By Adam Rodriguez
BYU alumni and current host of ABC Channel 4''s 'Good Things Utah,' Nicea DeGering, spoke on campus Wednesday challenging broadcast students to work hard and develop basic reporting skills.
'What I wish I would have done here more is focus on my reporting ... that I would have learned to write more and learned to write better, and learned to tell stories better, and really focus on the basics, so when you get to your first job it comes naturally,' DeGering said.
DeGering started her broadcasting career as a young associate producer for KTVX in 1995, but said her true desire was to report and be on the air.
'I sat by Randall Carlisle my first year, which was such a great learning experience for me,' DeGering said. 'He would read all my scripts and go, 'No... no... no... redo, no.' And I had lot of those 'no''s' because of what I didn''t realize I should have been learning here.'
After working as an associate producer for eight months, DeGering worked her way into an on-air position as the station''s crime reporter.
'I was scared out my mind because here are people I''m working with, like Chris Vanocur, and I was 23-years-old,' DeGering said.
'I remember my first live shot. I was at a fire, and I did not move. I was like, ''And the fire''s behind me... and its burning. Back to you.''
'I thought, ''If I move, it''s over. If I just stand steady, no one will notice.'''
DeGering said working the crime beat was a great learning experience and she eventually won Emmys for her coverage of Sep. 11 and the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping.
'Those are hard, too, because you get a little bit emotionally involved in some of those stories,' DeGering said.
'9-11 was hard to report that day ''cause we all felt terrible. And a lot of us were glued in the newsroom to the coverage that was going on. And you don''t totally want to separate yourself because you''re a person like everybody else. But you want to bring that emotion to the story and still be objective.'
After five years of covering crime, DeGering moved to weekend anchoring for two years before doing 'Good Things Utah,' where she continues today.
'I was afraid of doing it at first,' DeGering said of her 'Good Things Utah' experience. 'I had been the crime reporter and I talked about crafts, on-air, one time in seven years ... but that show has been better for me and my on-air presence than any newscast I have ever done.'
DeGering told students that juggling a family with a broadcasting career 'is a hard combination,' that requires prioritization.
'Once I had my daughter, I said ''She''s my priority,''' she explained.
And with her second daughter on the way, DeGering said her husband can look forward to having 'three diva DeGering''s at home.'
DeGering said the best advice she could leave with students was to 'tell them that you can make it.'
'Have confidence in yourself,' DeGering said. 'If you really want to , you absolutely can.'