ESPN's sports business reporter Darren Rovell spoke to a group of about 60 students at Carnegie Cinema on Friday.
He spoke about a wide range of sports business related topics to aspiring journalists not much younger than himself. Rovell, 26, provided "25 helpful tips" and interesting stories to those preparing for a career in journalism. Before laying out his helpful hints, Rovell explained how he felt immediately after being hired by ESPN following his graduation from Northwestern University in 2000.
"When I first started at ESPN, I feared that I would run out of articles," Rovell said. "But then I realized that as long as they continue to play games, contracts are signed, and owners still wanted athletes, I would never run out."
Rovell also attributed his supply to what he calls the "crazy market" of sports business. Athletes with multiple endorsements and leagues, such as the NBA, with multiple sponsors contribute to this market.
"LeBron James can appear in his Cleveland Cavaliers gear when he is doing a Sprite commercial because Sprite is the official soft drink of NBA," Rovell said. "However, if he is in a Powerade commercial you will never see him in a Cavaliers gear because Gatorade is the official sports drink of the NBA. That's the kind of thing that goes on in the business."
He then shared some tips for prospective journalists.
"Try to expand your Rolodex by one name every day," Rovell said. "I have worked about 1,500 days at ESPN.com and I have over 2,000 names and I try to get one name every day."
One interesting piece of advice was what Rovell called "packaging yourself" when looking for a job out of college. Rovell said that he spent more than $1,000 on his resume and when sending it out to hopeful employers, used a box rather than a letter.
"Everyone loves getting a box in the mail rather than a letter. Right?" Rovell said. "A box has substance. It sits on a desk. You cannot help but see it."
Rovell has previously spoken to business students at University of Chicago, New York University and Bentley College but this was the first group of journalism students to whom he spoke.
