Early in my sportscasting career I sent my demo to a mentor. It was under the guise of wanting feedback but really I wanted praise.
I was crushed when I didn’t get it.
How do you respond when you get negative feedback about your work?
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A frustrated job seeker asked me what else he could be doing in the job market. I asked him, “What have you already done?”
I was stunned by what I learned.
The first thing this frustrated job seeker told me was that employers don’t recognize his greatness. “It’s their fault I’m not getting hired.”
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A sportscaster I know was recently distraught because an employer for whom he’d done some freelance play-by-play broadcasts still hadn’t paid him.
These two magic wand tricks for collecting money work almost without fail.
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Day One at my first radio job after college was nerve-wracking. I was a San Diego kid in a small Kansas town, and I was less than six months out of school. I worried that my new co-workers would see me as an inexperienced outsider.
Here are five things you can do to quickly endear yourself to new co-workers.
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An STAA follower is a rugby, cricket and soccer broadcaster in Sydney, Australia.
He’s worked hard to get his name out in the industry but wonders: what else can he do to create his big break?
In 1997 I was the play-by-play voice for the Arena Football League’s Anaheim Piranhas. It was that summer in Des Moines, Iowa, when I enjoyed the most legendary pregame meal of my career. The team and I were served an entrée of spaghetti and meat sauce. After 45 minutes all the players and all but one coach had finished and left the banquet room.
I was still eating. The remaining coach looked at my skinny frame and said with wonder, “You eat more than the players.”
Did you know that eating certain foods before going on the air can help or hurt your broadcast?
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Time is one of the most important investments you can make in your life as a sports broadcaster. Dedicating time to developing your on-air abilities, maximizing job market strategy, and expanding your non-broadcasting skills pays off. It keeps you moving forward.
Are you investing time in your career? The following email is one of my favorites I have received from a sportscaster on this topic:
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A TV sports anchor was negotiating a new contract. He wondered if negotiating via email, phone or in person was best.
The sports director at a radio station that covered one of the premier college football programs in the country was torn. He loved the people he worked with and covering the team. The tradeoff was the job didn’t give him as many play-by-play opportunities as he wanted.
He wondered if it was justifiable to move down in market size.
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When I worked at XTRA in San Diego, one of my co-workers was a legend in the sports broadcasting industry. Chet Forte had been the longtime director of Monday Night Football in the days of Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford and Dandy Don Meredith. After Chet’s well-publicized gambling problems forced him off the broadcasts, he got his life in order then got back into broadcasting working as a sports talk host at our station.
Chet passed away while employed at XTRA Sports. The entire staff wanted to attend the funeral to give respect to Chet and support to his family. Chet had been great to all of us – so kind, generous, and fun. I especially enjoyed attending the high school basketball city championship with Chet, after which he treated me to dinner at a nearby Black Angus steak house.
We all owed a debit of gratitude and appreciation to Chet.
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