A short YouTube livestream segment (March 17, 2015) in which TJ Walker explains how people become on-air sports analysts. He emphasizes that formal broadcast/communications degrees are neither necessary nor sufficient; instead, deep subject expertise, clear thinking and writing, frequent public practice (blogs/podcasts/YouTube), willingness to give free interviews early, and persistent networking are key. He uses Duke basketball alumni (several named) as examples and shares a personal anecdote to illustrate planning and early intent.
Chapters
Its March Madness basketball time. A lot of people wish they could be the players out on the court, but a lot of other people wish they could be those analysts who get the cushy jobs on tv. Talking about a sport that's a lot of fun, how do you get one of those jobs? So there have been a number of stories lately how Coach K of Duke is not the most successful coach as far as having stars in the NBA, but he is the most successful coach. And Duke, Duke is the most successful team as far as having their graduates get nice on air broadcast jobs. Here's a partial list of some of the Duke players who have made a nice living as broadcast analysts for basketball Jay Bilis, Grant Hill, Jim Spinarkle, Mike Jaminsky, Jay Williams. What do they all have in common? Here's one thing. None of them majored in broadcast journalism or communications. Now folks, I'm in the communications field. I teach people communications. But I have to tell you, I have a very low opinion of broadcast journalism degrees and communications degrees. It just so happens Duke doesn't give those degrees. And yet all of those people have become wildly successful and disproportionately successful in the field of on air broadcast analysis, especially in basketball. It's not from majoring in things like communications or broadcast journalism. Typically, all of these players majored in real subjects that had some academic rigor to it. So they learned how to think clearly, they learned how to write, they learned how to express complex opinions. That's what's helpful. Now all of them also benefited from the fact that they play basketball at a very high level and were in the media constantly as players doing interviews. That's a great background to be an analyst in any position whatsoever. But they also went about this in a methodical way. Now, I hope this doesn't sound like name dropping because believe me, none of these people know I exist. I'm not friends with any of the Duke players. But it does just so happen that I was at Duke the same time as some of these players. And I well remember an evening in, it must have been 1982. I was a sophomore, Jay Bilis was a freshman, and somehow we ended up on a triple date together. There were three other women. Me, Jay, and one other guy. Believe me, we weren't in the same social circles. Jay was cool and I wasn't. But anyway, this was the one time I ever had any encounter with him. All the women all evening long were just asking Jay questions. Every eye was on him. And someone asked him, what are your career plans Everyone assumed he would say, well, I want to be a professional basketball player. No, that's not what he said. He said, I want to go into broadcasting. And even then he had an incredibly rich, deep, resonant voice. And he had a plan. It was something he thought about, something he'd researched. He was planning his internships and he was 18 years old and this was 33 years ago. So this idea that players just sort of luck into it or fall into it. No, it was well thought out and planned. Now again, did he major in communications? No, he majored in political science. He got a law degree, both from Duke. So he prepared himself to think, to be articulate, to express himself. And that is why his career has done so well. So what's my advice to people who want to be basketball analysts? It's really, really tough if you're not a former star basketball player in college or the professional level. Now, there are some exceptions. One exception, also from Duke, is a guy named Seth Davis. He never played for Duke. He just was writing for the Chronicle, the student newspaper. How did he get there? Well, again, I don't mean to besmirch Seth Davis. I'm sure he's talented. I'm sure he's hard working. But his father is incredibly rich and famous and powerful. His father is Lanny Davis, former general counsel in the Clinton administration and someone who's on TV cable news constantly and certainly knows the ways of media and is wildly connected. So I'll be honest with you. I don't know how you get to be a Duke or, excuse me, a basketball analyst on broadcast TV without either having incredible connections or being a star basketball player in college or pros. But I do want to give you some helpful advice on how to be an analyst in your niche. Let's say you are a high level college badminton player. Well, continue studying badminton. Think about it, read it, follow all the tournaments. Whatever your niche is, become a true expert. Live it. Know everything. Follow every bit of news on that subject. That's the first thing. Have opinions. And have opinions that are informed and intelligent and not just the typical grunting fan. The next piece of advice I have for you is express your opinions. Now, unlike when I was in college and I could get a column in once every two weeks in the student newspaper, you don't have to wait that long and you don't have to have a newspaper put their stamp of approval on you. You can be writing today on your blog, on your Facebook page, start writing, podcasting, putting out your comments on YouTube, the third thing is you really need a regular presence where you are speaking, whether it's your podcast or your YouTube channel, at least once a week, preferably more often, give opinions, analysis and go ahead and interview people in your industry. And that way you can improve your speaking skills. Critically important if you want to be a broadcaster. The fourth thing is make yourself available to be interviewed by reporters, talk show hosts in your industry. Give it away for free before any of these NBC or excuse me, CBS analysts and March Madness analysts got paid a penny. They all gave thousands of interviews for free back when they were players because as a player, you're an expert on the game that was just played. So make yourself available as a free interviewee to people who cover your industry. And the final bit of advice is every single time, or at least frequently, when you see people you know in the media, ask them for jobs, ask them for connections, ask them to introduce you to people and be aggressive. That is how you get jobs in the broadcast industry. You've got to network, network, network. Now again, full disclosure. The advice I give you is unlikely to get you on CBS on March Madness next year. But it might get you on channel 57 of ESPN for the badminton tournament. If you do all these things for your niche of badminton, it might get you on Fox Business News. If your niche is stock picking, it might get you on E. If your particular niche is fashion and fashion commentary. So these tips will help you. And maybe it's not network broadcast tv. Maybe it is a website that has live video streaming that has a huge audience. That may be more significant in your industry, but it's a medium where you are seen speaking. Follow these tips and you can become an on air analyst for your field. Remember folks, it's not luck, it's not happenstance, it is focus. Often for years and even decades. That's what it's about.
