Someone to look up to in broadcasting

There are several alums within the broadcast department here at Westminster that have helped me adjust over the past 3 years. While all of them helped me in their own way, one person stands out amongst the rest. Mike Wolenski was a great help when I became involved in broadcasting. From the time I took on my first jock shift, Mike was around to show me how to operate the board and teach me about doing a good talk break and how to lead into songs effectively. It was a great help to have someone who knew what they were doing helping me making each shift better. At the time, Mike had a busy schedule and was in the radio station constantly. I know there were probably days where he had a ton to do, but still stayed to help me get adjusted to the station. Mike was always very understanding and great with explaining how to operate everything. He always make sure that I had a good grasp on what I was doing and if I needed any other help. Best of all, Mike was personable. I could comfortably ask him for help, even if it was something really insignificant that I forgot to do. Mike used his Titan Radio expertise to give us tips and tricks on how to improve our presentation on the radio. He was also around when I transitioned into radio news. Though another BC major was my executive producer, Mike was always there for extra help. It was reassuring to have someone around who was as helpful as Mike. Because of him I was able to have great talk breaks for my air check tapes and to be creative during these breaks and when I introduced songs with long intros. Mike was also someone who was really driven and always working hard. He really provided a great example to follow for the students that he helped.

Someone to admire

When I look back at my time at Westminster, I know I could not have accomplished as much as I have if it weren’t for some professors and a few older student mentors. I’ve recently blogged about a couple professors I admire and who have helped me, but now it’s time to put the focus on someone who I’ve continually looked up to for many years now.
I met Jordan Hinds in grade school at Holy Trinity. I was good friends with his sister, Haley, and their family lived right down the street from us. Jordan has been a shining example of strength, hope, courage, and unfailing work ethic. I watched him go through many medical issues throughout his childhood and teenage years. Though Jordan overcame some serious obstacles, he always remained positive. I remained friends with Haley throughout our time in high school and watched Jordan graduate in 2002 and ultimately go onto Westminster. When the time came for me to apply to college, Jordan’s family encouraged me to visit Westminster. When I arrived on campus Jordan was one of the first to greet me and also one of the first to help me in the broadcasting department. As a broadcasting minor, Jordan helped me out when he was around the station with little things for my jock shift.
Jordan’s work ethic was an example I made sure to follow. As a speech communications major with a double minor in broadcasting and public relations, Jordan was always busy and working to his potential. I recall enjoying listening to his radio shows he had on Titan Radio and talking with him on almost a daily basis my freshman year. He was always good for advice on what to do for my breaks in between songs during my radio shifts.
Jordan’s professionalism is something I would like to emulate as I leave Westminster and enter the real world. He remains involved with causes such as the Darfur Emergency Coalition and the ONE Campaign, both causes committed to helping other people. He has remained extremely dedicated to these issues and to advancing their causes. Jordan has always maintained a positive and driven demeanor in his personal and professional life. It’s really no wonder that so many people who have come into contact with Jordan look up to him and consider him their role model. In all my years of knowing Jordan, from grade school to now, he has been dedicated to whatever challenge is facing him and to furthering his professional life by working for these causes. Jordan has and always will be someone I really look up to in a professional and personal sense. His unfailing dedication to hold down a major, two minors, and running cross country, in addition to his other activities, is a shining example of someone who strives for the best. I hope to continue to model my professionalism and personal outlook to that of Jordan’s.

Westminster College Football: Recruiting the best from the rest

In the college athletic recruiting world, schools at the NCAA Division I level have extensive tactics for recruiting blue chip athletes. They have the ways and means to visit and contact each athlete individually, conduct extensive recruiting events for these athletes, and obtain the best players in the country. But what about the talented players who may not be big, tall, or fast enough to get to that level? Are they excluded because they’re not NCAA Division I material? What about the young student athlete with a stellar grade point average who is his high school’s talented quarterback? That is where recruiting at the Division III level comes in to play. Recruiting high school football players at Westminster is crucial to the football program. Players must have ambition both on and off the field. They must be willing to play for the love of the game, since no athletic scholarships are given at the Division III level, as well as handle a full course load of work during the season. Players must be excited to compete for their school and have the talent to back it up. These players must be intrigued to attend Westminster by being exposed to the team, best plays, and overall atmosphere. A well crafted, edited, and produced recruitment video can showcase all these aspects of a college and its football program.
Through my Capstone project I plan on capturing all the elements that make Westminster football so enticing, in addition to selecting the best plays to show perspective student/athletes. This project, titled Westminster College Football: Recruiting the best from the rest, will be a complete recruiting tool with background music, such as the Westminster fight song, and brief interviews with the coaching staff and current players. This product will be a change from a normal recruiting video, which sometimes may only have a compilation of the best plays from that season. By showing eye catching graphics, interviews, cut away shots of the band and crowd at a game, but keeping the focus on the best plays from each game, the video will keep perspective recruits interested during the visit by the Westminster coaching staff. The coaching staff will be able to view my project as it progresses to suggest any changes or additions they would like to see included. I want to produce this video to their expectations and make sure they are completely involved in the entire production.
I will produce every aspect of this product for the Westminster football program. I believe this is an extremely interesting project, especially for someone like me who enjoys football and all of its aspects. I am working on a week to week basis, editing the weekly highlights to select the best plays and implementing graphics that fit with the video. My final product will be shown on Monday, November 24, 2008 in the Sebastian Mueller Theatre on the campus of Westminster College. I will show my final product and explain my journey through producing the project. It is my hope that the final product will please the Westminster coaching staff and that it will be a valuable tool as they embark upon recruiting the next Titan football players.

