Good Night Goodbye

Screen Shot from my Anchoring

My last day at Fox was really sad. I had the opportunity to shoot a demo. This means that I would have a chance, after the 6 P.M. News to try and do the sports segment. I arrived at Fox at 5 P.M. and re-wrote the scripts to sound more like the way I talk. Then I had to do what every anchor does, my hair and my makeup. You have to look perfect when on television. 

As time wound down to the show time, I got extremely nervous. I think the best way to describe my feeling is when you are going on a roller coaster for the first time. When you are all strapped in and ridding to the top, you stomach feel nervous and you bladder feels like you have to go to the bathroom. You are sick with anticipation of what is going to happen over the first drop.  You know you will survive, but you cannot help and bee scared. That is how I was feeling. 

Photo By: Nikki Romanuk this is in the Sports Department

I tried to explain that to the boys, but they just made fun of me. Boys just don’t understand. Brendan however did tell me “if you are not nervous, then something is wrong,” that made me feel better.  So the clock was winding down, and my nerves were increasing. I tried just to breathe, and find my confidence. I read over my script over and over again, and waited for my chance.

The 6 P.M. news ended and Ross and I walked down to the control room and got ready. We put our microphones on and talked to the director, Jeremy, who is a friend of mine, and it was show time. Ross, the other intern went first. I should mention that Ross goes to Emerson College and is majoring in broadcast journalism. Something I see as an advantage on his part. Ross has the advantage of working every day in an editing room and every day in front of a camera, I don’t have that advantage being a Communication Arts major. 

Photo By: Nikki Romanuk, of the control room

So Ross went first and did a really good job, which made me nervous. Then it was my turn. It took me a while to figure out where to put my microphone and hook up the ear piece. Something I did not think of. A girl wearing a dress is different from a boy in a suit. They can hook on the microphone and the earpiece onto their pants. I on the other hand, had to put it on the back of my dress, which weighed me down a bit. 

I finally got in front of the camera, and was getting counted in, and then it was show time. I messed up reading the first five seconds in, and had to restart. Then I just began to role with it. Kept up some high energy, and mustered through. I got to try two times. The second time was better because I was feeling more confident. But sadly the recording stopped so I only have the first one and part of the second. 

I am not saying that I am perfect, in fact I am very critical on myself, but I do think I did an okay job. Here is what the final product looks like. Please remember I have a lot of room for improvement.

Overall I just want to say this was an amazing internship. I got to meet amazing people and live out some childhood dreams. I am not sure if sports are my future, but I am glad I completed the internship.
There is just one last quote I want to leave you with from my favorite television show One Tree Hill; “Say what you want about the lavishness of sports in a corporate age, where over paid athletes demand pre-Madonna treatment. But there is still something so unifying in its purist form. Where athletes rise above themselves and touch greatness and in doing so remind us all that we all have greatness inside of us.”  I think this quote sums up my internship, and gives people insight as to why I love sports. For the last time, I am Nikki Romanuk, for Fox Sports

The Things We Used To Dream

When you are a child you dream crazy dreams. You have innocence about you and think nothing will ever stop you from reaching that dream. As we grow up we realize that living your childhood dream is unlikely. Life gets in the way and your innocence is shattered by reality. As a college student getting ready to enter the real world I am realizing the reality of what it takes to make dreams come true. That being said, I am still living out my dreams, one of the last things I got to do with my internship was go to the Patriots vs. Texans football game.

 

Photo By: Nikki Romanuk

I was really excited about this because I am a huge Patriots fan, as most of you know, and was determined to see that it was like to step onto the field for Monday Night Football. The weather looked grim before the game, although it was an unusual warm 60 degrees, it was also raining. But as Walt and I got to the stadium the rain was slowing down, and I knew something magical was going to take place.

If you follow football the Texans had a winning record of 11-1 and the Patriots had a 9-3 record, everyone knew this game was going to be a good one. 

Darren Haynes took this picture for me!

Walt and I left the studio at 4 P.M. for an 8:15 P.M. game. Considering the game was on Monday Night, we did not want to get stuck in traffic, so we left early. Once we pulled into Gillete Stadium, we unloaded the car and prepared for the night. Walt and I made our way to the field to drop off some equipment, and I could not help myself, and walked out on the gridiron. If you are a football fan, you know how loud a stadium can get, but when I was on the field, there was a peaceful silence. A person, like me could only imagine what the night would lead too, but for that moment, it was nothing but peace.

