(October 28, 2011) Nebraska native John Thayer’s sportscasting career might one day take him from his home state, but not yet. An STAA client since January 2009, Thayer has been hired as Sports Director at KCSR/ KBPY Radio in Chadron, NE.
Among other things, Thayer will be broadcasting a variety of play-by-play, anchoring daily sports updates and hosting a weekly coaches show. “What was really attractive is there is a lot of opportunity,” Thayer says.
Another attraction for Thayer is station management’s receptiveness to new ideas. “When I interviewed with Dennis Brown, the owner, he flat out told me ‘if you have an idea, tell me about it. We can try it,’” Thayer says. “They’re really open to allowing you to try a bunch of different things. I thought that was really cool.”
Once Thayer learned of the job, he emailed his cover letter and the link to his STAA Talent Page. “The Talent Page was definitely good,” says Thayer. “It make it really easy to get my information to the people who needed it quickly. It really helped the process, no doubt about it. Many thanks to STAA for providing the service. It really helped me in getting this job.”
A graduate of Doane College in Nebraska, Thayer’s career has taken him through Crete, Fairbury, Fort Morgan, Hastings and Grand Island. The only time he has left the Cornhusker state was for a yearlong stint in Holyoke, CO. For the past year, he has done a variety of freelance play-by-play while searching for his next full-time opportunity. He admits the job market was often frustrating.
“It can be very discouraging at times,” Thayer says. “I was getting to the point where I was thinking maybe I should do something else for a while.”
During his job search, Thayer kept busy with a variety of freelance play-by-play. It was enough to remind him that sports broadcasting is what he really wants to do. “Those freelance opportunities probably kept me from pursuing other career opportunities,” he says.
Now, Thayer’s newest opportunity is right in his own backyard.
“I’ve lived in Nebraska all but one year of my life. I get to stay in Nebraska and live in an area [of the state] I haven’t lived yet,” he grins.
(Visit John’s STAA Talent Page).