After an unplanned career detour, STAA member Griffin Weinberg is joining KREI and KJFF Radio in Farmington, MO as an On Air Talent/Play-by-Play Broadcaster.
In 2018 the stations hired STAA member Nick Lewis.
A 2018 graduate of Indiana University, Weinberg got plenty of play-by-play action during college, working for WIUX Radio and the Big Ten Network. But finding a full-time broadcasting job after graduation proved difficult, and he eventually settled for other work so he could pay the bills. He shares, “I ended up working in football in the video department, making my way from the AAF to the XFL and onto the NFL with the Bengals.”
His years away from broadcasting weren’t wasted, though. He says, “I learned a lot of lessons that helped get me to where I am today. I work harder, I have a clearer picture of where I want to end up, and I’ve had experiences I wouldn’t trade for the world.”
Weinberg is excited to get back in the play-by-play game, and the KREI job will provide him with a lot of on-air reps and a chance to grow his off-air skills. His new position is also an ideal place to get reacquainted with broadcasting. He explains, “It’s been a while since I’ve done anything broadcast-related so the fact that this is a small town with a great entry-level opportunity is what made me feel comfortable pursuing this job.”
When pursuing the KREI job, Weinberg was diligent in his follow-up. He shares, “After initially talking with the program director, I immediately sent a follow-up email thanking him for contacting me and sent him a list of references after he asked for one.”
But he didn’t stop there. “After not hearing from him for over a week, I reached back out and asked if he had contacted my references yet. The next day I heard from two of my references that the program director had reached out to them and I got hired less than a week later.”
Weinberg had been an STAA member in the past and recently rejoined. He says, “I joined STAA because it provided the help I was looking for when I didn’t know where to go for help. I haven’t always been great with networking or maintaining relationships, but Jon [Chelesnik] and the community are always there to help out.”