Blake DeVine, a morning reporter for KXAN-TV (NBC station) recently received an Emmy for his outstanding coverage of the 2023 Winter Storm in Austin, TX. He attained a degree in Sport Management with a minor in Communication from Florida State University (FSU). The wall-to-wall coverage of the storm lasted for about a week, where DeVine and his team drove around iced-out areas featuring first responders.
DeVine told the College of Communication and Information (CCI) that during his time at FSU, he learned critical skills that prepared him for his day-to-day duties. He has found the communication courses he took helpful, notably Tim Fordyce’s Advanced Feature Reporting course, which he took multiple times before eventually becoming a teaching assistant for the class.
“I knew when I went to Florida State that I wanted to be involved in journalism. I just didn’t know if it was print, writing for a newspaper, or if it was TV.” He gained experience in print writing for the FSView, which he got involved with early on in his college career. There, he developed the critical writing skills that he uses today.
DeVine covered every FSU football game. “I look back and I was like maybe I should have had more of a normal college experience. But I had such a good time being on the sidelines and interviewing the players.” He also spent many Friday nights covering random high school football games, working as an intern with WCTV, and volunteering with Seminole Productions. The high involvement led to the greatest lesson DeVine learned at FSU: “Hard work will eventually lead to the goals and outcomes that you set for yourself.”
When asked what advice he would give current students interested in his field, he said, “Having the skills to be innovative and adaptive are going to be critical.” Starting right out of college, “You’re going to probably have to be able to film and edit your own video along with being the on-air reporter.” DeVine emphasized the industry’s constant evolution, which creates opportunities for those who are flexible.
