SMU students and faculty enjoyed hearing from the longest serving anchor in the DFW metroplex at Thursday’s Faculty Club Luncheon in the Fincher Building in the Cox School of Business. Clarice Tinsley is an award-winning KDFW Fox 4 News anchor with over four decades in the journalism industry.
“It’s not something you can take off; it’s something you are,” said Tinsley about her career as a Broadcast Journalist. “I don’t leave my Journalism skills at home.”
Tinsley shared the highlights of her broadcasting career, from an exclusive with Jesse Jackson to an interview with President Obama that made national news after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing.
Her commitment to craft is demonstrated by her dedication to gathering as much information as possible to inform viewers, even in dangerous situations.
“Reporting in a war zone heightens every sense in every way,” said Tinsley. “But I know I am responsible to the people who turn to my station to be well-informed.”
Tinsley shared with those in attendance the necessity of overlap with her personal life and journalism career. While on a trip to Dubai with her husband to celebrate her birthday and New Years Eve, Tinsley noticed a fire at a nearby Dubai hotel. She immediately started feeding footage of the incident to her station and approached the scene of unknowns to gather more information of what could have been a terrorist attack.
SMU Journalism students had the chance to learn first hand from the North Texas celebrity by visiting Tinsley after the distinguished speaker luncheon.
“I loved hearing about the experiences and changes in the news world through a local broadcast star like Clarice Tinsely,” said Allaire Kruse, a senior journalism major.
https://twitter.com/ClariceFox4/status/1103755717062914057
Tinsley encouraged those in attendance to embrace the permission to be human and make mistakes.
“When you fail, you get back up and try again,” said Tinsley.
The Faculty Club will host author Steven J. Diner on March 27 as their next distinguished speaker to discuss his book “An Exploration of Universities and Their cities.” Immediately following the keynote, the Faculty Club will host a “meet the author” reception, with time for conversation and discussion. The event is free to members and their guests.
