Thomas Manning is is featured weekly on NPR affiliate WNCW on Screen Scene, and is a recurring co-host of the weekly television and radio program “Meet Me at the Movies.” He is a regular contributor, and Senior Interviewer to Elements of Madness, writing reviews and conducting interviews with various filmmakers from diverse career backgrounds. 

Manning is also the film fest director for the Real to Reel Film Festival in Kings Mountain, N.C. With Real to Reel, he was the creator and the host of “Reel Conversations,” a segment featuring interviews with the filmmakers behind official festival selections. 

Since 2019, Manning has worked with the Arts and Faith Ecumenical Film Jury. Manning is also a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA). 

Manning has also ventured into filmmaking, working as executive producer and first assistant director on the feature-length documentary “The Dancin’ Bulldogs: A 16 Seed’s Journey to the NCAA Tournament” (2020). This doc tells the story of the 2018-2019 Gardner-Webb Men’s Basketball team, the first men’s basketball team in school history to reach the NCAA Tournament. 

Manning is a graduate of Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, with a double major in Communications’ Studies with a concentration in Film and Television, and English.