Super opportunities: Mass media alumni report from NFL’s brightest stage

8月. 2, 2024

When the 堪萨斯 City Chiefs met the San Francisco 49ers in this year’s Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, a pair of former class垫es were sitting just feet from each other among the rows of global media covering the event.

Chris Roush has covered the 堪萨斯 City Chiefs since joining KQTV in 2015 and reported from this year’s Super Bowl.

Brandon Zenner covered his third Super Bowl in February as a sports reporter with KWCH in Wichita, 堪萨斯.

Chris Roush ’15 was there as news director with KQTV in St. 约瑟夫, 密苏里州, and Brandon Zenner ’15 works as a sports reporter and anchor with KWCH in Wichita, 堪萨斯. The two men began contributing to Chiefs coverage soon after graduating together from Northwest with mass media degrees – when Roush joined KQTV as a sports reporter and Zenner spent six years as a sports reporter and director at the News-Press in St. 约瑟夫 before moving to Wichita. 现在, nearly a decade into their careers, they feel fortunate to take in the football team’s recent run of championships from a view that few fans get to see.

“It’s been wild,劳什说. “We talked about that a few times when we were both in St. Joe and then even this time around, 太, (说)的哈, it’s weird that we went from Maryville to Las Vegas.’”

At Northwest, Roush 太k an interest in broadcasting, particularly doing play-by-play for athletics. He interned at KQTV, was a sideline reporter on Bearcat Radio Network broadcasts and gained experience during a summer internship with the St. 约瑟夫 Mustangs independent baseball team. He also was general manager of KZLX and a news editor for The Northwest 密苏里州an.

Roush connected well with the storytelling aspects of broadcast journalism and excelled in the hands-on learning environment Northwest offers, learning to report about a variety of sports and events through multiple mediums.

“I get to tell stories of what happens behind the scenes or off the field, 法院, 垫, 无论, and I think that really kind of set me up,劳什说. “We went out and did this stuff. It wasn’t just sitting in the classroom.”

类似的, Zenner cut his path at Northwest as a news editor and editor-in-chief of The 密苏里州an in addition to working on KNWT and KZLX.

“I’m here because of Northwest 密苏里州 State, and I wouldn’t change that for the world,他说.

Both now have extensive experience covering Chiefs seasons, from training camp to the team’s run of AFC Championship appearances. Zenner has been in attendance at each of the Chiefs’ three Super Bowl victories since 2020, but Roush’s first Super Bowl experience came this year.

“There’s nothing like Super Bowl week,” Zenner said. “Just whenever you’re in that town, there’s just so much buzz. 他们全力以赴, there’s signage everywhere, the fans from all over the country, all different teams, and then the atmosphere on game day.”

Although seeing the Chiefs win another Super Bowl was exciting, Roush says one of the most memorable moments for him was conversing with other media members. He was seated in the press area during the game with reporters from Forbes and connected with a videographer from Germany during the postgame news conference.

“That experience of meeting people from across the world that are all covering the same thing you are – when you never really thought that was something that you would have the chance to do – that’s pretty rare of an opportunity,劳什说.

对禅, it’s the thrill of talking with Chiefs players and witnessing their jubilation after each victory.

“If you would’ve told me when I was in college at Northwest 密苏里州 State that I’d be covering the Chiefs and they would be a dynasty, I would not have believed you,他说.