Deven Swartz shows WMUL staffers the '08 redesign.

Contact Info

Office phone: 304-696-6640
e-mail: use this web form

Deven Swartz

Online Director

Other positions: Imaging guru, Sowards Report producer, Newscenter 88 anchor
Hometown: Huntington, W.Va.--though originally from Philippi, W.Va.
Year at Marshall: Senior
Major: Broadcast Journalism
Minor: Political Science
Career goal: Short-term, find a creative services job in audio, video or broadcast field; long-term, be a voiceover talent for a national account
WMUL tenure began: Fall 2004, basically Day 1 at Marshall

The Less Serious List

Celebrities I've been compared to, rightly or wrongly: Don King (I let my hair grow til it's a mini fro), Ann Curry (interview style--NOT because people think I'm a chick), Cartman (vocal impersonation that I can't do anymore), my mom (not that much of a stretch actually--she was the 1991 WVIAC basketball player of the year)
Why I hate most candy: Fruits just taste better! If all that was left on earth to eat were kiwis, strawberries and wild blackberries, I'd think heaven came to Earth.
Best book I've ever read, bar none: "Made To Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath. Why? Four words: "The Curse of Knowledge."
GEEK ALERT! My favorite music is television and radio themes and soundtracks! I have more than 700 custom themes (differentiating from production library music) in my collection, totaling more than 16 hours of listening time. My absolute top favorites: 1) Address is CBS/Welcome Home '97 2) CBS College Football '87 3) Dallas '89 4) Jeopardy '98 5) WBZ-TV 2000 6) KCBS-TV '97 "News in Focus" 7) Nascar on Fox '01--but truth be told, I like all my cues. Otherwise, I wouldn't have them.

In My Own Words

If I didn't do work here at WMUL, I'd probably be sucked into mediocrity and never heard from again. West Virginia is an awesome place to live, but it's easy to get caught up in the inferiority complex most people have about this place. When the national media isn't making fun of us, objective statistics paint an overcast picture of our naturally beautiful state. This constant negativity sucks out all the morale of the state's most active citizens, making them leave the state after high school and never returning.

I should know. I was almost one of them. Since about age 11, I had wanted to attend the very good journalism school at UNC-Chapel Hill. I didn't want to pay back student loans the rest of my life, so I decided to attend an in-state school with the PROMISE Scholarship. I had been regretting this decision until March 2008, when I went to the National Broadcasting Society awards in Anaheim. In several radio categories, WMUL stepped above the mighty UNC and took home the top prize. The school that I thought was unbeatable was not only beaten, but beaten by a school in the supposedly lowlife West Virginia. If that doesn't cure up an inferiority complex, nothing will.

Since that moment, I realized that even the most depressing places on Earth can have successes. In other words, it doesn't matter where I live. Whether I succeed or fail is up to ME and me alone. Whether I'm in St. Louis or St. Marys, I still have to work hard to succeed. Just because I live in a larger city does not automatically entitle me to better things. I must still earn them. WMUL has not been given any of its 800 awards out of pity; they have all been earned. If any of us found out that we won an award based on pity, we would be devastated, not to mention rather livid.

While we could play the inferiority card for personal gain, we take a higher road, wanting people to know that we are just like them. That's right, West Virginians: we are just like everyone else! All we have to do is set a goal and work hard toward that goal, and the only limit is the sky above. I hope these words drive an inner passion in you to not settle for less. After all, if you don't try, you will NEVER know how good you can be. And that's something you could regret for the rest of your life.