April 26, 2015
OSWEGO, N.Y. – “There’s definitely going to be some times in the next couple of years when you’re going to be struggling,” said Jeremy Donovan, sports director at WICZ-TV.
If you can get a job out of college making $25,000 to $30,000, though, you’re doing pretty well, Donovan said.
Donovan spoke to a journalism class consisting of mostly seniors and juniors on Thursday at SUNY Oswego and provided them with some advice for the future.
Donovan works for WICZ-TV in Binghamton. He graduated from SUNY Oswego in 2010. Donovan got his foot in the door as a part-time production assistant, but he spent “the most humbling year and a half of his life” after graduation before getting a job at FOX-40 in Binghamton.
Donovan is the sports director, which means he is basically in charge of all sports content and operates essentially as a department of one. Friday is the only day that he has help.
“It doesn’t look good online when they just take the stuff off the teleprompter, so I try to write everything on the web from scratch,” Donovan said.
Donovan said the difference between writing online and writing for broadcast is essentially length.
“On the web, I can write for days (not that anyone’s going to read it),” Donovan said.
Donovan said that connecting to viewers is a key to success in the broadcasting business.
“If you can present yourself as someone the viewer feels they know, they’re going to enjoy watching you more,” Donovan said.
Justine T. Polonski 