Motown Records is one of the most successful, influential record-producing companies of all time. They reached their peak in the 60s and 70s.
What was unique about much of Motown’s songwriting was that it grabbed you right off the bat. It started fast.
The song “Get Ready” by the Temptations begins with a bold horns riff.Read More
Molly Fletcher is one of the few women in the world of sports agents.
When she was a guest on the Brian Buffini Show podcast, she shared about her days of trying to break into the industry. She told Brian, “My goal at every meeting was to get them to like me enough and respect me enough to either help me or hire me.”
Apply that approach to your sports broadcasting career.
Ask employers for advice, not jobs.
Asking for a job puts an employer on the spot. Asking for advice puts them in the spotlight.
Don’t ask for a job. Ask for advice, and you’ll present yourself as ambitious rather than needy.
“They’re strong, but they all sound the same.” That’s what a network television executive told an agent who had just presented a group of sportscasters.
The sportscasting job market is undergoing a seismic shift: personality over polish.
My parents gave me a lot of advice when I was growing up. Much of it I ignored, thinking they were wrong or that I simply knew more than them. Sometimes, though, when a coach or the parent of a friend gave me the same advice, I ran with it because it came from a different voice. Trying to help our members at STAA is sometimes the same way.
I have preached ‘til I’m blue in the face that cookie-cutter cover letters – form letters – do not work in the job market. Alas, not all of our members at STAA respect the message. I received the following email this week from the Program Director at a one of the nation’s most prominent sports radio stations.
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Do you remember the scene in Slap Shot when Strother Martin starts calling other teams because he knows the Chiefs are folding?
Here’s how to utilize your contacts to help you in the job market without sounding desperate like Strother Martin.
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An aspiring sportscaster living in Los Angeles saw an opening for a sports talk radio producer in South Carolina. He badly wanted the job in order to get his foot in the industry. Instead of mailing or emailing his resumé to the employer, he hopped on a plane and hand-delivered it. They were so impressed with his gumption that he got the job.
That aspiring sportscaster was Jonas Knox, who ended up being a sports talk host with Fox Sports Radio Network.
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Looking to advance your sports talk radio career when sports resume?
Former ESPN Radio Network Programmer Scott Masteller shared eight suggestions for accelerating the process at an STAA One Day Ticket to Sportscasting Success seminar.
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It’s fun when employers share crummy cover letters with me.
I’m sharing two examples of dumb things sportscasting job applicants have written in their cover letters – and why you want to avoid making similar mistakes.
With the cancellation or postponement of games, sportscasters nationwide are being challenged economically and emotionally for the foreseeable future because they’re losing opportunities to do what they love in covering sports.
As we all begin to grapple with the impact of COVID-19 in our lives, we invited members of the sports broadcasting community to share stories, feelings, frustrations, and strategies for staying positive.
The result was an encouraging 2-hour conversation with sportscasters from around the country. In this post we’re sharing some of the key takeaways, plus the audio and video replay of the community chat.
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An STAA member called me to vent about the job market. He’s been a small and mid-market sportscaster for more than a decade but has struggled to earn bigger opportunities. I asked him what he’s doing to follow-up his applications. His answer stunned me. In short, he said he doesn’t follow-up – that is ability should speak for itself and that he didn’t feel he should have to “brown nose” anyone for the sake of getting a job.
Wow! My jaw nearly cracked when it hit the floor.
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