My Story: Family, Sports, and Journalism
Introduction:
Hello everyone, I am James McDaniels, a sports communications and productions specialist. I was raised in both the valleys and mountains of Northern California, but recently graduated from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles with a Bachelor's Degree in Broadcast and Digital Journalism and minor in Sports Media Studies. My career goal is to work primarily in sports public relations involving media relations, video, print and social media aspects. If possible, I would like to specialize in working with the NBA, NASCAR or golf.
In my journey of life, family has always been the biggest influence on me. I wanted to have a career in sports media mainly because my family members were sports fans and my mother worked in television production. I was diagnosed with high functioning autism when I was eight, but with the strong support I've had from my family and others, I have pursued my dreams and succeeded in my endeavors. Values my family has taught me have guided me to strive for excellence in both work and academics, as well as in the realm of community service.
Post-College Professional Experience:
After graduating from USC, I worked full time for three months as a public relations trainee with Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. My work involved authoring press releases and features for the fan souvenir program, fulfilling donation requests, updating media contact lists, writing media advertisements/announcements, maintaining the track media center and assisting at a track marketing event, all in an effort that helped the track PR team successfully prepare for and execute its major doubleheader NASCAR Playoff weekend in October 2018. One of my features included an original piece I wrote on Talladega winner Parker Kligerman, who I interviewed over the phone for 45 minutes in preparation for the story.
In December 2018, I started my first full-time job as a copywriter for Angel Of The Winds Casino Resort near Seattle, WA. As part of the position, I wrote and edited nearly all of the internal and external communications projects that were publicized by the casino resort, including for social media postings, radio and television commercial scripts, email marketing campaigns, newsletters, news notifications, postcards, press releases, website landing pages, menus, company memos, direct mail collateral, and signage. In addition, I played a key role in the marketing efforts regarding Angel Of The Winds Casino Resort's 2019 Xpansion project, which added new gaming space, several dining venues and bars, a bowling alley, two virtual sports bays, an event center, and more! Along with my work at Angel Of The Winds Casino Resort, I stayed involved in a few productions on the side, including crewing duties with the Pac-12 Network, ESPN, and a Seattle theatre show.
I decided to make my next move during the COVID-19 pandemic and explore opportunities that would further grow and advance my career. While my initial plans did not come to fruition, my journey during this unprecedented time has led me to work as a turn marshal on the racing operations team at Sonoma Raceway. In this unique role, I communicate with drivers and riders via flags during race, group, test, and drift sessions. I also stay in touch with Race Control using technical equipment and specific phrasing to report details of incidents, track conditions, and vehicles of interest. From GT World Challenge to NASA and everything in between, it's been a blast experiencing racing from a new perspective and helping Sonoma Raceway host safe events.
I am still searching for my next full-time role in live production or public relations in the sports and entertainment industry, so please feel free to reach out! I also would be interested in freelance media opportunities in the San Francisco Bay Area or with traveling shows/competitions.
University Freelance Experience and Internships:
During my freshman year, I was a beat writer for USC's award winning newspaper, the Daily Trojan, where I wrote previews and recaps of USC Women's Volleyball and Men's Tennis matches. I also helped crew and assisted with producing shows on USC's television network, Trojan Vision, as well as created sports SOTVOs and packages that were broadcast on USC's news station, Annenberg TV News. I also worked for the Pac-12 Network as a television crew member.
I returned to Trojan Vision in my sophomore year to crew and assist with producing shows, plus I began working weekly shifts at Annenberg TV News writing web stories and helping with video packages for general assignments. In addition, I made news packages and wrote stories for my journalism classes.
In the summer of 2016, I interned as a Digital Sponsorship Integration Specialist at the headquarters of NBC Sports in Stamford, CT, during its coverage of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. I helped generate record-breaking revenue to the digital media department during the event, which ended up being the most live-streamed digital event in history. The entire production team for NBCOlympics.com, the platform on which I worked, created such an exceptional product that the team won an Emmy for its performance.
Over the course of my junior year, I was a weather anchor and floor manager at Annenberg TV News. During that same year, I had the opportunity to create video package features of retired jockey James Corral and active NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Shane Westerfield, as well as interview members of various Los Angeles professional sports teams and venues for weekly sports columns, as part of my journalism coursework. I also interned at FOX Sports Soccer in its show unit, where I created shot sheets and logged footage of Bundesliga soccer matches. Furthermore, I continued my work for the Pac-12 Network on its television crews.
I spent the summer of 2017 working for the NBA at its Secaucus, NJ, office as a Content - Assignment Desk Intern as part of the NBA Summer Internship Program. I performed a variety of tasks ranging from documenting the league's PR approvals to searching for potential production assistant employees for many NBA markets. I also assisted on-site with logging footage and conducting interviews at production shoots, including the 2017 NBA Draft and Rookie Photo Shoot. I also helped complete a group research and development business project with six other interns on how to enhance the league's employee volunteer program. We shared our completed project in front of NBA executives in a 40-minute presentation towards the conclusion of the internship, and representatives from the league's social responsibility department said they plan on implementing some of our solutions. The internship also provided me with several opportunities to network with other NBA employees and interns through special talks and events.