Walt and I ran up to the media room and got good seats to relax in before kickoff. We had to eat and socialize; I also had time to check out a press conference with Matt Light, a former Patriot player who was being honored. Because we had so much down time, I decided to go down to the field with channel 7’s Darren Haynes. Now that the fans were filling the stadium and the players were warming up, I knew it would be a different atmosphere!! And the word Different was an understatement. The fans took away that peaceful silence and filled it with crazy excitement. I began to feel the rush the players do before the game! Darren and I walked the sidelines and felt the rush of the crowd.

Photo By: Nikki Romanuk

Darren then left me to go upstairs to the press box, when I decided to stay on the field until I got kicked off. Needless to say I did not get kicked off and got to talk to Greg Glassy a camera man for channel 7. I also had some more time to hang out with Walt. The announcer came over the loud speaker and announced the Houston Texans. The players ran onto the field and the crowd was filled with boos! Then the announcer came over the loud speaker and announced the New England Patriots. Fireworks came shooting out, the minute men shot their guns, and the crowd cheered so loud the stadium shook, being on the field for all of that was one of the craziest experiences that only few NFL fans get to experience

After the singing of the National Anthem, the game was about to begin. I stayed on the field for Kickoff memorized, by the gigantic athletes that were in front of me. Something all people should know, up close and personal these guys are HUGE! You would only realize the size of these men if you were close!

After kick off I decided to walk back to the press box and watch the game with Darren, partly because I wanted to see the whole field and partly because I feared for my safety. There was no telling if the players would go out of bounds and where I would wind up. I got up to the press box, which had an unusual chatter. Normally you are not allowed to cheer in the box, but since the Patriots were dominating, and it was Monday Night Football, the media was crazy! Darren pointed out some cool things to me, one of them being a man wearing long bright orange gloves. This is on the field during commercial breaks, so the players know they have to wait before starting a new play!

During the game, I was trying to write my script for my package. Something that was not easy for me to do. I talked to Darren about it, and then ran into Levin Reed, another sports anchor who sounds like Mufasa from the Lion King. After getting advice, I felt ready to go after the game. 

Photo By: Nikki Romanuk Of Patrick Chung

One thing I should mention is I was told to be more confident on camera. I had no idea where I was going to find this confidence, and then I thought back to the film Big Daddy with Adam Sandler, and remembered that I needed magic sunglasses to give me confidence. Now I cannot wear sunglasses on camera, so I decided to go with a necklace my Mother gave me. It totally did the trick. I felt very confident in myself.

Okay, back to the game. The game was over and the Patriots won something I doubted. I had my script written, and was feeling confident. I just had to get some post sound, and meet Walt, and then I would get a chance to shoot. When walking down to the press conference room I ran into an old friend Wayne, which made me, feel more secure about myself. Just a side note, Wayne works for the Sports Hub (a radio station) and I had met him during my intern days at Mix1041 (another radio station). After doing the locker-room stuff, which I was getting really good at, it was time for me to shoot. 

Photo By Nikki Romanuk of Gillette from the field

I had first thought I was going to shoot my package in the parking lot, but Walt took me right out onto the field. I was filled with the joy a young child feels when they are waiting for Santa to come, nervous and excited. So after watch Aquib Talib (a Patriots defensive player) wheel past and smile at me on a golf cart, (he had been injured during the game) I was ready to go. 

What a sound it was to hear my voice echo through the empty stadium. I was reminded of the dreams I had as a child. And decided that I need to keep those dreams, and dream the way we all used to dream. Because keeping that innocence and excitement is such a magical feeling. My dream night had ended, I edited together my package later in the week, and I am proud to share it with all of you. Before I head out, I just want every to think real hard about a childhood dream you once had, and make that dream into a reality, it is truly a blessing to live out your dreams! Nikki Romanuk Fox Sports! 

Work is Like Buying a Boat!

Photo By: Nikki Romanuk

I am winding down to the end of my internship, which is sad because I feel like I still have a lot to learn. But like a book, all good stories come to an end and I am going to make my last chapters count. I have talked to the people who work here and Walt, the camera guy gave me advice for the real world, he said," getting a job is like buying a boat. You are only happy twice, the day you get it and the day you leave it!" Walt always gives me some crazy advice like that and most times he is right!

 

 

LIFE AT FOX

Fox is going in a different direction when it comes to sports. They are looking for more stories

Photo By: Nikki Romanuk At Boston College vs Harvard game

and not the same stuff the other local news stations are covering. This is interesting to me. It means there will be more high school and college coverage.

Speaking of college coverage, I went to Boston College to watch the a basketball game. It was BC vs. Harvard. I found out about the game last minute, I did not have enough time to research the history of the schools or the match up, so I felt very unprepared. Needless to say I went to the game, which was my first ever college basketball game and it was very interesting to say the least.

