Jamarcus Gaston is always searching. As co-host and co-producer of the popular WSPA morning show “Your Carolina,” he’s always on the lookout for local artists, musicians or small businesses to spotlight in his role as a lifestyle reporter.
It’s a role he never thought he would be in.
“I never really anticipated having a career in television,” he says. “I thought I was going to be a newspaper journalist because my great uncle was a reporter for the Charlotte Observer. He was a business reporter. And so I thought I was going to do more features that would be around small businesses but for print.”
Regardless of the forum, though, Gaston has always cared greatly about the small, good stories that we don’t often hear about in today’s news cycle.
“I always was passionate about storytelling and connections with small businesses and working on it from that angle,” he says. “So I really enjoy that ‘Your Carolina’ gets to do something a little different than the traditional news cycle of deaths, murderers and destruction. I really quickly learned that I did not want to do that. And there aren’t many shows like ‘Your Carolina’ that allow us to be a different type of storyteller for the community.”
And as WSPA’s man on the scene, Gaston says he’s impressed by the Upstate’s constantly growing and evolving music and arts scene.
“I’m constantly amazed by the level of work that’s being put out in this scene from musicians that start here,” he says. “I was on a plane recently and I heard The Marcus King Band playing, and I kind of sat back and was very astounded by how these artists that we have become so accustomed to on this local scene are really doing some of the best work in the country. So I think Greenville and the Upstate as a whole has a lot to be proud of when it comes to the arts community.”
Gaston sees his role on “Your Carolina” as a storyteller who brings to light aspects of the Upstate that might not otherwise be covered.
“I try to think of myself as a forager of different talents and different local businesses that may not always be on television screens,” he says. “I really try to dig deep into the community and really say, ‘Oh that local shop that I go into, they need that exposure. They need an invite to come on the show. They may not have a marketing manager or PR person that will reach out.’ So I think my role at the station is to bring some of those different types of community aspects to the table.”
As we celebrate Black History Month, Gaston is also reflecting on another role he plays as a Black broadcaster, a role that was in short supply when he was a child.
“Every day that I get to sit at a desk at a television station on a live daily TV show where my voice is heard and I get to share my opinions, that’s something that never gets old,” he says. “There’s a quote that says, ‘I am my ancestors’ wildest dream,’ and I really think they would find that to be true. Every time I’m out in public and someone comes up to me, maybe it’s a Black mother who says, ‘My kids watch you,’ and it’s important for them to be able to see someone on the screen that is not on a mug shot. Someone that’s an advocate for the community. Someone that is showing them a blueprint of what can be.”
“Every day that I get to sit at a desk at a television station on a live daily TV show where my voice is heard and I get to share my opinions, that’s something that never gets old. There’s a quote that says, ‘I am my ancestors’ wildest dream,’ and I really think they would find that to be true.” – Jamarcus Gaston
