Currently, I'm a network field producer for ABC News and a news writer/producer at the NBC station in the San Francisco Bay Area. 2011 will mark my 25th year working in TV news. I've worked all over California. First full-time TV job was in San Diego. For the most part, my career has been centered here in the Bay Area, where I was born and raised. I've been a news reporter, feature reporter, producer, writer, assignment manager and special projects producer for most of the Bay Area's major network affiliates, including KTVU (Fox), KGO-TV (ABC) and KNTV (NBC). Over the years, my stories have aired on CNN and Fox. For my work for ABC News, I've contributed to stories which have aired on "World News with Charles Gibson" and "Good Morning America." Right now, I am also the host and producer of two new podcasts which spotlight the best beaches and resorts in America -- I have a "sweet tooth" for traveling.

EDUCATION | I knew I wanted to be a TV reporter when I was 10 years old. I wrote for my high school newspaper in Fremont. I studied broadcast journalism at Ohlone College in Fremont, graduated from there and moved on to continue my studies at San Jose State University.

HOW TO GET STARTED | Technology is constantly changing television journalism. Big, clunky cameras have been replaced by smaller cameras, huge tape editing machines by desktop and laptop digital editing methods, and so much more. A lot has changed since I started in the mid 80s. More reporters are shooting their own stories year after year, instead of having a photographer accompany them. For someone who's just starting out, they should know that TV news is very competitive. Sometimes, but not always, you might have 400 people competing for one job. Be prepared for that. Also, if you want to be a reporter or a producer, you must be curious about the world around you. Usually, that comes naturally. You should be constantly curious about life. If you're not curious about everything, then I don't see how you can be a reporter. Being curious means asking questions. That's what reporters do. If TV news is in your blood and it's your passion, you should go for it. Learn to specialize yourself if at all possible. Find yourself a niche and market yourself. Stand out from the crowd.

MUST HAVE TRAITS | Again, you have to be curious. Being naturally curious about life is best. You have to be creative. You have to be tough. Creativity comes in when you're out in the field, interviewing someone and knowing the right questions to ask. Coming up with the right idea at the right time. And, of course, you should have excellent people skills and be great at communicating. Be a great writer. It takes constant practice. You need to think on your feet. Sometimes, you don't have all day to cover a story. You've got to meet those deadlines. Missing deadlines is not an option. Say you miss your deadline and your story doesn't air when it's supposed to. Well, let's just say your boss isn't going to be too pleased with you. If you're editing the video yourself, there's not a lot of time to do that. Write your story, choose your shots wisely, and make what written or mental notes you can so that when you do sit down to edit, you already know how to craft that story. As for being tough, it comes with the competitive nature of the business. TV is a visual medium and appearances matter. You have to have a thick skin, be prepared for rejection, and be determined enough to ride it out in an industry that you love even if it means 10 rejections or 100.

how I got started | TV news is a very competitive industry and I've been very fortunate to have had some wonderful experiences as a journalist. [Kevin Wing is a two-time Emmy Award recipient and winner of numerous other awards.] But, it took time to establish myself. When I started out, I made very little money for the first few years. To prepare for what was to come with a career in TV, I did everything I could at Ohlone: I was news director and news anchor of the college radio station, news anchor and producer of the the campus TV newscast, and editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. At San Jose State, I did the same, anchoring and reporting for the TV newscast there. Before graduating from San Jose, I worked as a non-paid news intern for KICU and KTVU. I started at the bottom and learned the ropes. I worked as an assignment desk assistant at KGO-TV and KTVU, then went to San Diego. My first professional on-camera job placed me in Eureka, California, one of the smallest TV markets in the country. The newsroom was a trailer, but I had a view of the ocean! Our studio was in the main building and I anchored the weekend news and the cut-ins during the "Today" show. Then I'd go out and hit the streets as a reporter. I did everything to get my story on the air -- I shot it, did the interviews, wrote it and edited the tape back at the station. I was a one-man band, as most of us are when first starting out. Later, I made it back to the Bay Area, returning to KTVU where, as an assignment editor and reporter for the West Coast's first local morning show ("Mornings on Two"), I remained for 10 years.

