Broadcasting Thoughts

A mixer in the press box at Ludlowe's Taft Field (SS Photo)

Public Service Announcement: The views below are mine and do not necessarily represent anyone I am affiliated with.  

There are a lot of broadcasting related topics I'm going to hit here. They could be separate posts, but I am going to make them one.  

Everyone thinks they can be a broadcaster. A lot of people are excellent. Others, not so much. 

I've dabbled in broadcasting, in large part due to Rob Adams. Dabble is putting in nicely. I put a headset on and say a few words every now and then. I know I am not good. However, I think I understand broadcasting and can talk about it. 

I think I have also learned some of the off-air behind the sciences part of broadcasting, both from talking to/watching Rob, as well as some of the video side from the days of helping out the HAN Network (also Rob, but others like AJ Szymanowski). 

I know people might say I'm not qualified to talk broadcasting. However, I feel differently. 

I listen and watch a lot of broadcasts, or clips of broadcasts. Either they are games I want to watch, I want to hear the broadcasters, or clips are sent to me. Sometimes I listen to the games for the broadcasting, other times for the sports content, but end up analyzing the broadcast aspect anyways. 

I listen to a lot of Rob and Mike Hirn, who both do a terrific job on their respective outlets. I listen to both local broadcasts around here, local broadcasts elsewhere, pro sports broadcasts, and more. 

Everyone had different styles, but there are a few things every broadcaster should do. Some do this better than others. They should report what is happening. They should also be entertaining to listen to, that's where there is a big line. They should be exciting and not boring, but at the same time, they shouldn't be over the top. We hear too much screaming from broadcasters now, when it's just not needed. Not everything is "unbelievable" or "gargantuan." There are certain points in a game when a broadcaster should get more excited. The listener/viewer still needs to understand what is being said. 

The color commentator also needs to know not to jump on the play-by-play broadcaster. To the same token, the PBP broadcaster needs to know when to be quiet and let their color person add in commentary. 

Then you go to the preparation aspect. Everyone prepares differently. There should be no one set way that everyone prepares for a broadcast. People have their own style that work for them. There are too many people that think they need to have all this "fancy" prep. It may work for them, but not for everyone. 

There are many different ways to have a setup. It also depends of the sport. Some people have rosters, others have depth charts. Some have notes on their computer, some have them handwritten or typed and printed out. There is no "one size fits all" like some people think there need to be. 

Some people like many colored pens/markers for different types of notes and information. Others can work with one or two different colors. 

It's also imperative to get facts correct and it's really not that hard. If you don't know something for sure, as questions, and do research. If you're on the air and not sure if something is true or not, don't say it. It just makes you/the broadcast lose credibility. In addition, pronunciations can be difficult, but a broadcaster should make every effort to learn them. Ask a coach, statistician, team manager, etc.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Live video streams are great. However, they are even better with broadcasters on them. Broadcasters help bring the game to life and help the viewer understand what is happening. At the worst, if there is no broadcaster, there needs to be a score bug/clock that work. I see too many broadcasts that schools put out a live stream with no working score bug and no broadcasters. Some don't even have natural sound. It makes it nearly impossible as a viewer to tell what's happening. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Around Fairfield County, there are many different streaming outlets that schools use. There's NFHS and Local Live as the two primary ones, and then a number of other schools have their games on YouTube, either with just a live video, or as part of their broadcasting network. There are pros and cons of every one. 

Personally, I'm a big fan of Local Live as I feel the quality of the video is superior and it's free, as opposed to NFHS, which is a pay subscription service. There are some good broadcasters that Local Live uses, however, there are others that are questionable. I think a lot of the schools that have their own setups are good, but there are always things that can be improved on. I've seen what a lot of schools have and I think it's interesting how they have different outlets. It would be nice for consistency if each league did the same thing. But I know that won't happen. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So now you have some of my thoughts on broadcasting. I haven't said everything, but I likely said too much.