A KAUZ Worth Fighting For

As mentioned earlier, we left Wichita Falls after not quite a year and a half, and are comfortably settled in Idaho.  But we can certainly never forget our time in Texoma, the friends we made there, or the job that brought our family there in the first place.

After I graduated from BYU, we still went a few weeks with no job.  KAUZ, the CBS affiliate in Wichita Falls, offered me my first job as a dayside reporter.

For the first 7 or 8 months I was a one-man-band, which meant I shot the video and did the interviewing, and then wrote and edited everything.  Then I had the great opportunity to co-anchor the morning show with Lindsey Rogers. We would both come in early, do the morning show, and then still have time to go out and shoot a story for the day.  I was glad I still got to report even while anchoring.

My last day at KAUZ was bittersweet.  Whitney came to take pictures at the station.  I will always miss my co-workers, who all became my friends.

One thing I will always remember about KAUZ is how much we ate.  Goodness gracious, it’s no wonder I put on some pounds while I was there.  If food was put on the public table in the middle of the newsroom, you could expect it to be gone within minutes.  You’d think none of us got to eat anything at home.  Check out the spread of food the receptionist, Tina made for me on my last day of work.  I know, it looks like I died or something with my picture there on the table.

Overall, my job at KAUZ was a wonderful first job.  It got my feet wet in the field of broadcast journalism.  Honestly, it was pretty much what I expected out of a first job.  It was helpful in all the ways it needed to be for someone fresh out of college.  I loved the experiences, the opportunities, and the people.

While it was tough getting by, we know there was a reason we lived in Wichita Falls.  We’ll probably be discovering more of those reasons as time goes by.