Walt and I went to the press conference with the athletic director Brad Bates. This press conference was really important because the Boston College Eagles has just fired the head coach for the football team, and had just hired a new head coach Steve Addazio. This was the first press conference that athletic director Bates  did on the matter. Although I knew very little about the situation, I really learned a lot about Boston College. I learned that the Boston College Eagles are more of a family environment. They thrive on the team mentality, and making young leaders.  The BC Eagles as an organization is one that really considers people and leadership. Something I believe strongly in.

Photo By: Nikki Romanuk At Boston College Vs Harvard Game

Well finally, Walt and I go to watch the game and, I was unaware of the rituals  that BC and Harvard fans have. One of the Boston College rituals was that the band. The Boston college band would dress in Harry Potter shirts and wore bright yellow afros. I found most of the other rituals comical. It was very hard for me to take the game seriously with the all of the rituals going on. Another thing that surprised me about the BC basketball game was the fact the alumni was there and very into the game, almost violently into the game. I get having pride in your school, but being a 50 something year old and talking smack to a bunch of 20something year-old is a little lame if you ask me.

Walt and I stayed for the entire basketball game, BC lost by 20pts. Walt and I later went to the get post audio from the Harvard team. We talked to the Harvard coach and one of the players. It was  a different experience because I did not have to fight to get up front (like I do at the Patriots).

Lost in Sports

I wanted to take some time and write about media and on air talent as a business. I know I normally blog about what I have been doing at Fox, but I have yet to blog about how I feel about working in Sports.  

Something I have learned is that Stars are not born. You have to work for everything you want in this life. This means starting off in  smaller markets, places like Wyoming, and "paying your dues" and being good enough to move to different markets. I have had long talks with Brendon about "paying dues".
 

I have also learned that if something is your passion, then stop at nothing to get it. As of right now, I am not sure sports is my passion. When working in sports, I have felt very insecure, and my selfesteem is at an all time low. Not feeling confident in what I am saying or doing comes off very poorly on camera. Sometimes, when I shoot my packages, I feel like I am a joke. I know I am new at this, but it is still hard to feel confident when it takes you 2 hours to write a 45 second script.

I believe in hard work and positive energy, and Brendon has told me so many times, if I want to be famous and "get my name out there" which is hard for me to get a postive outlook on my negative feelings. Brendan tells me  I have to be really good. I am also noticing that sports is a serious thing, by serious I do not mean if you mess up you will die, I mean the way people talk about sports is serious, there is no room for a personality and jokes when reporting sports.

I am learning that you are not allowed to be a fan, and have to start being non bias. part of the reason I liked sports, is because I am the fan and i wanted a chance to get to know my favorite teams, this whole non bias thing takes away from the fun of sports.

When thinking of a career path, you have to think about yourself and what you want out of life. something that is important to me is family. I have known at a young age that I want a family. I am noticing in the sports field, it is hard to have a family because of the crazy hours. Most reporters are not married, and if they are, the spouses have to be willing to move around. nothing is final in sports, ratings could change everything.

One final thing, I like to be creative and do different things, and i feel very restricted in the sports environment. Right now I am feeling that sports does not fit into my personality. okay i have got the venting out of the way, the next post will be about Patriots, thanksgiving and other things sports! have a good one guys!

A Stand-up Day

Photo By: Nikki Romanuk Patriots Practice

 The next week I would be able to go to the Patriots practice with Walt again. Going to the practice was becoming my weekly routine. I would go not only to help Walt out, but also to learn about reporting. Walt would also allow me to shoot some stand-ups which I am trying to get better at.

Preparation

Something I am beginning to notice is that I am not good at talking about sports. The night before I write out different ideas and bullet points I will like to talk about in my introduction segment and in the closing segment, but even with preparation and practice I am not a very skilled reporter. The night before I went to the practice which was Tuesday night, I researched the Patriots and the Colts, I read the press releases that both teams sent out, and I read the transcripts from interviews conducted earlier in the week. 

I know that the Patriots would talk about Aqin Talib, he is the new cornerback the team acquired during the bye week, and I knew he would be a story topic. I wrote down bullet points on him and the team, and practiced talking about the team and Talib. I practiced the whole night, fell asleep figuring out what I was going to say, and spent the whole car ride, ( which is over and hour) practicing.

Walt and I drove to practice, but this week the schedule was messed up. Normally we have Tom Brady talk, then open locker-room, lunch, Bill Belichick press conference and practice, but his week we had lunch Bill Belichick press conference, and practice. Tom Brady did not talk and the open locker-room was not until later in the day. Walt and I ate lunch an hung out for a bit, watched the press conference and made our way to the field for practice. 

