While some students are trying to line up jobs for after graduation, Penn State senior Maddie Brightman knows exactly what she’ll be doing—starting her new job as a production assistant at ESPN. Hired for the job just two weeks into her last year of college, Brightman is accomplished in other areas of sports media as well, adding internships at Fox Sports Radio and PressBox media (among others) to her title as General Manager of ComRadio. Here, read about how the broadcast journalism student landed a job at ESPN, what her favorite sports team is, and the ice cream flavor she loves best at the Creamery.
HC: What was your internship at ESPN like?
MB: We [the interns] would go to a show meeting every day. I was working on the 1 a.m. Sports Center [production] which was 10 o’clock pacific. [This] is their primary show out of the west coast, so my hours were kind of weird, I worked late and all that, but that’s kind of part of the job! We shadowed people, cut film and all that, but two or three weeks in we got thrown into it and were given assignments for things that we would produce and we would cut that would actually go on air. I had the opportunity to cut Top Plays four times, cut some interviews, [do] soundbites, voice overs, literally anything that would go on the show, we would cut.
HC: What was it like being hired at ESPN? What was your reaction?
MB: I mean, I was shocked. I was shocked to hear back so soon, because I interviewed Friday, and then about an hour after I got off the phone I got [a second] phone call. So at first I was just really shell-shocked and really surprised. I mean, I hadn’t anticipated on applying for jobs until the spring, so to have an idea of what I’m going to be doing is crazy. To understand that I’m going to work at the company I’ve wanted to work at since I was 10 years old is very cool, and I’ve been trying to step back and tell myself, “Wow, look at all the hard work you’ve done, you were able to achieve this.” I’m a very goal oriented person, so for me, the next thing is to say, okay, what can I do when I get there to exceed expectations and move on [at ESPN] as quickly as possible. But I think it was a big part of the networking I was able to do, and trying to do as much as I could to learn and make connections at the internship and to have people in my corner who could kind of help me to get the job.
HC: What’s your favorite sport and sports team?
MB: Baseball has been my favorite sport for years and I think it always will be. That was one of the things that I grew up watching, I grew up being a part of because of my dad, so baseball is my favorite. I follow every sport, but if I had to pick a team, definitely the Orioles. I watch every game, all 162, all season long, and it’s pretty time consuming, but it’s something that’s important to me. I love both [the Ravens and the Orioles] but if you had to put one above the other, I’d say the Orioles.
HC: How did you find your love of sports?
MB: I grew up in a house where sports were really important – my dad [T.J. Brightman, current president of PR / marketing firm A. Bright Idea] worked for the Ravens and the Orioles, and that was a big way the two of us just really connected. He worked a lot of weekends and late nights, but when we could hang out, that was how we spent time together. I just spent a lot of time in ballparks and in stadiums and that was my connection with my dad, so I was really interested in that.
HC: Have you always loved sports broadcasting?
MB: I thought for years that I wanted to be on air, and at the end of my sophomore year I realized that I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to be behind the scenes, I wanted to be calling the shots, and I wanted to have the opportunity to be a little more creative. I went to my first ever sports broadcasting camp at age 10, I was the youngest camper there, then I did another one when I was 13. I’ve known for a pretty long time that this is the industry I want to be in, for sure.
HC: How has ComRadio prepared you for a job in sports media?
MB: Oh, [it’s prepared me] a hundred percent. I joined as a freshman, and then I joined the management team my sophomore year. So I became a sports director as a sophomore and then I became the general manager my junior year. It’s my second year as GM, and I love every part of it. I love ComRadio, and I could talk about it forever! That was really where I learned about production, too. One of my favorite things to do is cover live events. Last week I covered football, and that’s everything from setting up equipment to giving the broadcasters cue cards and snacks and anything they might need to enhance the broadcast. I think that’s my favorite part of production, that you have the ability to be creative, but you’re making everybody else look better. The people I work with are some of my best friends, so if I can make them better as broadcasters because of things I do as a producer, that’s really rewarding for me.
HC: What’s your favorite place at Penn State?
MB: I’m a total broadcasting nerd, so you could say Innovation Park, because I’m there every day, multiple times a day. I almost have an issue leaving Innovation Park because that’s where I hang out, that’s where my friends and I meet up! On campus, it’s Old Main. I could sit at Old Main for hours if I have the time, with a cup of coffee and with friends and when it’s quiet.
HC: What are your favorite memories of Penn State?
MB: I think one of the coolest things for me was getting to go to Cuba to cover baseball. I’m a member of the Curley Center for Sports Journalism, so during Thanksgiving break there were eight of us who got to go the baseball team’s trip to Cuba. I’m broadcast journalism and Spanish, and baseball’s been my favorite sport since I was a little girl, so for me to get to combine my major in journalism, my major in Spanish and baseball in a good old place that was historic before any major league team was going there…was surreal. I got to go with two of my best friends, and the other five people on the trip became some of my closest friends. It was by far one of my favorite things, and I don’t know how anything could top it.
On campus, last September I became the first female to call a football game for ComRadio, which was really awesome. To kind of have that title and be a part of something like that was really cool, and to call it with one of my closest friends in ComRadio made it really special. This year we had three females on the football schedule, so for me to kind of knock down the door a little bit for some other girls at ComRadio to have that opportunity was nice as well.
HC: What’s your favorite flavor at The Creamery?
MB: I go back and forth on that one, but I think Alumni Swirl. It’s not there all the time, but it’s pretty darn good!
All of us at HC Penn State wish you the best at ESPN, Maddie!
If you’re interested in joining Maddie at ComRadio, check out the College of Communications website.