Opportunites

I feel that in order to get into this industry and be successful you would need to have connections. It is a business that like Reali mentions you may not make a lot of money in the beginning. You need to have passion in this industry. Taking some of the words from the men I interviewed in order to do well you need to be able to write well, have a keen eye for a story, the desire to be successful within the industry and like Phil Simms said you need the be patient and unique. You need to bring something to the table.
As for the job opportunities there are numerous opportunities in the industry. The only thing is you have to start out low and making very little. If you are willing to take the time to gain experience for little pay it could be very profitable in the end. This is not an industry were you can expect to start off high up you need to establish yourself within the industry and work your way up. Having been an athlete and around sports for the last 14 years of my life I feel that I have definitely developed my passion for the industry. I would with out a doubt need to find someone to help develop my writing ability but after that I feel I have the connections and the knowledge about the industry to do well.

Change in the Sports Industry

Each of the four men i interviewed at some point talked about how important the Internet is and how it has changed the industry. Reali says “But the future is on-line. This is simply because you can report the news the moment it happens. It's literally timeless. You can have a game end at 11:00 and a game story on-line read by thousands at 11:01. You don't have to wait for the newscast in an hour or the paper in the morning.” Papa makes a similar statement about the Internet but follows it up with the fact that the Internet also causes problems for the industry; “computers have enabled the information flow to become instant. Everything is at a broadcasters finger tips. The internet has also created problems. Anybody can start rumors via chartrooms and websites. That has created a culture that strays away from true journalism.”
I think it is interesting that these four men that come from all different backgrounds and are in all different areas within the same industry all mentioned that the internet has changed and will continue to change the industry. This is also a fact that we have mentioned numerous times in our class.
Reali said something in his interview that I found very interesting, his comment on needing to know how to write. We have mentioned how important being able to write can be. Reali also mentioned that everyday as part of his preparation he reads blogs before he does his show. Another area I would like to touch on is that I think is speaks volumes that these four men took the time out of their busy schedules to answer my questions. Three of the four men took the time simply because I was a student from Fordham University and they to had a connection to Fordham.

Final Project (interviews)

The next three posts will be post about my final project for this management class. The first will touch on how I feel the interviews went with Phil Simms, Tony Reali, Joe DiBari, and Bob Papa.
Phil Simms was Super Bowl XXI MVP and 15-year NFL veteran, joined CBS Sports in January 1998 as lead analyst for the CBS Television Network's coverage of the NFL. Tony Reali is the current host of Around the Horn on ESPN. He is also the ombudsman or "stat boy" on Pardon the Interruption. He is often referred to as the Ultimate Sports Guru for his keen intellect and mastery of all sports statistics. Joe DiBari is Sports Information Director at Fordham University. Bob Papa is a play-by-play announcer for the NY Giants, NBC Sports and HBO Boxing as well as the morning show host on Sirius NFL Radio. Having the opportunity and the connections to speak with these distinguished professionals was a great experience. They are all key figures in the sports media/broadcasting industry and they all touched upon similar topics. They all mentioned the Internet and how important it has become and how it has changed either the industry or their specific job. All four men touched on how important it is to have an eye for a story and having the ability to write.