Chris Williamson currently serves as a sports anchor, host, and reporter at SNY. Williamson first love for sports start at a very young age. Williamson’s childhood dream of being a professional athlete came to a halt after getting cut from both his high school freshman and junior varsity basketball team. At the moment, Williamson decided he would rather discuss sports rather than play them.
Williamson studied broadcast and digital journalism at Syracuse University. While he was focused on developing his sports journalism career, he became involved with the Orangemen’s football team, even though basketball was still number one in his mind.
Williamson looked up to broadcasters like Bob Costas, Mike Tirico, and Stuart Scott. He used his time at Syracuse University to develop his on-air personality, improve on his writing skills, and perfect his delivery. A big part of his success was learning how to be comfortable in front of the camera. Removing the nervousness and speaking fast were things that stuck out while progressing as a broadcaster. Williamson recalls working on unscripted projects like “Orange All Access”, where he remembers interviewing a field hockey player at Syracuse University. He remembers being nervous as he tried remembering all the questions he put together.
Williamson also spent time as part of the Citrus TV family. It was there that Williamson learned the ins & outs of television production, learning to work and create under extreme deadlines. Williamson got his first break in sports as the weekend sports anchor/weekday reporter in Wisconsin.
He was promoted to weekday anchor for the FOX-affiliate station that his company bought. Williamson then became the face of his FOX channel’s sports show. Wisconsin gave Williamson the opportunity to grow and make mistakes that would help prepare him for bigger markets and exposure.
While working in Wisconsin, Williamson says, “The biggest lesson he learned was to always be relentless, as well as knowing how to adjust when things hit the fan. Be ready for anything that comes your way.” Williamson has had the pleasure of working in a top media market, and while he doesn’t feel any pressure, he’s always nervous before every show. The hunger and willingness to deliver his best performance comes up before every show. Williamson is confident in what he brings to the table. He is not sure what the future holds. He never expected that, at just 27-years-old, he’d be living out his dreams as an anchor, host, and reporter in the number one media market in the country.
“Enjoy and appreciate the journey and the struggles. Don’t focus on rushing to land a job or get caught up on what others think about you, your talent, and brand. There will be people who will go against your talent and what you believe in to knock you off your game.”
Chris Williamson's childhood sports dreams became a theme to do what he believed was his passion.
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