Phillies Host Annual College Media Day for College Students
Jonathan Marshall
Issue date: 3/24/08 Section: News
There could not have been a better venue. Where else could you have access to a distinguished group of media professionals spanning from public relations to broadcasting and who have worked for names such as ESPN and ABC? The Philadelphia Phillies annual College Media Day at Citizens Bank Park of course. They provided the opportunity for college students who are interested in sports writing, broadcasting, and photography to meet and greet with various sports media professionals.
Hosted by Phillies Public affairs director and former ABC sportscaster Scott Palmer, an all-star panel of sports professionals including ESPN senior baseball writer and analyst Jayson Stark, Comcast Sportsnet's Leslie Gudel, and Gary Papa of ABC gave 200 college students their stories and insight pertaining to sports media.
Stark started out the all day event by giving perhaps the most outstanding speech of the day. In discussing the media landscape, Stark gets excited about the future of sports. Stark gave the most important advice given on this day when he said that the key to getting into and thriving in the business is passion. You could see his passion for baseball as he talked about the enjoyment of going to the ballpark on game days and the first World Series he covered. That passion got him to ESPN.
The day consisted of two breakout sessions in which Phillies professionals in public relations, marketing, broadcasting, video, and fan development gave a behind-the-scenes look at the Phillies. During the sessions, students learned about a normal day in the life of media professionals. A job in the media seems flashy but students faced a reality check seeing how much work it takes. It was said that baseball was actually the hardest sport to report.
One Phillies broadcaster said that come baseball season, "I can say goodbye to my wife and kids."
A recurring theme of the not so glamorous facet of sports reporting continued during the panels, which dealt with what it takes to be on air, meeting story deadlines, pitching the perfect story, and taking the perfect shot. Many panelists talked about how hard of a profession that sports media is and the difficulties. ABC sports anchor Gary Papa added to this sentiment by saying that if you are pursuing a career in the field, it is trial and error and you just don't quit.
Hosted by Phillies Public affairs director and former ABC sportscaster Scott Palmer, an all-star panel of sports professionals including ESPN senior baseball writer and analyst Jayson Stark, Comcast Sportsnet's Leslie Gudel, and Gary Papa of ABC gave 200 college students their stories and insight pertaining to sports media.
Stark started out the all day event by giving perhaps the most outstanding speech of the day. In discussing the media landscape, Stark gets excited about the future of sports. Stark gave the most important advice given on this day when he said that the key to getting into and thriving in the business is passion. You could see his passion for baseball as he talked about the enjoyment of going to the ballpark on game days and the first World Series he covered. That passion got him to ESPN.
The day consisted of two breakout sessions in which Phillies professionals in public relations, marketing, broadcasting, video, and fan development gave a behind-the-scenes look at the Phillies. During the sessions, students learned about a normal day in the life of media professionals. A job in the media seems flashy but students faced a reality check seeing how much work it takes. It was said that baseball was actually the hardest sport to report.
One Phillies broadcaster said that come baseball season, "I can say goodbye to my wife and kids."
A recurring theme of the not so glamorous facet of sports reporting continued during the panels, which dealt with what it takes to be on air, meeting story deadlines, pitching the perfect story, and taking the perfect shot. Many panelists talked about how hard of a profession that sports media is and the difficulties. ABC sports anchor Gary Papa added to this sentiment by saying that if you are pursuing a career in the field, it is trial and error and you just don't quit.
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