Through working in the Sun News Daily newsroom to working with major news stations, Utah Tech University students are turning their college experiences into major headlines.
Madisyn Dwiggins, producer for KSNV News 3 in Las Vegas, first joined Sun News in her sophomore year when she started as a news editor. As a news editor, she began building skills that have translated into her time at KSNV.
“I was able to build a news judgment which is everything when working for a news station. It helped me understand why some stories are not as strong as others and allowed me to find different angles to make a story stronger,” Dwiggins said.
Her hard work ethic prepared her to work in a professional environment, as she was always looking to get better and help others improve. Moving from Sun News to KSNV News became a relatively smooth transition due to the team first mentality she had while a part of Sun News.
“She was always working,” Kelsa Lundstedt, a senior media studies major from Boise, Idaho, and assistant Sun News show producer, said. “She was hard working for sure, and she had the go-get-it attitude. I can’t imagine spending that much time on schoolwork or real work, honestly.”
During her time at Sun News, Dwiggins was also a hard worker who lifted people up in the newsroom. Her work ethic not only played a crucial role in her success as part of the Sun News staff and after graduation, but allowed others to grow and find opportunities as well. As she brought others up around her to create a professional environment, it prepared her to go into a newsroom after graduation.
“I mean, sure, it was intimidating being in a room full of experienced producers coming straight out of college, but I eventually got to know my co-workers, and it wasn’t so scary anymore,” Dwiggins said. “Something similar I find is how, as a staff on Sun News, we would always work together and help each other with story pitches and source ideas, and that is how it is in a professional newsroom.”
In her junior year, Dwiggins transitioned from a news editor to producing “Sun News at Noon” show which later became “Sun News Blazer Beat.” As “Sun News Blazer Beat” became a new sports show, Dwiggins learned to get creative as someone who was not familiar with sports.
“I think this is where I was able to get most creative since there are a lot of moving parts in sports,” Dwiggins said. “Learning how to be creative with sports taught me how to incorporate that in every newscast. I’m thankful my job now allows me to be as creative as possible to make every newscast different from the other.”
Dwiggins’ creativity and ability to improve the show every time had rippling effects on the current Sun News show.
“She taught me everything I know,” Zoe Hansen, a senior media studies major from Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Sun News producer, said. “Her senior year, she was the producer; I was an anchor, and she wanted me to fill the role of producer. I was so scared because I didn’t even know if I wanted to anchor yet, and then ended up taking her role as producer.”
Throughout all the lessons she learned during her time at Utah Tech and as a member of Sun News, Dwiggins continues to look for opportunities to grow as a producer while with KSNV News.
As a producer for KSNV News, a top 40 market station, Dwiggins has to get information out quickly and accurately. Despite her short time as a producer, Dwiggins has been able to work through the current election season and learn to apply the same creativity she developed while a member of Sun News.
While she is still early in her career, Dwiggins plans to hone the lessons she’s learned thus far with Sun News and KSNV to continue to perfect her craft as a producer. As she remains committed to perfecting the skills she began developing at Utah Tech, she turns her focus to getting an Emmy Award in the long run.
