(October 11, 2013) Jeff Kolb is parlaying his online sports reporting experience into a TV job. An STAA client, Kolb is joining WBKB-TV in Alpena, MI as a sports anchor/reporter. Kolb will produce and anchor two nightly sportscasts and co-host a Friday night football show during the fall.
“I’ve dreamed of getting this chance and have been grinding for it since graduation,” says Kolb.
A 2012 graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Emerson College in Boston, Kolb has spent the past year as a sports reporter for a local news website in Chambersburg, PA. When he decided to start seeking his next opportunity, Kolb was concerned that all of his video reporting experience since graduation had been online versus on TV. As it turns out, the online experience was valuable.
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“I learned a lot by being flexible and versatile enough to improve my skills in a print job first, an experience [to which] I credit my understanding of how to cover local sports,” says Kolb. “Being at a small station with a lot of talented entry-level reporters, I’ll get to transfer that advantage of already having substantial local sports coverage experience to my job and focus on growing my abilities in front of the camera.
“Since I’ll be part of a two-person sports team I’m going to get a lot of reps and visibility, which I hope will lead me to a strong connection with the community in a short period of time.”
Kolb has been an STAA client for less than one month. “I’ve used a variety of job websites, free and paid,” Kolb says. “STAA is more than just a resource for job openings; it’s having a person in Jon Chelesnik to bounce ideas off and get advice from that is where the value of being a member truly is. Jon helped me reason out the pro’s and con’s of taking the job against staying in my current one and waiting for other opportunities. He was honest with his opinions.”
At WBKB, Kolb feels camaraderie with a staff that is largely also young and ambitious. “The other air talents are in the same boat as I am, getting their starts, so that should make this growing experience more comfortable. I couldn’t be more excited.”
(Visit Jeff’s STAA Talent Page).