All it took was one Texas-Oklahoma football game to make Darryl Hoelting want to work in the news media.
“After the game I saw the reporters and the videographers down on the field running around interviewing players and coaches,” Hoelting said. “I thought that is something that I really, really want to do. I thought I wanted to be a sports broadcaster.”
Hoelting enrolled in the Radio-Television Department at Amarillo College, which is similar to the RTF program at TCC, where he is now an instructor of Radio, Television, and Film. Hoelting learned how to shoot and edit videos. He decided that he preferred to work behind the scenes rather than being on camera.
Hoelting used these skills to become a commercial production manager at Fox 25 in Oklahoma City. He also worked for KSAT in San Antonio and the CBS and Fox affiliates in Amarillo.
His main job was as a newscast director, producing and shooting videos and editing upon completion.
“A lot of people think news is hustle, hustle,” Hoelting said. “I was more on the other side of it. You kind of had your routine and it was busy, but it wasn’t eight hours a day just blood, sweat and tears.”
Today, Hoelting uses his skills to teach field production classes and oversee the NewsFeed, a once-weekly, student-produced news broadcast. It is broadcasted on the TCC spectrum cable channel and is also on the TCC Radio Television & Film YouTube channel.
The setting of the NewsFeed resembles a news studio. There are cameras with teleprompters for the anchors to read their lines, a green screen and a video switcher to switch between cameras.
“You learn how everybody works as a team,” Hoelting said. “You listen and pretty much learn when the director wants the show to start. The director is in charge. Whatever he or she says, you just follow. It also helps you to prepare because you have scripts and a rundown.”
Bob Score, an adjunct instructor on the NE Campus, teaches video production and has known Hoelting since last September. He believes Hoelting provides an ideal learning environment for students who want to work in the news.
“He brings this realistic, hands-on experience for the students to really get involved [and learn] what it would be like in a newsroom when going from here to the workforce,” Score said.
Several TCC students have used this NewsFeed experience to get jobs at CBS, CW 33, NBC 5 and Estrella 29, a Spanish language news station.
Hoelting transitioned to education and moved back to Dallas-Fort Worth when he couldn’t get a job in the news. At first, the change was difficult.
“About the first six months, it really threw me off because this atmosphere is a lot different than TV, as you can imagine,” Hoelting said. “And it took me a little while, but I thought, ‘OK, I can do this. I can do this. It’s still cameras. It’s still editing and still audio.’”
During his many years of working in news production, Hoelting has covered some of the most important events in U.S history. In 1995, he was working at the Fox affiliate in Amarillo when Timothy McVeigh blew up the Oklahoma City Federal Building. The bombing occurred on April 19, killing 168 people.
Amarillo was only three hours away from Oklahoma City. Hoelting was shocked, angry and sad that he couldn’t help in the way that he wanted to. However, he knew that it was important to tell people what was happening.
“We were hustling and preparing to go live, doing whatever we could to get as much coverage out there as possible,” Hoelting said. “It’s not like we were right there on top of it, but just preparing all of our viewers for what was happening.”
Hoelting also filmed an open-heart surgery in Lawton, Oklahoma. He was allowed into the operating room fully garbed and sterilized. He couldn’t use a tripod, so he had to
carry all his equipment.
“Everything I had to put on my shoulder got overheated, and I had to step out and almost passed out,” Hoelting said. “But I was in there for about 45 minutes.”
He has met many interesting people throughout his career, such as Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa, and William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk on “Star Trek.” Hoelting also spent time shooting video for the Dallas Cowboys when quarterback Troy Aikman and running back Emmitt Smith were with the team.
Hoelting’s journey has inspired many students, including NE student Deja Burt.
“I found out that he got his associate degree, and he didn’t have to get his bachelor’s degree, and he’s [worked at] Fox and NBC,” Burt said. “All of the things I wanted to do. It really motivated me.”
Hoelting has some advice for students who want to work in the news media.
“Don’t be afraid to go to a smaller TV market,” Hoelting said. “That’s where you get all your experience. Build that experience up and then start moving to the top. Don’t be afraid to learn.”
