I've already talked about how competitive athletes can use their visibility to break into television sportscasting. Now I'll focus on how others can make it in the field.
College is increasingly a prerequisite for landing a sports television journalism job. According to a survey of news directors, virtually none said they would hire anyone without a college degree for an entry level job. And most wanted people with at least one to two years of job experience. (1)
Many students who want to be journalists major in communications, though this is rarely enough. "The cold truth: you're one of thousands of people who have earned a journalism degree in the last year -- a degree that comes with absolutely no guarantee of landing a job in journalism ... In fact, the degree is just one of many assets you'll need to get a job." (2).
Some experienced journalists even advise against majoring in communications. For example, Dan Patrick (a co-host on ESPN's "SportsCenter") thinks it's better to minor in communications. "Communications grads are a dime a dozen, but somebody with some communications skills and studies under their belt and a 'real' education stands out from the crowd of résumés and applications." (3)
Keith Olbermann (who co-hosted "SportsCenter" with Patrick for five-and-half years) goes even farther. "The one thing most young people seem to bring to broadcasting these days is that they really don't know anything but broadcasting. They should have some general knowledge. You never know when that reference to Shakespeare is going to be useful. You never know when you're going to suddenly be switched from sports to news, and you are going to have to know where Iraq is." (4)
Olbermann counsels future sports journalists to be prepared to two other areas as well. One is a broad knowledge of sports of all kinds. "You have to know a little bit about everything, past and present, and in those areas you don't know, you have to know who to ask, or where to look it up." (5)
Second is practical experience. "...I could've majored in turf grass management and it wouldn't have made any difference as long as I spent seventy-five hours a week at our college radio station." (6)
Practical experience can also be garnered outside a university setting. Here are several options worth noting:
1. Elementary and high school programs. A number of schools around the country are producing their own television shows, with students doing all the on and off-camera work.
2. Public access television. Cable companies in some communities provide airtime for local citizens to broadcast their own shows. Example:
In 1996, three high school students, Matt LeBlanc, Mike Grages, and Chad Connors (who were then 16, 16, and 14 respectively) created "Hockey Talk." According to an article about the show, they taped it once a week from October to mid-June and broadcast it 21 times a week on their local cable access station in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Their crew included eight other people: an eleven-year-old floor director; two camera operators (age 14 and 15); an audio man (15); a graphics artist (16); a phone manager (16); someone doing odd jobs (16); and a director (38).
"We talk about every single professional and collegiate league in North America.
"I want to go into sports broadcasting and I started the
show to get some early exposure at that," said LeBlanc. (7)
LeBlanc and Grages were still hosting the show in 1998, but as
graduating seniors, they had college plans which could take them
away from the area.
Often there is a waiting list for air time so budding show producers are advised to apply early. If you want more information on developing a public access television show, here's a place to start: http://www.alliancecm.org/acmprod.htm
3. Sportscaster Camp. Some sportscasters and sports journalism professors have offered sportscaster camps to those who want a quick way to gain some experience. Generally attendees spend a week receiving instruction from the staff, practicing their skills, and listening to visiting celebrity sportscasters.
Roy Englebrecht, who runs Sportscaster Camps of America (he also owns several sports teams including the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, a minor league baseball team, and the Reno Renegades, a minor league hockey team), explained why people come. ''It's kind of a chicken-and-the-egg thing. You can't get a job without a tape and you can't get a tape without a job. We solved that.'' (8)
ESPN even offered its own version of a camp to TV sports critics from around the country. At the company's headquarters, they were shown how to carry on when the TelePrompter goes down, what to do when your co-anchor starts to cough and you've got to pick up the slack, how to write scripts, how to ad lib, and how to prepare an audition tape. They were even advised to think about their images. ''Being yourself is what's going to be difficult. You're going to find yourself asking, 'Who the hell am I?' You struggle with that. 'Am I funny? No, I'm not funny. I can write, but how do I look?' You worry about the minutiae. It will drive you crazy,'' said Dan Patrick. (9)
Once you get some experience, then you need to get a job. At a minimum these are the attributes you'll need:
1. Writing skills are important. According to Patrick, "You have to write well. You have to write quickly. Even if you wind up doing play-by-play or talk radio, where writing is not a vital portion of the job, the mental skills honed by writing are essential." (10)
2. Voice skills count. Practice as much as possible, using a tape recorder and a video camera.
3. Appearances count -- even when you are on location and out in the elements. According to Lynn Setzer (a broadcaster in Denver), "Even in a blizzard, with your hands, feet, and lips frozen, take time to put on lipstick, comb your hair, straighten your tie, etc." (11) Lest you think that this only applies to females, here's what Olbermann had to say about an audition he did in Los Angeles in 1985. "They asked me to write a script and then read it several different ways. With my horn-rimmed glasses, with wire-frame glasses, without my glasses. Oh yeah, and with and without my mustache." (12)
To get your first job, here are a few things to keep in mind:
1. A personal meeting gets you farther than a résumé. Michael Sullivan, news director at a Tulsa, Oklahoma station, recommended, "Shake as many hands as possible. Résumés just become stacks of paper in my office. Unsolicited tapes, especially when there's not an opening, are just as bad. It's more likely you'll be remembered if you've just met the News Director before he/she has an opening." (13)
Similarly, Olbermann said, "A résumé won't
do it. They don't care. A résumé is what they check
to make sure you're not an ax murderer after they decide they
might want to hire you. They want to see or hear what you've actually
done on the air. ... Once you get on the air in college, tape
everything you do so you can save the best stuff and make your
demo or résumé tape." (14)
2. Take any job. Advised Mark Millage, news director at
a Sioux Falls, South Dakota station, "Never say 'no' to any
opportunity, no matter what the position. Be prepared to take
a job anywhere in the country, at any size market, at any time
it's offered to you." (15)
I highly recommend Olbermann and Patrick's book, The Big Show (Pocket Books, 1997). I would have quoted the whole chapter about becoming a sportscaster if I could. It's the best material I have found on the subject. Either buy the book (the paperback edition is $16) or find it in your library. Some of the book fits into the trivia category, but there's some good info on the nuts and bolts of sportscasting.
Copyright 1998 Suzanne Lainson/SportsTrust