why this job?| To name a person, there are actually several. First, it's my Mom. She was a constant inspiration all of my life. She taught me that I could do anything. My Mom told me the sky's the limit. She instilled in me a 'can-do' mentality and I always had her support. All my life, I've always been intensely curious, about anything. When I was a curious kid, my Mom said TV news would be a perfect fit for me. I'll never forget her. My Dad died when I was very young, but he led a storied life. He and my Mom did TV and film work in the 1960s. My immediate family has always been supportive of me, too. Lastly, my best friend and colleague, Rigo Chacon. Rigo's three-plus decades in Bay Area TV news has served as an inspiration to me. I first met him when I was a teenager working the drive-up window at a Jack in the Box. He drove through one night, I recognized him and took the opportunity to talk with him about TV news while we waited for his order, which now, I admit I did my best to delay. He told me to go for my dream. I did. Twenty years later, he and I were reunited as colleagues at KGO-TV. He's not only my best friend, he's my mentor. If there's one event which made me decide to pursue a career as a TV reporter, it was the day Patty Hearst was kidnapped, back in 1974. I still recall the day vividly. I was home sick from school that day. I don't know if it was fate or impeccable timing, but I watched the coverage of that story on Bay Area newscasts. In my 10-year-old brain, I truly knew at that moment that I wanted to become a television reporter.

why I love this job!| There are so many things. First, I love that TV news has so much variety. Every day is different. It really is. Sometimes, I never know what I'm going to do in a given day until I get to work. As far as breaking news, it's the spontaneity of it that gives me an adrenaline rush. Secondly, I like that television news provides a service to its viewers, to inform and to inspire. I enjoy stories about people. If I'm doing a feature story about someone, I like to showcase them, put them in the best light possible, and have it be an inspiration to others. My first story as a reporter for KTVU was about a 12-year-old boy confined to a wheelchair. The way that boy lived his life, with the help of his family and a canine companion, was truly inspirational. He had to learn to be independent in such a different way than most of us have to endure. That was almost 20 years ago. Sometimes, I wonder where he is and how he's doing. This job has afforded me the opportunity to meet so many people. Hundreds. Thousands. There's no way to keep track. Every story, every person I've talked with in person or on the phone, everyone is a source. I've never left an interview without leaving my card and saying to that person that I'm interested in anything, offering the invitation to contact me anytime. Or if they know of someone with an interesting story to tell, pass my name to them because I want to know. I'm interested in everything. I love interacting with people.

my typical day| As a field producer for ABC News, I'll get an assignment from a producer or assignment editor in Los Angeles or New York. I'll meet with a photographer and we'll head out to shoot the story. If it needs to be sent back to LA to New York right away, we'll go to the ABC station in San Francisco, have the tape fed via satellite from there. The tape editing takes place in LA or New York. We're just the crew in the field, but it's my job to see that we get the job done right. There are no second chances. Our day can start at 6 a.m., 8 a.m... whenever the story dictates. When I covered the wildfires in Big Sur last summer, I stayed at a hotel nearby, got up at 5 in the morning, learned all I could about the latest on the fires, and went out with my photographer and audio tech, following the firefighters as they battled the flames.

what they are | The nation's economy is having effects on the business. TV news is a business. The scaling back at some TV stations and networks is a result of what's happening with the economy. In a bad economy, it's even harder to find work. So, if you find a job, do your best to hold onto it until you're promoted or ready for the next job. The TV marketplace is always changing, but especially now. For example, a local newscast is now requiring fewer people to produce it and put it together.

all about growth | It's different for everybody, and everyone's career destiny is different. It depends on what you want to do, whether you want to be a reporter, photographer, producer or want to work in management. For someone just starting out, you likely won't make much money at first, especially if you're working in a small market. But, remember that most of us start out that way. It's almost like a rite of passage. The pay is also relative to whatever the cost of living is in your region. Help yourself by learning about everything. Have a variety of skills, which is always a nice trait to have. Having that variety can help you grow in your career. And always continue to learn new things. In an ever-changing business like TV news, this is certainly a prerequisite for survival in a very competitive industry.

my website| http://www.kevinwing.com