2008 Woodie Awards
UA Alumni win distinguish award for success
T.J. Holmes
Brian Washburn
Issue date: 10/29/07 Section: News
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CNN weekend anchor and UA graduate T.J. Holmes returned to his alma mater Thursday to receive the 2007 Arkansas Alumni Association Award. Holmes' homecoming marked only the third time he had been back to his alma mater in four years, leaving him with mixed feelings.
"[Coming back] is weird," Holmes said. "I haven't been here in quite some time, but I'm glad to be going home without a relative in the hospital. I am looking forward to being on campus though."
However, he said he also felt excited to be back on campus and looked forward to seeing family and close friends and even finding his name on the senior walk.
Holmes, who graduated from the UA in 1999 with a degree in broadcast journalism, received the award Friday afternoon with fellow honorees and UA graduates Sue Walk Burnett and Ed Wilson.
"This just came out of the blue, he said. "I didn't know anything was even in the works. Anytime your alma mater, home folks and people along the way honor you is always great. I'm ecstatic."
After he graduated, Holmes joined the KSNF-TV broadcast team in Joplin, Mo., as a producer, before eventually becoming a reporter and weekend anchor, according to a press release. Holmes then moved to Little Rock as a weekend anchor before relocating to NBC 11 in San Francisco.
"[The UA] gave me the degree and then I was on my own," Holmes said. "It is tough to get the real experience you need for broadcasting in college. [College] gives you the basics to get started, but you can't emulate a real world newsroom on a college campus.
"The UA does have a good program, but I am just saying it is tough to do. You have to start learning on your own," Holmes said.
In September 2006, Holmes left California for a job at CNN headquarters in Atlanta as an anchor for the weekend edition of CNN Newsroom, according to a UA press release.
"[Working at CNN] is totally different and sometimes the same as working in a local newsroom," Holmes said. "At CNN, we have a lot more resources, and it's unbelievable the scope of knowledge and cover area you have to know. While local areas are just specific areas, my coverage area now is the world.
"[Coming back] is weird," Holmes said. "I haven't been here in quite some time, but I'm glad to be going home without a relative in the hospital. I am looking forward to being on campus though."
However, he said he also felt excited to be back on campus and looked forward to seeing family and close friends and even finding his name on the senior walk.
Holmes, who graduated from the UA in 1999 with a degree in broadcast journalism, received the award Friday afternoon with fellow honorees and UA graduates Sue Walk Burnett and Ed Wilson.
"This just came out of the blue, he said. "I didn't know anything was even in the works. Anytime your alma mater, home folks and people along the way honor you is always great. I'm ecstatic."
After he graduated, Holmes joined the KSNF-TV broadcast team in Joplin, Mo., as a producer, before eventually becoming a reporter and weekend anchor, according to a press release. Holmes then moved to Little Rock as a weekend anchor before relocating to NBC 11 in San Francisco.
"[The UA] gave me the degree and then I was on my own," Holmes said. "It is tough to get the real experience you need for broadcasting in college. [College] gives you the basics to get started, but you can't emulate a real world newsroom on a college campus.
"The UA does have a good program, but I am just saying it is tough to do. You have to start learning on your own," Holmes said.
In September 2006, Holmes left California for a job at CNN headquarters in Atlanta as an anchor for the weekend edition of CNN Newsroom, according to a UA press release.
"[Working at CNN] is totally different and sometimes the same as working in a local newsroom," Holmes said. "At CNN, we have a lot more resources, and it's unbelievable the scope of knowledge and cover area you have to know. While local areas are just specific areas, my coverage area now is the world.
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