As a senior, my focus continued to be crewing for the Pac-12 Network's Los Angeles sports broadcasts for a fourth straight season. In the fall, I also applied my skills to the horse racing world as a production assistant in-studio for TVG Network, one of the best and most respected television networks that specializes in the sport. Additionally, I returned to Trojan Vision as a crew member and assistant producer for the third time and worked on NBA Entertainment's production crew during Game 4 of the WNBA Finals. During the spring, I worked as a camera assistant for the PGA TOUR at four of its West Coast tournaments, an archiver for FloSports during its broadcast of the USA Spirit Nationals, and a runner for FOX Sports during its coverage of NASCAR weekend at Auto Club Speedway. I capped off my amazing four years at USC by helping produce a 15-minute documentary on Santa Anita Park from conceptualization to completion with classmate Beverly Pham.
In addition to my journalism work for USC and employers, I have taken advantage of miscellaneous sports journalism opportunities in the Los Angeles area. I covered the 2014 Breeders' Cup World Championships of Horse Racing at Santa Anita Park. The story I wrote about the event was so well received that I was invited back to Santa Anita in February 2015 to write a story for America's Best Racing, a well-known online publication in horse racing. A month later, I conducted a sit-down interview with 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick. When the interview was published, both Kevin Harvick and his race team, Stewart-Haas Racing, retweeted it to their Twitter followers. In my sophomore year, I profiled horse owner Karen Norton and her horse, Lady Wedge, at Santa Anita Park. I also conducted a sit-down interview with NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher.
Additional Experience and Awards:
Prior to attending USC, I was an editor, writer, and photographer for my high school newspaper. I also worked in production at a community radio station, tweeted game updates for the Marysville Gold Sox baseball team, and was a sports writer and photographer for the Gridley Herald newspaper.
When I was attending school, my focus stayed on academics and participation in youth organizations. I made the Dean's List every semester while attending USC and was honored as a Chick Hearn Scholar. I am a member of several honor societies, including Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Beta Kappa, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Lambda Pi Eta. I am an Eagle Scout and a Chevalier in the Masonic youth organization DeMolay.
Now that I have graduated, I can be found spending my free time hanging out with my family, bowling, golfing, participating in recreational sports, playing video games, watching sporting events for fun, listening to OneRepublic music and sometimes even volunteering with therapeutic horses and donating blood to the American Red Cross.
Hello everyone, I am James McDaniels, a sports communications and productions specialist. I was raised in both the valleys and mountains of Northern California, but recently graduated from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles with a Bachelor's Degree in Broadcast and Digital Journalism and minor in Sports Media Studies. My career goal is to work primarily in sports public relations involving media relations, video, print and social media aspects. If possible, I would like to specialize in working with the NBA, NASCAR or golf.
In my journey of life, family has always been the biggest influence on me. I wanted to have a career in sports media mainly because my family members were sports fans and my mother worked in television production. I was diagnosed with high functioning autism when I was eight, but with the strong support I've had from my family and others, I have pursued my dreams and succeeded in my endeavors. Values my family has taught me have guided me to strive for excellence in both work and academics, as well as in the realm of community service.
Post-College Professional Experience:
After graduating from USC, I worked full time for three months as a public relations trainee with Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. My work involved authoring press releases and features for the fan souvenir program, fulfilling donation requests, updating media contact lists, writing media advertisements/announcements, maintaining the track media center and assisting at a track marketing event, all in an effort that helped the track PR team successfully prepare for and execute its major doubleheader NASCAR Playoff weekend in October 2018. One of my features included an original piece I wrote on Talladega winner Parker Kligerman, who I interviewed over the phone for 45 minutes in preparation for the story.
In December 2018, I started my first full-time job as a copywriter for Angel Of The Winds Casino Resort near Seattle, WA. As part of the position, I wrote and edited nearly all of the internal and external communications projects that were publicized by the casino resort, including for social media postings, radio and television commercial scripts, email marketing campaigns, newsletters, news notifications, postcards, press releases, website landing pages, menus, company memos, direct mail collateral, and signage. In addition, I played a key role in the marketing efforts regarding Angel Of The Winds Casino Resort's 2019 Xpansion project, which added new gaming space, several dining venues and bars, a bowling alley, two virtual sports bays, an event center, and more! Along with my work at Angel Of The Winds Casino Resort, I stayed involved in a few productions on the side, including crewing duties with the Pac-12 Network, ESPN, and a Seattle theatre show.
I decided to make my next move during the COVID-19 pandemic and explore opportunities that would further grow and advance my career. While my initial plans did not come to fruition, my journey during this unprecedented time has led me to work as a turn marshal on the racing operations team at Sonoma Raceway. In this unique role, I communicate with drivers and riders via flags during race, group, test, and drift sessions. I also stay in touch with Race Control using technical equipment and specific phrasing to report details of incidents, track conditions, and vehicles of interest. From GT World Challenge to NASA and everything in between, it's been a blast experiencing racing from a new perspective and helping Sonoma Raceway host safe events.
