Brandon was in my journalism class freshman year, and at the time, he stood out to me for three reasons…his last name is Katz (I like cats…), but more importantly, his very distinctive voice and his way with words. Sophomore year, he was in an English class with me. Both being communication majors, we were in the same group and became friends after laughing about our female professor’s faint mustache. I quickly learned there is more to Brandon than his last name and voice, but that doesn’t mean our group didn’t use his way with words to our advantage; I always made the PowerPoint, and he always presented it. Now both juniors, I finally sat down with Brandon to showcase everything he does on and off campus.
On his fraternity…I’m in Kappa Sigma, and I used to be the PR chair. I maintained our presence in the campus Greek life and assisted with rush and recruitment. I chose Kappa Sigma because it was the one that I felt most comfortable with and where I was most myself. I didn’t feel like I had to try to make them like me. They also encourage you to explore all of the different fraternities, so you don’t pigeonhole yourself. I thought that was very genuine and authentic, and these guys will be my friends forever.
On his job…I’m the promotions director at Mason’s radio, WGMU. I started as an assistant to the sports director because he was actually one of my fraternity brothers. He got me on a weekly radio show, and the seeds were laid. From there, I interviewed for the promotions director job which I began last fall. I also hosted a sports comedy show with a few other people. The big reason I joined WGMU was to gain real world experience within media. I don’t think my future is in radio, but I learned a lot there. I want to become well-versed in as many journalism fields as I can.
On his dream job…Ideally, I want to be the next Bill Simmons. I want to be a television broadcaster or personality, as well as a columnist for sports and pop culture.
On his blog…It’s a sports and pop culture blog. I write about TV, sports, movies, and Hollywood stuff. I’ve always enjoyed writing, and I think it’s a good outlet. I can write my way. In school and for the other sites I write for, they change it to their specifications, and ultimately, my writing is the way they want it to be…the blog is a place where I can write unconstrained. In my writing, I try to inform and entertain, and I want my personality to shine through. I try to be funny, but I want to get my point across too.
On his internships…This summer I worked for the New York Post in the online department. I liked it a lot, and it definitely reaffirmed a lot of the conceptions and opinions of why I want to be a journalist. It was also nice working in the online department because that’s where journalism is heading. It’s a very dynamic system… I used to think they would just post an article and that was that, but throughout the day they edit and update it, add recent pictures, change information if necessary. They have to be able to adapt story in real time, so it’s not just one and done. It was also interesting to see which stories make it and which don’t. It was also interesting to see how they put their spin on it because obviously the New York Post is republican. It was a very well-done internship program…it was just awesome, and I got paid.
Now, I’m working in the sports department for MBC 4 WRC for the fall. I help create and log highlights for sporting events, so about four times a week I’m there. I’ll watch baseball games, and I’ll make a melt, which is a condensed version of entire game that has all of the highlights. I’ll also have the opportunity to do field work, so I’ll help a journalist and a cameraman and help write stories and edit video. It’s cool because when I’m in the office, I sit in the general area where the television hosts are, so they will get up, go on television, and come back.
We wish the future Bill Simmons best of luck, but for now, Brandon will continue on with his internship, his WGMU job, and his blog (check it out: http://mancavematerial.blogspot.com/). And before you go stalk him on Facebook, sorry collegiettes, he’s taken.