Matt Winer

Missouri, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana: Matt Winer has been all over. He’s covered news and sports, been at ESPN, and he now works at NBATV with Turner Sports in Atlanta. 

In his conversation, Matt talks about his career as a sports journalist and moving across all those cities and news organizations. He gives valuable insight into what skills journalists need, how to get started in media, and what to do if you keep getting rejected for a lack of experience.

Time stamps 

4:24 - How has your career gone? How did you end up where you are? 

21:35 - What should young sports journalists do during the pandemic or anytime? 

24:24 - What can high school students do to get a head start in media? 

26:29 - What do you think set you apart as a journalist? 

28:45 - What skills do young journalists need? 

30:00 - Do you suggest starting at a smaller company than somewhere big? 

33:20 - What do you do outside of work to stay prepared? 

36:40 - Internship advice? 

39:35 - Do you have difficulty maintaining on-camera energy level, cadence, etc. when working long events? 

42:15 - What do you think about sports gambling and how it’s covered on network TV? 

43:18 - How do you navigate being the “traffic cop” on a live show? 

44:55 - How do you prepare to host a show with multiple analysts? 

46:45 - Would you rather do traditional college, or a School of Broadcasting? 

48:00 - Advice about working on deadline? 

48:50 - Advice on partnering with an agent? 

51:28 - How do you overcome a bad day on-air? 

55:15 - How can you work to become more comfortable with ad libbing on camera? 

56:29 - Do you prefer concentrating on one sport or focussing on them all? 

57:59 - Advice for someone in their early 40s who just got a degree and is entering the media field? 

58:32 - Advice for a recent grad who keeps getting rejected due to a lack of experience?