Where Passion Meets Profession

From being behind the camera to being in front of the classroom, Medcalf has made a smooth transition to directing the Broadcast Media Program by integrating his experience in the field with his teaching style.

Medcalf, who replaced Paula Bennett following her retirement, said his plans for the Broadcast Media Program are to, first, “produce competent practitioners in video production,” and second, make sure he keeps the university and the video program as current as it is in the industry.

As a perfect transition from the broadcast industry into higher education, Medcalf was recently awarded the 2018 Mid-America Regional Emmy award for his general assignments report with a homeless dispatch while working at KMOV.

Medcalf was born and raised in St. Louis on the south side of the city, and while sports were always a passion for him, it was not until later in life he realized where he should be. 

He played baseball from kindergarten to high school, then picked up football his freshman year at Oakville High School, making him a two-sport athlete.  

“I had never thought about football or played football up until high school, but the first time I put my pads on I just fell in love with the game,” said Medcalf.

As a wide-receiver he was recruited by every team in the Big 12 except Missouri, which is where he wanted to go, but a sprained ankle his senior year caused those offers to drop before his eyes.

“I chose to go the junior college route up in Iowa because I thought, ‘OK, this is a small school in Iowa, I was recruited by Iowa, so I could play a little bit ya know, get healthy, and I’ll just transfer to Iowa and start playing there.’”

But that is not how his plans worked out.

After his first semester freshman year at Iowa Community College, Medcalf realized college football was not for him, and he ended his football career.

Moving back to Missouri, Medcalf transferred to Missouri Southern State University in Joplin to pursue a degree in communications.

“I went to the school blindly, I had not even visited the school,” Medcalf said. “I was accepted and didn’t visit, they have a communications department, they have a radio station on campus. I thought, ‘Yes, this is the place I want to be.’”

However, only after he arrived at the university did he realize the radio station plays only classical music. While Medcalf became a DJ for a radio station in town, being a DJ for the campus radio station was off the table.

This is when Medcalf decided to go into the television program and start filming different events, and he fell in love with journalism.

He wanted to be a sports photographer.

“It was when I set up like the camera and all that equipment for the basketball games is when I really fell in love,” he said.

He found his passion for videography and photography during his sophomore year of college at MSSU, which led to his first news job at KSN channel 16 in Joplin, Missouri, all in the same semester.

“While I’m a student at Missouri Southern State University, and also a student worker in the television program on campus, I decided to pursue a part-time position at an actual news station,” Medcalf said.