I am still searching for my next full-time role in live production or public relations in the sports and entertainment industry, so please feel free to reach out! I also would be interested in freelance media opportunities in the San Francisco Bay Area or with traveling shows/competitions.
University Freelance Experience and Internships:
During my freshman year, I was a beat writer for USC's award winning newspaper, the Daily Trojan, where I wrote previews and recaps of USC Women's Volleyball and Men's Tennis matches. I also helped crew and assisted with producing shows on USC's television network, Trojan Vision, as well as created sports SOTVOs and packages that were broadcast on USC's news station, Annenberg TV News. I also worked for the Pac-12 Network as a television crew member.
I returned to Trojan Vision in my sophomore year to crew and assist with producing shows, plus I began working weekly shifts at Annenberg TV News writing web stories and helping with video packages for general assignments. In addition, I made news packages and wrote stories for my journalism classes.
In the summer of 2016, I interned as a Digital Sponsorship Integration Specialist at the headquarters of NBC Sports in Stamford, CT, during its coverage of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. I helped generate record-breaking revenue to the digital media department during the event, which ended up being the most live-streamed digital event in history. The entire production team for NBCOlympics.com, the platform on which I worked, created such an exceptional product that the team won an Emmy for its performance.
Over the course of my junior year, I was a weather anchor and floor manager at Annenberg TV News. During that same year, I had the opportunity to create video package features of retired jockey James Corral and active NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Shane Westerfield, as well as interview members of various Los Angeles professional sports teams and venues for weekly sports columns, as part of my journalism coursework. I also interned at FOX Sports Soccer in its show unit, where I created shot sheets and logged footage of Bundesliga soccer matches. Furthermore, I continued my work for the Pac-12 Network on its television crews.
I spent the summer of 2017 working for the NBA at its Secaucus, NJ, office as a Content - Assignment Desk Intern as part of the NBA Summer Internship Program. I performed a variety of tasks ranging from documenting the league's PR approvals to searching for potential production assistant employees for many NBA markets. I also assisted on-site with logging footage and conducting interviews at production shoots, including the 2017 NBA Draft and Rookie Photo Shoot. I also helped complete a group research and development business project with six other interns on how to enhance the league's employee volunteer program. We shared our completed project in front of NBA executives in a 40-minute presentation towards the conclusion of the internship, and representatives from the league's social responsibility department said they plan on implementing some of our solutions. The internship also provided me with several opportunities to network with other NBA employees and interns through special talks and events.
As a senior, my focus continued to be crewing for the Pac-12 Network's Los Angeles sports broadcasts for a fourth straight season. In the fall, I also applied my skills to the horse racing world as a production assistant in-studio for TVG Network, one of the best and most respected television networks that specializes in the sport. Additionally, I returned to Trojan Vision as a crew member and assistant producer for the third time and worked on NBA Entertainment's production crew during Game 4 of the WNBA Finals. During the spring, I worked as a camera assistant for the PGA TOUR at four of its West Coast tournaments, an archiver for FloSports during its broadcast of the USA Spirit Nationals, and a runner for FOX Sports during its coverage of NASCAR weekend at Auto Club Speedway. I capped off my amazing four years at USC by helping produce a 15-minute documentary on Santa Anita Park from conceptualization to completion with classmate Beverly Pham.
In addition to my journalism work for USC and employers, I have taken advantage of miscellaneous sports journalism opportunities in the Los Angeles area. I covered the 2014 Breeders' Cup World Championships of Horse Racing at Santa Anita Park. The story I wrote about the event was so well received that I was invited back to Santa Anita in February 2015 to write a story for America's Best Racing, a well-known online publication in horse racing. A month later, I conducted a sit-down interview with 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick. When the interview was published, both Kevin Harvick and his race team, Stewart-Haas Racing, retweeted it to their Twitter followers. In my sophomore year, I profiled horse owner Karen Norton and her horse, Lady Wedge, at Santa Anita Park. I also conducted a sit-down interview with NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher.
Additional Experience and Awards:
Prior to attending USC, I was an editor, writer, and photographer for my high school newspaper. I also worked in production at a community radio station, tweeted game updates for the Marysville Gold Sox baseball team, and was a sports writer and photographer for the Gridley Herald newspaper.
When I was attending school, my focus stayed on academics and participation in youth organizations. I made the Dean's List every semester while attending USC and was honored as a Chick Hearn Scholar. I am a member of several honor societies, including Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Beta Kappa, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Lambda Pi Eta. I am an Eagle Scout and a Chevalier in the Masonic youth organization DeMolay.
Now that I have graduated, I can be found spending my free time hanging out with my family, bowling, golfing, participating in recreational sports, playing video games, watching sporting events for fun, listening to OneRepublic music and sometimes even volunteering with therapeutic horses and donating blood to the American Red Cross.