Alumni Spotlight

  • Adam Musto Broadcast JOUR, NFL

    Apr 4, 2016 3:15 pm by jrhogue@illinois.edu

    Images

    1. Name (First and Last)

    Adam Musto

     

    1. Twitter

    @adammusto

     

    1. LinkedIn

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/adammusto

     

    Employment Info

     

     

    1. Employer

    NFL

     

    1. Title/Occupation

    Video Producer/Editor

     

    Academic Info

     

     

    1. Graduation Year (list as "Month Year")

    December 2011

     

    1. Major

    Broadcast Journalism

     

    1. Minor and/or Certificates

     

    Other Stuff

     

     

    1. Hometown

    Lake in the Hills, IL

     

    1. Hobbies

    playing football, biking, outdoors, shopping, building up my man cave with sports stuff

     

    Career Information & Advice

    Please answer each of the following questions with as much detail as possible while keeping your answers succinct (aim for 2 - 4 sentences per question).

     

    1. What are your job responsibilities/duties?

    I work with the NFL's new app called NFL Now, which launched last year before the 2014 NFL season. It is now entering it's second season.

     

    We create content for NFL Now, which is a personalized app geared toward having different feeds depending on what each individual fan wants.

     

    If you want fantasy news on certain players, highlights of your favorite team or teams or historical content, fans can customize which news and videos they want to see.

     

    1. What does a typical day look like?

    We begin taping segments early in the morning and record between 20-70 2-3 minute segments a day during the season ranging from fantasy news, hard news, analysis breakdowns, game preview and remix music videos.

     

    1. What do you most enjoy about your job?

    Football is far and away my favorite sport and it's amazing to be able to spend every minute of my job around the game. Even when I'm technically off the clock, I still follow NFL news constantly. If you're really passionate about something, it makes working hard in the industry really easy because it's something you intrinsically want to do regardless.

     

    1. What is the most difficult aspect of the job?

    My ultimate goal is to end up in Chicago working for the Bears. Los Angeles is a fantastic city, but not being home around family and friends for long stretches of time is difficult.

     

    1. What on-campus activities were you involved with? Where did you gain relevant experience?

    I spent the majority of my time on campus working as a video manager for the men's basketball team. It was a great work environment being around the coaches and players and learning the work ethic they put in to the sport they love to reach greatness.

     

    When you're around sports, especially coaches, you see the hours they put in and the expectation it takes to be successful.

     

    I also interned at WCIA-TV, volunteered at EbertFest and spent a semester with WPGU while on campus.

     

    1. How did your experience at ILLINOIS and in the College of Media prepare you for your professional life? For this specific position?

    The College of Media instilled the importance of seeking out internship and work experience with all the resources on campus.

     

    From the first day, I knew I needed to get involved and as you continue to work and gain experience you meet new people, learn of new opportunities and build from there.

     

    1. What advice do you have for students interested in this field?

    The earlier you know what you want to do, target a few people who have jobs that interest you and find out a way to reach out to them.

     

    Just ask to talk over coffee or on the phone depending on the location. For example, if there is a sports team you really want to work for or a media market you're aiming to get into, research people in those positions and find a way to reach out. It's easy now with LinkedIn, Twitter, email and the College of Media's network. It's amazing how large the alumni network here is.

     

    1. What is one thing that you know now that you wish you had known when you started in the field? When you graduated from the College?

    I wish I knew the importance of being patient and making genuine networking connections. When you're in high school, you're nervous about getting into a college and when you're in college you're nervous about getting a job. Then you worry about making enough money, getting promoted and retiring comfortably.

     

    It can be very stressful, but it always ends up working out in the end as long as you can say confidently that you're doing the right things.

     

    Sometimes I wish I had taken time to live more in the present rather than in the future while on campus. With networking, you're always hoping meeting someone can lead directly to a job. But if you try to make genuine connections and friendships, those go a lot father in the long term.

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