T.A. Walker is a beloved member of the WPTV family, and for good reason. His infectious personality and unwavering dedication to the community have made him a fan favorite in the Palm Beaches. As a reporter for the morning show segment "Shining A Light," T.A. features the people, places, and things that residents are most proud of in Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, and Okeechobee Counties.
But T.A.'s career in broadcasting goes back to his early days in radio. He got his start in 1995 at KYOO-FM and AM in Bolivar, Missouri, where he worked on a variety of programs, including Blue Grass Express, The Swap-shop, Farmers Reports, and Royals baseball games. At the age of 19, T.A. landed an internship at KYTV in Springfield, Missouri, where he was temporarily hired as the midday news producer. However, the internship ended abruptly when he forgot to change a vulgarity that had been typed into the television prompter system.
Despite this setback, T.A.'s career continued to progress, and he eventually landed an internship at the Late Show with David Letterman in the Research Department. He helped research just about anything Dave needed to know about before the days of Google. T.A. also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in TV Communications from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri, with a minor in psychology.
After completing his undergraduate degree, T.A. went to work as an on-air producer for The Randi Rhodes Show at 1290 WJNO in West Palm Beach. The show ended up getting syndicated, and T.A. moved to New York. That adventure was included in the HBO documentary, 'Left of the Dial.' He then returned to the West Palm Beach market and joined the cast of The Mo and Sally Morning Show on KOOL 105.5 in 2005. There, he worked for 11 years as an on-air producer, imaging director, music director, and helped lead the operations team.
In 2016, T.A. pursued a master's degree in integrated marketing from Georgetown University, where he earned a 4.0 GPA in 2018. His capstone project focused on how Susan G. Komen could market itself better and make deeper impacts in the community. One of his marketing slogans, "First Responders to Breast Cancer," even made it on a Palm Tran Bus Wrap and communicated the foundation's transition to providing local services and moving away from granting.
T.A.'s was the first gay broadcaster in the West Palm Beach radio DMA to be out. He thought the key to overcoming this challenge was to get the audience to like him first and then eased into letting them know he was a homosexual.
Beyond his work on-air, T.A. has also been a champion for diversity and inclusion within the media industry. He currently serves as career advancement chair for the E.W. Scripps LGBTAIQ employee resource group (WPTV's parent company), ensuring that LGBTQ+ employees within the company have a clear path to career advancement.
T.A. is also a dedicated community servant, serving on the Board of Directors for Komen Florida and using his platform to shine a light on local organizations and events that make a positive impact in the Palm Beaches.
Despite his successful career in broadcasting, T.A.'s plans for the future are simple: to stay in paradise with his husband, Charlie Lewis.
As T.A. looks to the future of broadcasting, he believes that local news and information will transition to a more on-demand story-by-story type service. Viewers will be able to pick the stories they want to hear or possibly just news headlines. Transitioning from terrestrial service to OTT platforms like Roku is key to staying relevant.
Regardless of how the industry evolves, one thing is certain: T.A. Walker will continue to shine a light on the people and places that make the Palm Beaches a great place to live.
Personality Traits
He is a troublemaker with a happy-go-lucky heart. There’s a reason people say, “It could only happen to T.A.” Drama and tall tales follow him around like the plague.
He is the definition of contradictions:
• Being a guy’s guy and a Pottery Barn enthusiast.
• Loves spin class and nachos.
• Drinking Tito's and soda with lemon and juicing.
• Know-it-all but is wrong about everything.
• Loves Star Trek/Star Wars and Julia Roberts movies.
• T.A. constantly struggles between being a grown-up and a frat boy.
• Fan of the Cardinals/Royals/Marlins, Cowboys/Dolphins, and Broadway shows.
• Drama queen and a peacemaker.
• Likes to cook recipes from Coastal Living Magazine and camping in Missouri with his college buddies.
