Partner Profile: Mike Thomas

Multi Emmy award-winning videographer/producer • Atlanta, GA, USA

Sometime around late 2005 or early 2006, McLeod Media owner and director Will Frampton was but 25 years old, barely three years into the business of broadcasting, when he was informed by his news director at the CBS affiliate in Columbia, S.C., that he was required to attend a training seminar for the video editing software known as Avid.

It seemed like a silly exercise. Frampton had already worked with the software for over a year on tight daily deadlines, mostly with success (OK, maybe a missed deadline here or there). Was a multi-hour classroom session really necessary?

Probably, it was not. In fact, nothing from that day’s lesson was especially memorable except for the instructor.

Broadcasting veteran Mike Thomas had made the three-plus-hour trip from Atlanta to teach the young reporters in the room that day.

‘An instant connection’

Frampton and Thomas got along well, and a connection was made. Six years later, at last, Will Frampton was reporting in his beloved hometown of Atlanta, suddenly crossing paths with Mike on a regular basis. Even though they worked at competing stations, their connection and friendship grew as they covered the same apartment fires, the same events at the state capitol, and the same tornado aftermaths.

And when the time came to launch McLeod Media full-time in 2017, there was one producer and one producer only that Frampton thought of to accompany on every job possible.

“There was an instant connection between Will and myself,” said Thomas. “I had been in the business a bit longer than Will, but we had the same principles when it came to storytelling.”

By 2019, Mike was hitting the road for McLeod Media projects across the U.S.

Atlanta. Iowa. New York City. Las Vegas. Pittsburgh. Jacksonville. Tampa.

The list goes on. It became clear that Mike was a producer who could go anywhere in the world and masterfully handle any project on his own.

There is certainly something to be said for the shared backgrounds of Frampton and Thomas. When every day in TV news requires you to produce on deadline for a 5:00 or 6:00 broadcast, you learn to get things done, regardless of what stands in your way. Our audience doesn’t care if we’ve had a bad day or what problems we’ve faced – they only care if we deliver a product.

Accountability among friends

This is the spirit and determination embedded in those who worked on TV deadlines for many years. And it is this spirit that empowers Mike Thomas to deliver at an elite, Emmy award-winning level in good situations and challenging situations.

Even better: Frampton and Thomas have grown to be best of friends. When you have co-producers who are also great friends, holding each other accountable and supporting each other through everything, good and bad, the outcomes are truly special.

“Will is an amazing colleague and friend,” Thomas said. “We talk regularly, even when there is no project involved. Catching up on family and even talking about the latest in technology. Always bouncing ideas off of each other and making each other better. It’s a true blessing to work with a talented company like McLeod Media.”

Mike Thomas is our first choice for support on every project in the United States. He has won 10 Emmy awards and covered presidential visits, Super Bowls, natural disasters, the Olympics, and too much else to list here. More importantly, he’s a great guy and a great friend who treats people well.

For McLeod Media, Mike regularly covers productions in and around Atlanta and the Southeast and travels with great efficiency, thanks to the multitude of non-stop flights available out of Atlanta, the world’s busiest airport.