Hi, i’m Thomas!

Thomas Whitfield is a producer with more than three years of experience guiding the creation of television programs and news segments from pitch through post-production.

He rose from an intern to an associate producer in the #3 television market (Chicago) at WLS-TV, ABC network’s Chicago station.

He has a proven ability to produce short-form and long-form story content at the highest level (4x regional Emmy wins). He contributes creative thinking, leadership and motivation to production teams. He also has hyper attention to details with outstanding writing, communication and interpersonal skills. His passion is to be great.

WLS-TV ABC 7 Chicago,IL                                                                        

Associate Producer | November 2023-November 2024

  •  Produced annual dance routine opening for “Countdown Chicago” from pre-planning through post in 2024.

  • Collaborated with internal production team and Chicago Auto Trade Association to schedule and capture interviews and elements over two days at the Chicago Auto Show and crafted a 30-minute special featuring five on-air talent, 20+ vendors and manufacturers.

  • Pitched and produced two story segments for a Black History Month special that contributed to receiving a Chicago-Midwest Emmy Award of Excellence.

  • Pitched, produced and edited short-form content for Localish, result: two Chicago-Midwest Emmy nominations.

Production Assistant | May 2022-November 2023

  • Assisted in Chicago-Midwest Emmy award-winning production of annual New Year’s Eve dance segment.

  • Stepped up to fill need to greet and prep guests, research and prepare backgrounds for on-air talent for Windy City Weekend in-studio productions.

  • Engaged talent and producers to highlight community human interest stories and news.

  • Wrote talent scripts and created on-screen graphics for live parades.

Programming and Promotions Intern | May 2021-May 2022

  • Created a calendar, staff directory and video logging spreadsheet for the daytime talk show.

  • Edited “Our America” promotional spot that aired in support of an ABC7 special.

  • Researched and pitched potential guests and story segments for special topics.

  • Created music cue sheets for productions and mass printed scripts and other documentation for live parades.

WORK EXPERIENCE

AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Line Produced ten WLS Friday morning talk-show “Windy City Weekend” Episodes
    February 2024-October 2024

  • Produced multiple guests segments for “Windy City Weekend”.

“Windy City Weekend”

productions & Parades

  • Acted as a Coordinating Producer for WLS-TV’s annual “Countdown Chicago” Opening Dance in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

  • Worked alongside Parade Executive Producer for more than 10+ Live two-hour long parades including; writing and printing scripts, producing and editing sponsor vignettes and working as a street producer/spotter.

ABC’S “LOCALISH”

  • CHICAGO/MIDWEST REGIONAL EMMY® AWARDS

    Outstanding Achievement for Magazine Single Program/Series

    “Our Chicago: History & Heritage”

  • CHICAGO/MIDWEST REGIONAL EMMY® AWARDS

    Outstanding Achievement for Special Event Coverage - Live or Edited…

    “Countdown Chicago 2024”

  • CHICAGO/MIDWEST REGIONAL EMMY® AWARDS

    Outstanding Achievement for Special Event Coverage - Live or Edited…

    “Countdown Chicago 2023”

  • CHICAGO/MIDWEST REGIONAL EMMY® AWARDS

    Informational/Instructional Content

    “Guarding the Capitol”

  • Pitched, produced and edited more than 20 short-form stories for ABC’s Lifestyle platform, “Localish”.

  • One story reaching more than 300,000 views and 9,000 interactions on Localish’s Facebook Page alone.