Practice 

Photo By Nikki Romanuk Patriots Practice

At practice we knew we needed to get footage of Talib and a list of other players. I decided I was going to talk to other reporters and get the feel for how other people got to where they are. I had recognized a guy that does the Patriots All Access and stuff for the website and talked to him for a bit. I am realizing that most people have no idea what they are going to talk about until that day. A craft I hope to master. 

At one point in the practice, Walt said, are you ready? I thought to myself “ready for what?” Then I realized he meant ready to shoot my stand-up. If I was nervous before, I was more nervous now. I had to shoot the stand-up in front of other reporters, and the Patriots, granted the players were practicing but still. I let my insecurities get the best of me and fumbled my words around. I managed to get a few good takes but nothing nearly as good as the professional reporters. Here is a look at the final product.

 

Photo By: Nikki Romanuk Patriots Practice

Something I am struggling with is not being good. People, like Brendon, Chad, and Walt have to remind me that I am new at this, an you cannot run before you walk. I have to keep going out and doing stand-ups in order to be good. The next time I would be in studio would be Sunday for the Patriots and Celtics games. I am hoping to edit my stand-up and make it into a package. Until next time, as they say on TV, “I’m Nikki Romanuk, Fox Sports.”

Playing The Field

Photo by: Nikki Romanuk Patriot Practice

Networking is hard; I admit it but it necessary to all aspects of life. This week I went to the Patriots practice, this is becoming my new weekly adventure with Walt. In the car ride to the stadium Walt advised me to talk to other reporters and get advice from them on how they choose to go about their stories. This is sort of difficult because what I am realizing is that people, have completely different ways on tackling their stories. It is also hard because I am finding out, that I am not as outgoing as I once thought. This goes back to the asking for help thing. I really do not like asking people for help, it is difficult for me to do so. But overcoming all of that made interesting and great learning experiences.

In true Walt fashion, he introduced me to Trenni. Trenni works for Comcast sports and is a great person to talk to. She gave me great advice about how to write scripts and how to shoot rails. Finding the angles are pretty easy, but writing the angles into sports talk is a bit harder than I had anticipated, and filming those angels is beyond difficult. It is in this area that I feel at a disadvantage. Most people that go into broadcasting learn how to talk into the camera, and how to write out their angle, I on the other hand am just learning. Sometimes I am feeling very insecure about what I am saying and doing, it is almost like being a t-ball player in the World Series.

Trenni also gave me advice about being a girl in the sports world. I really admire Trenni and she was very willing to help me out. The other person Walt lectured me to talk to is Rhett Lewis from channel 7. At first I thought it was unfair to talk to Rhett because he is in a competing market, but Walt assured me that I have to talk and network to everyone. Walt also told me that Rhett has working in a major sports market longer than Brendan so he has more knowledge on the topic. Rhett was very nice and gave me some advice, pretty much “whatever I find interesting most people will want to hear.”

Photo By: Nikki Romanuk Patriot's Rob Gronkowski

The Stand Up

I am finding that you need to shoot what is known as a package. I am told there are many different ways people film these, but the basic idea is that the anchor comes on screen, introduces a story, plays some footage and is talking over the footage with their story and then comes back on screen to finish up. That is very basic and I am learning there are about a million and one ways of doing this, (something I might have learned if I attended broadcasting school). But I was preparing to shoot one.

The previous night I had written out a script of what I wanted to say, and I was relying on the sound I had not yet gotten, not the smartest idea, but I did not have a choice. So I felt discouraged when the players did not talk about the angle I had written out. Then it came time to shoot, this package. During shooting I was extremely nervous, I did not have the script memorized, and I kept forgetting to breathe. After about ten takes and eight minutes, and I did not get one full take. 

I was very discouraged about my horrific performance, but Walt reassured me that it is a starting point and I can only get better. I would later watch Rhett do his stand up and noticed how good and talented he was. 

The Elevator

After the stand up and lunch, we made our way to the practice field. Walt wanted to get to the practice field sooner rather than later, because time is limited so we rushed into an elevator. The elevator had some room and I squeezed into the hole. Now the hole was not huge and I kept hitting people with my backpack, which I kept forgetting I had on. If hitting people with my backpack was not bad enough, I was holding the tripod, and knocking that around. 

Photo By Nikki Romanuk Bill Belechick

Something struck me odd on this elevator ride, normally people talk and joke around, but this ride was quiet. Walt and I were the only two people talking and joking around. Finally we made it to the bottom floor and I hear someone say, “Do you want to get off first coach?” I realize at that point that I might have hit Bill Belichick a few times with my backpack. Some first impression?

We finally make it to the practice field and we are freezing, but we look for the key players or the players that we know stories will be about. It is interesting watching the practice even for a short period of time.  The whistle blows and all media is kicked out. That ends my day as a reporter. Next week I will attend another practice and work hard on my stand up. Later guys.