Spotlight on Tom Buckley

-Spotlight on Tom Buckley-

Tom Buckley is one of our engineering technicians here at W*USA.

He started out at WTOP (now, W*USA 9 News) in 1974 as a freelance technician. He proved himself so valuable to the staff that in November of 1976, he was made a full-time technician at Broadcast House/WTOP Radio & Television.

Tom is literally a MASTER of all trades here at W*USA 9 News. If there is a crisis ANYWHERE in the building, one of the FIRST people that everyone will turn to is Tom Buckley.

It doesn’t matter if the crisis is in the newsroom or engineering department, Tom has the experience and knowledge to save the day. In the newsroom, his expertise has saved many live shots from being lost.

As a director, I welcome Tom when he works as my technical director. When things go crazy, I can depend on Tom as another set of eyes to make sure wrong graphics or tapes do not hit the air.

In master control, he will read over the log BEFORE his shift to make sure there are no discrepancies and that all commercials air correctly. His efforts have saved the station countless dollars and many viewers because he takes a PROACTIVE approach to our business.

That is a very commendable trait in today’s corporate world where many people may take the attitude of “it’s not my job.” Tom Buckley makes it HIS job to ensure W*USA 9 News runs in a smooth manner.

As such, Tom has proven himself to be an invaluable employee time and time again. I kid him sometimes and call him the “Junior GM” of the tv station. He literally has his fingerprint in every project of the station. In fact, his contributions go way beyond the norm of any technician.

Whenever there is talk of a set re-design, Tom Buckley is the first one to offer his thoughts and opinions on making the transition to the new set a successful one.

He backs these thoughts and opinions up by studying the sets and graphics of many different stations throughout the country and then applying a Washington DC Metro touch to them.

At the same time, if there is a graphic re-design, Tom is also the first to offer his opinions and ideas on what will look good on the air and then spend countless hours in the edit suite updating the graphics for air.

Nobody has to ask Tom to do these things. As a matter of a job description, these are all things that he doesn’t have to do, but WANTS to do. When it comes down to it, Tom Buckley is the living embodiment of W*USA 9.

He cares so passionately for the station that when tapes or set props are thrown out for garbage, he will give them new life in his own home. In fact, his home has become sort of the unofficial historical museum of W*USA 9 News. At his residence, you will find old set props, tapes earmarked for the garbage bin, which contains promotional campaigns and newscasts of a bygone era.

You'll find that Tom Buckley is probably the most dedicated employee this station will ever see.