When two pressure-cooker bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon in April 2013, the FBI and media investigated to find the individuals responsible.
Behind one team of media investigators was Auburn alum David Ingram working as a producer for NBC News.
According to Ingram, when the FBI released photographs of the two suspects, his team was assigned to remain on standby in case new reports from Boston surfaced.
While on the 24-hour staff, Ingram said the team heard of police activity related to the suspects in Watertown, Massachusetts. They planned to go on air for a couple of minutes, but remained on television for several hours. With new information flowing in every 10-15 minutes, Ingram said he and his team worked until the "Today Show" started, leaving work after one suspect was shot and killed and the other arrested.
"My team and I left work that morning thinking that we had put another day in, and we really didn't think about much because, for me, as a television producer, when I go into work every day, my thinking is not, 'I'm going to go into work today with the sole purpose of getting some kind of recognition for my work,'" Ingram said. "I go in and do the best job that I can with the best information, the most accurate type of storytelling and then if someone wants to recognize it later, that's great."
In July 2014, the NBC News team joined the list of Emmy nominees for the Boston Marathon bombing coverage, and the following September they won.
"I had no idea that this was the type of coverage that was outstanding and exemplary, mainly just because it all moved so fast that evening," Ingram said. "It wasn't something we had planned out. We were doing it on the fly and doing the best job that we could, and, if anything, I think it reminds you of why you're in journalism because it can be a very trying occupation and field to be in, and when you get recognized for doing great work, it re-emphasizes why you did this business in the first place."
Ingram said he decided to major in journalism after receiving positive feedback on an English paper. His English professor suggested he try writing for The Plainsman. During his senior year, Ingram became editor-in-chief of The Plainsman.
Ed Williams, journalism professor emeritus and The Plainsman adviser in 2008, said Ingram was mature, and his staff looked up to him.
"He was a good leader, and he was a good editor," Williams said. "Even as a student, his dream was to live and work in New York City, and he's obviously very successful at it because he's been a part of an award-winning team, and he's only been out of college seven years."
Ingram said The Plainsman taught him skills he still uses every day.
"It may sound elementary, but you have to get stories right," Ingram said. "You have to make sure things are correct and to spell things correctly, you have to double check and triple check your sources to make sure that you have all your ducks in a row. If you don't have those foundations, you are not going to be provident at your job."
Kendra Carter, 2008 Auburn alumna, worked on The Plainsman staff with Ingram.
According to Carter, a student was murdered the day before the paper's weekly print deadline.
Ingram faced the choice of discarding the prepared front page of The Plainsman and placing the breaking news story in its place.
"I think David's decision to throw out that front page we already had and rally the staff together to cover this big news stories that had a big impact on campus started a shift of moving The Plainsman from strictly a weekly paper into a more responsive paper," Carter said.
Carter said there are parallels to Ingram's response to The Plainsman experience and his response to real life, on-the-job situations.
"As long as I've known him, he's had this incredible drive," Carter said. "He wants to get to the bottom of the story. He wants to tell the story well. He has this drive and motivation that gets him there."
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