Dario Melendez Media Studies, '08 WINK TV Sports Reporter

COLLEGE MAJOR
I majored in Media Studies, focusing on Broadcast Journalism in my final 2 years at SHU. I definitely knew I wanted to be in journalism but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be in TV, radio or newspaper print.

CURRENT POSITION
I am currently the Weekday Sports Reporter/ Weekend Sports Producer at WINK TV, the CBS affiliate in Ft. Myers, Florida. But with a little more time and practice, I hope to take over the Weekend Sports Anchor roll in a few more months. Occasionally I get to fill in on our sports-talk radio show, the Red Zone, on Fox Sports Radio 1200/1460.

TYPICAL WORK DAY
In news and sports, there is no such thing as a typical day. One day I could be at a Pee-Wee Football game, cover a young athlete who has over come a life changing event, another day I could be sideline at the Super Bowl, watching Ben Roethlisberger lead the Pittsburgh Steelers in another Super Bowl. Basically, my job is to tell the local community about the happenings in the area. Inform them about the stories they won’t see or hear anywhere else. Whether I’m in front of the camera reporting or just playing cameraman for local highlights at 11, my job is to be the eyes and ears for those who were unable to make it out to the events.

POSITIVES
I get to talk about sports all day on TV and Radio. It’s a dream come true! I’m not stuck in an office, pushing papers or sorting junk, I get to be out-and-about in the South Florida sunshine, interacting with the community and meeting new people.

NEGATIVES
There are just so many things going on and not enough time or manpower to cover it all. The economy has taken a toll on the media industry, as well as many others, and its just hard trying to get out to every game or talk about every incident when there are only 2 sports guys at the stations. So many things, so little time.

LIFESTYLE 
It has force me to mature and grow, as a young adult, a lot faster than I thought imaginable. The days are long and the pay is small, my social life is nowhere near what it was when I was at SHU, but that being said, I wouldn’t change it for the world! I get to hangout with friends once, maybe twice a week but I am so caught up in my career right now that I wish I could work all day.

COLLEGE PREPARATION 
The freedom to make your own choices. If you didn’t want to go to class, you weren’t forced to. If you didn’t want to do work, you weren’t made too. To me, college was all about make the right choices, if you didn’t show up or do the work, you didn’t pass and when you pay for each class, that means you just lost-out on thousands of dollars. Same goes in the real world, your not forced to do the work or show up, but certain things are expected of you and if you do not meet those expectations, then you’re on the side of the road. The only things that I wish I could have done differently would have been to take part in more internships. There’s nothing better than hands-on experience and that’s exactly what internships supply. It’s very important to have in the media field, hands-on experience.
     
CAREER ADVICE
Internships are key. Media outlets are always looking for individuals with experience and seeing that you are still in college, that’s translates to internships. There’s no such thing as too few.  When you do graduate and begin sending out resumes and tapes (if your going into TV), just be ready for a lot rejection. I was turned done by literally 200 stations across the country. A TV station in Juneau, Alaska wouldn’t hire me…Juneau! So just be ready to hear a lot of “No’s” but never settle for it. Be persistent, go the extra mile because all you need is ONE person to like you and you’re in. Also, take what you can get, I wanted to be on camera but, to be honest, was really not qualified. I was offered the position of Weekday Sports Producer, writing and editing the shows, at my station first, almost like a try-out. When my boss and others saw that I was a hard worker and could contribute to the station on air, I was promoted within a few weeks. You just need to get your foot in the door, because when it’s in, you’re in.

SHU EXPERIENCE
I loved Sacred Heart. I played on the football team for four years, which is one of the best experiences of my life. I was the editor of the school news paper, The Spectrum, got my minor in Political Science, hosted a Sports-Talk radio show for WSHU and was part of television program.  Smaller universities have their benefits. It allowed me to take part in so many different activities, which I don’t think would have been possible if I attended a larger school. The only draw back was that, as a smaller university, we didn’t have the high-tech, state-of-the-art media facilities that could have benefited me in the early stages of my career. But what SHU offers that no amazing control room or out of this world studio could ever compete with, is a faculty and staff that truly cares about every single student. They are more than willing do whatever it takes to help student reach their goals and become successful contributors in the real world.  That, to me, is priceless.