The Epitome of Sportscasting

In the sports world, there are many broadcasters who are able to break into the business as former sports starts with many accolades. Then there are those broadcasters who aspire right from the get go to become sportscasters. Bob Costas is one of these sportscasters. Born in Queens, New York, Costas attended the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. During his time at Syracuse, Costas became an announcer for a minor league hockey team, the Syracuse Blazers. Despite never graduating, he was able to secure a job as the play by play announcer for American Basketball Association team the Spirit of St. Louis. After two other brief stints at KMOX radio in St. Louis and WGN-TV doing play by play for the Chicago Bulls, Costas joined the NBC network, where he is still employed, in 1980. Costas has also hosted “On the Record with Bob Costas”, a celebrity and sports star centered hour long program, as well as “Inside the NFL” and “Costas Now”, another interview segment show. From football to baseball, basketball (college and professional) to hockey, and even the highly coveted Olympic Games, Costas has been there with the call. He has proved to his viewers time and time again that he is the face of sports broadcasting. His knowledge and ability to articulate play by play for almost every sport makes him the most versatile voice in sports. Bob is a shining example of having to start off small in the business. His example is a good one to follow. Even if I decide to not do on air sports, starting out small is a good idea for my career. I’ve always admired and looked up to Costas, along with his versatility and presence. Much of what I have learned about sports and certain jargon have come from watching Costas’ broadcasts. Being extremely conversational is a key part of his broadcasts and a big part of what I try to include in mine. It’s one thing to just read sports; it’s a totally different thing to understand and convey it to your viewers. Costas’ broadcasts are so well crafted that someone with absolutely no knowledge of the sport could understand. That element is a must in sports. Costas also puts feeling and emotion into his broadcasts. This isn’t just reading news; it’s a sportscast. Yes, there are newsy parts of sports, but for the Olympics, World Series, Super Bowl, etc. there has to be feeling and emotion. It’s the rush of the game. As a person who aspires to work in sports, I’d love to meet Costas and ask him where he acquired the knowledge on all the sports he’s commentated and how he generates the emotion for every single sport. I feel like watching a sportscast from him would give me many ideas on how to greatly improve my own. It is my hope that I can follow Costas’ example of solid and enthusiastic sportscasts to build my own career.

Growing to appreciate and enjoy my academic life

Throughout my years at Westminster, I have grown fond of a handful of my professors. Dr. Jeff Bersett is one of those professors. From intermediate Spanish II to Hispanic American Literature, Dr. Bersett has been there for me every step of the way. In a way, he has become a second adviser to me, guiding me through my Spanish minor and my overall collegiate career.
When I met Dr. Bersett my freshman year, I was still scared of college and certainly scared of taking up a minor in Spanish, despite a year of honors Spanish IV to close out my high school career. It didn’t take long for that fear to go away. With Dr. Bersett’s encouragement to embrace college for what it is and to work extremely hard on my Spanish studies, it was easy to see he would become a major influence on me, not to mention one of my favorite professors. He understood I was nervous, but he also recognized my eagerness and willingness to learn. For the first time in my overall scholastic career (grade, middle, high school AND college thus far) I genuinely enjoyed class. Starting with Spanish, my interest spread to speech class, broadcast writing, voice and diction, and others. Through Dr. Bersett’s encouragement, I learned to love college and the challenges that came with it. I saw my grades rise from a 3.1 my first semester to a 3.6 my second semester. I credit him a great deal for that increase, because, if not for his motivation, my grades may have slipped or just stayed the same.
To this day, Dr. Bersett remains a critical part of my academic success. The classes’ a part of my Spanish minor have remained extremely important to my scholastic and social life. I study Spanish extensively and speak it almost daily, whether to myself, in class, or to others who understand. It is my hope that this minor and one day being bilingual will carry me far into my career. It is because of Dr. Bersett’s urging that I am even in this minor. He saw potential in me and pushed me to study hard and work with the language. His assistance and advice has carried over to broadcasting. He has always been an avid supporter of my work within the department. It is with his help and excellent class instruction that I now love class and embrace my broadcasting and Spanish studies. I credit Dr. Bersett, along with a handful of other professors who have taught me, with enriching my academic life as well as my daily life. His concern has gone a long way with my pursuit to learn and ultimately succeed.

