Before starting his own digital company, Rob Nichols was Director of Digital Brands for eight years at Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications, leading web content and design for five broadcast and sports websites. He also served as lead content developer for news/talk radio station wibc.com. A music and sports writer for more than 25 years, Rob had a sports column at the age of 17 that earned honors from the Michigan State Press Association. He was a rock radio jock at age 18 and broadcast the IHSAA Football Class A Championship for the IHSAA Radio Network, the Boys Basketball State Finals, and regular season high school and college baseball, football, and basketball.
“I was influenced by writers like Jeffrey Lee Puckett (longtime music writer for the Louisville Courier-Journal), Mitch Albom (Detroit Free Press) and Mike Downey (Los Angeles Times). They connected readers to what was happening at the time and wrote to find historical meaning and a perspective to reveal a better understanding of a story. That’s what I try to do, whether it is with music, sports, or what is happening in media. When I write about music, I am drawn to the connection between the music and the influences that help make that sound happen.”
Nichols was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, shuffled to Charleston, Illinois for two years before spending his high school and college years in Hillsdale, Michigan. That meant traveling to Detroit for all the good rock shows, and explains his extra affinity for Bob Seger, the J. Geils Band (from Boston, but found a rabid fanbase in Detroit), and the rock of Mitch Ryder. After college, Rob returned to Indiana, calling home, at different times, the towns of Madison, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, North Manchester, and Greenfield.
In his career as a digital content producer and manager, Nichols worked closely with his five-person digital team at Emmis. Rob produced live sports webcasts for IHSAASports.org and Indiana Sportstalk and initiated the first live concert video webcast for 97.1 HANK FM. He was part of a forward-looking Indianapolis team that built a mobile production truck exclusively for webcasts, allowing for wireless live event web productions anywhere in the US before the widespread use of broadband, cell phone, and fiber technologies.
Rob has been a featured speaker and panelist at regional and national events, including the R&R News/Talk national conference in Washington, DC. His work and management efforts earned him awards, including his WIBC Radio website earning three AP Indiana Website of the Year awards and four Radio and TV News Directors Midwest Website of the Year awards. His team earned Emmis Communications Team of the Year and Best Initiative and Innovation for their digital and web efforts in the Indianapolis Market. He formed his own digital company in 2008, Rockforward Media, focusing on web design and web content. He has worked since 2011 as the Digital and Communication Director of Sycamore School, a private Preschool – 8th grade independent school in Indianapolis.
Writer| Website Design | Video Production | Digital Marketing
