209: Cameron Tucker

My guest this week is Cameron Tucker, Head of News and Content at KMTV. Cam and I begin by chatting about the BFI-funded series Generation Why that we both worked on in which we made sure young people from across the UK were fully represented. We find out why the series has been so transformational, and has helped us look beyond the world we know. We talk about how the world is both bigger and smaller, and we find out about Cameron’s love of travel. He was born in Manhattan but grew up in Hong Kong where his grandfather was a policeman. We chat about hybrid identities and one’s place in the world, including in the context of sport. Cameron talks about the records e.g. photos that he has from those days, and about his new role as a father. We discuss the importance of connection and the relationships we have with childhood friends, and how we continue from where we left off when we meet them, as well as the way places evolve. We then move on to reflect on the role of nostalgia in a changing world. Cam also talks about the role that music has played in his life, e.g. how he grew up listening to the soundtrack to Good Will Hunting. We find out how Cam ended up with KMTV in Kent, after previously working as a junior reporter in Hong Kong. He did work experience too during his degree in East Anglia. He has also done a great deal of freelancing, and has been at KMTV for seven years. We talk about the infamous ‘pot plant story’ when Cam was doing a report which appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel Show in the US. Cameron talks about the role of negative experiences and the impact on nostalgia and answers it in relation to a wonderful Anthony Hopkins anecdote. Then, at the end of the interview, we talk about the role of authenticity in the way we project ourselves in broadcasting, and we find out whether Cameron is a looking back or a looking forward type of person.