Q. Why did you choose to apply for an internship with ESPN? What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
A: I applied to ESPN because as a sport journalism major, my dream was to work for the organization that I personally believe best represents everything sports are about. I initially applied for three separate internships with ESPN: production, social media and production operations. A few days after applying, I received a call with the initial phone interview. After about two weeks, on a random Saturday morning, I received a phone call from a woman within the production operations department, with whom I discussed my experience within the field. Two days later, I had a conference call style interview with five members of the production operations management team where I further spoke of my experience and the specific equipment that I have trained with. After my interview, I immediately called my mom, bawling my eyes out about how I thought the interview went poorly. About two weeks later, I received a phone call, and was officially offered the Production Operations internship.
As a Production Operations intern, I work within the production control room as a playout operator. The person controls the video clips that the audiences sees periodically throughout ESPN shows. My main responsibilities include quality-checking clips for air, and then playing the clips when the shows are live.
Q: What journalism tips have you learned from your co-workers at ESPN?
A: One of the main things that I have learned from my experience here is to check your facts once, and then go back and check them again. Just like many news organizations across the country, one of ESPN’s core objectives is to report the truth, and that has been the main journalistic tip I have received from coworkers. I have also learned that no question is a stupid one, and to hold myself to the highest standard.
Q: Could you describe a typical day at ESPN? What is most exciting? Most difficult?
A: A typical day for me at ESPN is managing the content played during certain ESPN shows, such as NFL Live and SportCenter. Before the show even begins, I, along with other members of the production team, work to make sure that the shows run smoothly by quality-checking highlights, features and scripts for the talent. The most exciting part of this whole experience is being part of a team that produces content for a worldwide audience. The difficult part, as with any news organization, is that news is always changing and things are constantly happening and updating. Keeping up with this changing industry can get pretty stressful at times, but at the end of the day, it is all worth it.
Q: In what ways have your sports journalism and broadcast courses prepared you for your responsibilities at ESPN?
A: My courses from UMass have been the backbone of my knowledge here at ESPN. Getting that hands-on experience using ESPN and working on the production side of things in Professor Greely’s classes has been the most beneficial to my experience thus far. Not so much pertaining to my classes, professors like Steve Fox and B.J. Roche always would tell me to network like crazy. Here I have been so fortunate to meet amazing people who really want to help me and push me outside of my comfort zone, and that advice Professor Fox and B.J. Roche gave me have really helped me to make the most of my experience here.
Q: What have you found to be most interesting about ESPN's company culture?
A: I touched on it a little in my last answer, but one thing that really fascinated me is how friendly and helpful my coworkers are. Being such a large company, I came in to this internship thinking that I was just going to be another number. My thought mentality quickly changed as I began meeting the people I work with. When I am not working playout, others are welcoming me with open arms to observe other areas of production operations. They really make an effort to help you better yourself in the field, and push you to face new challenges and concepts. Being at ESPN, I am not afraid to ask any questions or offer my own suggestions just because I am an intern.