When the Alabama Crimson Tide reached college football’s 2022 National Championship Game, FOX54 in Huntsville, AL sent much of its staff to cover the game. That left Sports Anchor/Reporter Jonah Karp alone in studio for a week. He decided to have some fun. He converted the studio into a Crimson Tide timeline and recorded an interactive year in review. “I didn’t stop talking or moving for three straight minutes,” Karp grins. “That piece is something I’ll be happy to show people 30 years from now.”
That creativity grabbed the attention of FOX61 in Hartford, CT. Now, Karp is joining their staff as a sports anchor/reporter.
Creative approach
“I’m confident my creativity helped me get to this point,” Karp states. “In my previous role, I was always looking for a chance to be creative, and ideally, unique. I would ask myself, ‘what can I do to best capture someone’s attention and imagination?'”
Karp captured attention one Monday last August. The local minor league baseball team was off and little was happening regionally. His creative juices started flowing. “Determined to make something-out-of-nothing, I choreographed a bit of me talking to myself. I drove out to Toyota Field that morning and shot a standup where I tossed to player-sound I had shot the day before. When I returned to the studio, I rehearsed the song-and-dance twice (unsuccessfully) and figured out the timing. The red light came on and I spoke to myself on camera…LIVE! That was a rush!”
Karp’s efforts were recognized beyond Huntsville. In April, the Alabama Broadcasters Association named him the “Best Sports Personality” in the state.
“The point is this: I’m in this position because I continuously push myself creatively, and had a tremendous support system who provided that platform.
“FOX54 is composed of supremely talented, hardworking and genuinely good individuals. As a collective, they are a powerhouse. They pushed me to expand my creative horizons.”
Moving up
Still, Karp wanted to work in a larger market and live closer to his family in New York. He pounced on the FOX61 opportunity when he saw it in an STAA Job Leads email.
“From a professional standpoint, I would be jumping to a top-35 market and anchoring more times per week. Plus, I would be within driving distance to the professional teams I grew up watching on television. An opportunity to cover all of Connecticut while being a stone’s throw away from New York and Boston? It was an easy decision for me to make.
“From a personal standpoint, I would be within weekend-driving distance to much of my family and hometown friends.”
Now those family and friends will get to enjoy Karp’s on-air creativity — like what he did the day after Christmas last year. “I had to host a 30-minute sports show on the same day I was the only news anchor, sports anchor AND news reporter. I spent all week producing a show tailored to the holiday season, complete with some ‘magic.’ It was so rewarding to see the finished product.
“Not every attempt worked the way I had envisioned. But I was never ashamed to try something outside the box and I never regretted trying. The reel I sent to FOX61 was jam-packed with creative and unique content.
“It was always a goal of mine to get closer to home. FOX61 gave me that opportunity.”