An outstanding impact on my professional life

Although many people may claim Bob Pompeani as their role model, I am one of the few that can say they have been directly affected by his unbelievable professionalism and undying support for a young broadcaster. This is why he has become one of my role models and an influential person in my professional life. Though Mr. Pompeani has not seen me through my entire collegiate career, he was with me every single day this past summer at the KDKA studios. Bob, as he insisted I address him, was a constant fountain of advice. Not only that, but he asked me daily if I was having fun working, because, according to him, if you weren’t having fun there was no point to being there. The more he asked the more fun I found I was having. Even during the stressful points of the internship, I could always think of something I’d be doing later that week that would make me happy. Bob made me read all of his scripts for the news. It became routine after a while. He’d read over his scripts and, upon finishing, would hand them over to me and say, “Read it like you would on TV.” I would read and he would sit there and ignore everything else around him (phones, orders from his producer, etc.) and when I was finished he would critique me. After an entire summer of practice like that, I gained a better way of speaking and being more animated.
Bob always pushed me, as well. At KDKA, he treated me a like a real employee, not just a peon intern. He insisted I take on all the duties that a producer would do, in addition to practicing the live shots, stand ups, live reports, and at the desk reports he did live. He always took time out of his busy schedule to make sure I was taping all of my stand ups and to offer advice, especially during Steeler Training Camp. He made me do stand ups everyday and conduct the interviews with the players and coaches with my own questions I crafted. Halfway through the summer, I began to see that Bob was pushing me to do on air sports coverage. Reading all the scripts and taping my stand ups were building up my resume for my future career. All the practice began to pay off and both Bob and I, along with my supervisors, noticed. Bob continued to urge me to pursue being an on air sportscaster, saying that my voice was easy to listen to and that I had the drive and heart to succeed. It’s hard to ignore something that significant come from the most widely recognized and veteran sportscaster in Pittsburgh. It was plain to see that he was simply making me realize my goals and manifest them.
Bob has proved to be a role model and guide for me as I pursue my professional career as a sports broadcaster. He took the time to help me mold my skills, such as reading scripts and doing stand ups. It was an experience and advice that I will never take for granted, because it’s not everyday that you work side by side a veteran sportscaster like Bob.

An experience of a lifetime

I knew it from the moment I walked in the door. I had been skeptical of taking a strictly Sports-TV internship at widely renowned KDKA-TV, but it proved to be one of the most valuable experiences of my life. In a way, it was a blessing in disguise. I was seriously considering straying from the business once I graduated, moving into the direction of marketing, athletic directing, or graduate school. Once I got to work at the station I knew my mind would quickly change.
Meeting my supervisors along with the sportscasters was both an overwhelming and exciting experience all at the same time. They laid down the guidelines and what my assignments would be all while reiterating that this would be exactly like a job in the broadcasting field. While intimidated, I knew this would be a defining moment in my college career and in the decision of which career path I chose. I thought for a few days about the experience that was about to unfold. I knew my schedule would be out of the norm and that I would be doing several different types of work. I felt that I was ready to undertake the challenge of a real broadcasting internship.
During my time at KDKA, I felt myself grow into the broadcasting world. From the shaky first interview to my somewhat polished last interview and all the video logging in between, I discovered that I really enjoyed all the facets of this job. Unlike my regular summer job and various classes at school, I looked forward to what KDKA had in store for me that day. The experience and advice I received from the producers and anchors was continual and motivated me to present my best work. Photographers constantly made sure my stand ups were excellent pieces of work. These people took the skills I learned at Westminster and built upon them with their advice and assignments. I shouldered a large amount of responsibility, such as conducting interviews, selecting adequate sound bites for stories, logging video, placing calls to schedule interviews and shoots, and the list goes on.
This experience showed me what a job in sports broadcasting really entails. I worked the same long and unusual hours at the producers and anchors to see what their days consist of. I learned the news system the station uses to become better acclimated to different AP systems. I wrote and rewrote scripts to brush up on my writing skills. I did it all and, most of all; I loved every single minute of it. It was something I never truly complained about, which is how I knew it was my true calling. It was the hardest I have worked and the most fulfilling when I finished a given task. Most of all, it was a test in what growing up and post graduation life will hold for me. I know now how difficult it is to break into the business—it took an experience like KDKA to show me that.
Support was also easy to come by. The producers and anchors I worked with directly urged me to look at other careers involving sports, such as marketing and athletic directing. They claimed I would still need my broadcast expertise to be successful in those careers; however, they pushed me to produce and write, with the hope of one day becoming an on air sports talent. That push was all I needed and, honestly, I don’t even know if I needed it in the first place. I knew by about the second week of long days and lots of sports knowledge being thrown around that this is the career for me. I think I knew it all along, but it took the positive and amazing internship I experienced at KDKA to reaffirm that sports broadcasting is the career for me.