By On Tuesday, 16 Cal State Long Beach student-journalists were given the opportunity to attend an event at Spectrum SportNet to see the behind-the-scenes operation before a Lakers game.
The students were from various student-run publications on campus that included the Union Weekly, KBeach, DIG Magazine and the Daily 49er.
The group entered the SportsNet facility with big hopes and looked forward to getting insight on how a professional organization ran its business.
Led by host Stacey Mitch, most of the event took place in a conference room and the first person to speak was A.J. Ponsiglione Spectrum SportsNet senior coordinating producer for studio and remote programming.
Ponsiglione spoke about how the operation worked and how he deals with hiring talent which included on of the last speakers Mike Bresnahan, a former Lakers beat writer for the Los Angeles Times .
After Ponsiglione spoke, the group visited the control room during the Lakers’ pregame show against the Charlotte Hornets while also having the opportunity to watch the in-studio recording that featured analysts Chris McGee, Mike Bresnahan and Antawn Jamison.
After getting a chance to see the in-studio show, the group got to see the Dodgers set that was down the hall.
After the behind-the-scenes action, McGee was first to greet the group and spoke about taking advantage of opportunities when they are offered. He also mentioned how that was how he got his chance after just saying “yes” to offers he received.
“You’re going to get a chance,” McGee said to the group of wide-eyed listeners. “Somewhere, someone is going to give you a chance in life — whether it’s sports, broadcasting, business — whatever it is that you’re passionate about and you do, you’re going to get a chance.”
Still fresh from his move from the Los Angeles Times, Bresnahan wasted no time lending some advice to those in attendance.
Bresnahan stated the three most important things when writing a story are: “You want to be accurate, you want to be insightful and inform people about something, and you want to be entertaining. If you can do those three things, you’re nailing your stories.”
After the event, many of those that attended were thankful for the opportunity.
“After going and hearing from McGee and Bresnahan, it really motivated me to take chances of the opportunities that are given in journalism,” junior Chris Gonzales said.
While the group was full of junior and seniors, the lone sophomore in the room was quick to talk about how it got him even more motivated to pursue a career in journalism.
“Hearing from professionals like that was very inspiring,” Alex Ormeno-Manfredi said. “Getting that experience as a sophomore felt really good.”
The night was capped when Lakers legend and Spectrum SportsNet analyst James Worthy popped up near the end of the night and spoke a few words.
