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.
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.
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.
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.
As the days draw closer to my starting day at KDKA, I keep trying to comprehend what an opportunity I have been given. I’ve been very blessed to have the talent to compete with so many talented individuals for this position. I’ve been taking time to realize that and truly express how thankful I am. Working at KDKA was something I aspired to since I was a little kid. Now, it’s becoming my biggest reality! I’ve really been thinking about this opportunity lately. According to my supervisor, this will run like an actual job. I will be on assignme
nt at Pittsburgh Penguins and Steeler mini-camp practices, along with logging tape and actually writing some of the scripts for the sports anchors. I was shocked to hear that I would be playing such an integral role in the sports department. There is only one other intern, so we will be splitting duties and occasionally working together on certain things. This leaves the job on my shoulders during my shift. I need to take the time on my first day, Wednesday, to become acclimated with how the job is done there. From that point on, I will work hard to ensure that all work gets done, since I will be the only intern on the job during my shifts. From speaking with my supervisor, I gather that I will be playing an active role in the sports department. From what he said there never seems to be a dull moment. As far as my schedule is concerned, I have absolutely no complains. For the next two weeks I will work from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. During those hours my duties will range from attending Penguins practices at the Mellon Arena and Steelers practices at their facilities on the South Side to taking notes at the practices for potential stories to assisting the photographer and/or reporter. Once June rolls around, I will be taking on more of a night shift, specifically 5 p.m.-12 a.m., in which I will work with sports during the 5, 6, and 11 p.m. newscasts. Many people would groan about these job hours, but I am really embracing them. I think it’s the best time to be at the station. It’s not nearly as busy during these hours as it would be during the day, so I have a much better opportunity to learn from the professionals around me. The other good thing about KDKA is they said I would be able to assist the Sports Production Department, who produce such shows as “The Hines Ward Show” and other special sports programming at the station. Working with this area would give me an extremely broad base in sports, so I am really looking forward to that opportunity. As I continue to write this I can feel myself getting really excited to get on the job. Working at the station and working with professionals, such as Bob Pompeani, will be an amazing experience. Most of all, I’m really looking forward to enhancing my sports knowledge. In order to get a job in any kind of sports marketing or directing you need to know what you’re talking about. I have a really good feeling that this internship will do a phenomenal job of increasing my sports knowledge. I also think it’s a blessing and an excellent opportunity to work for a television station that I grew up watching and work under Mr. Pompeani, who I’ve admired as a sports caster for many years. Finally, I want this internship to test me. I am really looking for a challenge. I want to experience hardships and I don’t want to just breeze through this. You can’t just cruise through a job or a career. You really have to experience the good and the bad. That’s really what I intend on doing. I’m really motivated to give my absolute all at this internship and I can’t even begin to express my excitement. This is really going to be the opportunity of a lifetime and I can’t wait to start. T-minus 48 hours and counting!
So, I’ve realized I haven’t a clue where junior year went. One minute I was unpacking all my stuff and buying books for my first semester courses and now I’m repacking and preparing for my finals and the upcoming summer. I know time moves at the same pace, but I really believe each year here at Westminster goes faster than the previous. With the semester coming to an abrupt end, I’ve been trying to organize some goals for the summer and when I return for my first semester of senior year. Mainly, I want everything with my internship to run smoothly. I’m scheduled to call my supervisor this week and establish my schedule and discuss my duties at the internship. I want to make the best of this internship and firmly believe I will. An obvious goal for this summer is to keep up with the blog on my experiences at the internship. Another goal for this summer is to devise a plan on how to efficiently complete my Capstone project in the fall. I’m thinking much of what I learn at my internship can be applied to how I complete this project. I also need to map out the design for my promotional posters for the upcoming football season. Basically, I’m going to be insanely busy this summer between my internship, my job, and all these plans. I don’t really mind though, because I like staying busy and interning in downtown Pittsburgh is really a dream come true for me.
As far as the fall semester is concerned, I plan on making sure I really adhere to my calendar I created for Capstone. I really want to be on top of managing the highlights for Coach’s Corner, our weekly sports feature show, and Titan Town Sports. Also, week by week I want to implement the highlights that I edit into my compilation video for my project. It’s going to be a great deal of work for me, but I really believe I can do it and make it look amazing. I’m confident that I will really enjoy this project and with the goals I have set, I’m confident that this can be a fantastic project to present come December.
Last weekend I had an opportunity that not very many people get. I was able to not only attend a rally for Hillary Clinton, but I had the opportunity to meet former president Bill Clinton as a audience member standing in the front row. Aside from being an extremely nice and personable guy, he is also a prolific speaker. Working the crowd before and after his speech, encouraging citizens to cast their vote for Hillary in the Democratic primary, he spoke with many people throughout the entire crowd like they were his own friends. Not surprisingly, President Clinton also knows how to interact with media. Around four television stations and three newspapers from Pittsburgh and Erie were present at Allegheny College last Saturday for the former president’s speech on behalf of his wife’s run for the presidency. If you worked for any of those media outlets, you would be hard pressed to not find a good sound bite to air on the news that night or publish in your paper the next day. Clinton’s speech was well crafted and he barely looked down throughout the entire hour long address. His animated hand gestures, pertinent subject matter, and occasional jokes to keep the crowd going for a speech that never felt like the hour that it lasted. Clinton’s uses his experience in the public eye to his advantage. As he spoke, he looked around at the crowd, making eye contact with various members of the audience, perhaps making them think he was speaking directly to them. During some of the speech, he directed his vision and motions towards the cameras set up on a platform behind where I was standing, as to directly address the media for that perfect video clip. It was interesting to observe Clinton’s mannerisms and his media savvy ness. It was also strange to see the media so reserved, since they were confined by Secret Service personnel to the single platform 20 feet from the stage. Obviously, there was an abundance of Hillary supporters in the crowd, but there were also some Obama supporters that created some controversy by waving signs against Hillary’s campaign and sporting Obama apparel. For the media present, there were a multitude of shots that could have been used. The area where President Clinton spoke was outside and on the smaller side, making the 2,000 person crowd look near massive. The speech was held on the most central, and probably the most picturesque, part of the campus. The speech and overall atmosphere at the speech was an amazing experience, not to mention meeting the former President. Even after being out of office for 8 years now, President Clinton still knows how to work a crowd and work the media.
