(December 9, 2014) The most effective networking happens when you are looking out for opportunities to help others instead of helping yourself. STAA client Ashlea Bullington’s timely offer to help turned into a job opportunity. American Sports Network, Niles Media, and Sinclair Broadcasting have hired Bullington as a TV Studio Host and Sideline Reporter.
“I might not be the most tenured anchor or reporter, I’m 22 you can’t expect that, but because I work hard and am willing to put time in for the team I got the opportunity of a lifetime,” says Bullington.”
Bullington was working as a general news reporter at KATC in Lafayette, LA despite knowing that her true calling was in sports. To stay close to the athletics atmosphere and build her resume, Bullington spent some of her downtime crewing University of Louisiana-Lafayette TV games.
“I was working a game with a director named Sean Moore out of Birmingham, Alabama. One of the cameras broke and everything looked like it was going south. That’s when I offered to run a camera, EVS and audio. I wanted to make their lives easier. His words were ‘You know how to do all of that.’ That day I did stats like I was hired to do, but Sean was impressed. After the game was over he got my information and sent it to Kevin Shank with Niles and ASN.”
Soon after, Bullington was flying to Kansas City for an interview with ASN. A few days later she had a job offer.
A 2013 TCU graduate, Bullington left college with a wide range of skills gained through internships and working in TCU student media. Versatility paired with a team-focused attitude proved to be the key factors in landing at ASN.
“They loved my resume because I had the production background, and ASN being a startup, they needed talent that is willing to write, edit, anchor, report, and if need be go freelance on the weekend running equipment.”
Working in sports media requires long hours; working in a sports media startup makes those long hours even more critical for success. For a young sports broadcaster like Bullington, the huge benefit of those hours is the opportunity to grow and thrive.
“This opportunity for me is perfect because I am learning from some of the best in the business. Working with ASN, my director worked for ESPN so he is helping with my writing and it has already improved leaps and bounds. Our other anchor and all other talent have been in the business for ten plus years. Mick Shaffer, our other host, works for Time Warner Sports KC and has been in the business for 20 years. Just watching him in studio is a learning experience. Every producer, director, camera op I work with has a different eye and that makes you versatile, having to learn to adapt to the people you are working with in the field.”
“The best part of it all is that I have a voice here. We are new and the team relies on me to do more than just anchor and I love that. I have creative freedom and a personality. The best is getting to voice my opinion on things. Also, I love being in a place that challenges me. Not only does my sports knowledge gets challenged here, but so does my ability. I’m extremely blessed to be a part of ASN.”
(Visit Ashlea’s website).