how these former students like Darci continually give back to the program. I can’t count the number of times I’ve told my students, “Call Darci,” or suggest they look up another former student to find out the situation at a station or to get information about a news director in another city. I’m thrilled to have graduates call or drop in to give guest critiques. Their comments are always on the mark and appreciated. These former students have formed our unofficial “Carolina News Network.”

That network, now with nearly 500 graduates, grows stronger every day. If you haven’t told us where you are lately, please e-mail me at sduhe@sc.edu or give me a call. I’d love to hear where you’ve landed and all about your next move. And, hey, we may even know about an opening you’d be interested in.