Mueller's Momentum

By Hernz Laguerre, Jr. 
Photo provided by Brian Mueller

Syracuse, N.Y. --  Brian Mueller is a sports journalist out in Oklahoma City who recognizes that the road to your dream job doesn't necessarily go where you'd expect it.

After Mueller graduated from Syracuse University's Newhouse School in 2009 he found that he would have to put his love for sports on hold. He had an opportunity to work for the NBC/CBS affiliate duopoly in Syracuse where he would be doing mostly news. He landed the job after interning there his senior year at Syracuse.

"I'm versatile," Mueller said during a phone interview.. I'm able to do jobs outside of my line of work because I'm open to doing new things",

Although he would be doing news mostly he still carried his skills from news into the sports world. This type of mentality, he thinks, sets him apart from the others.


He realized that often times the sports world transferred into the news world.

"I learned in news how to report on court cases so when certain athletes get in trouble for example I take my knowledge from there to report on it", Mueller said.


It is this balance that landed him a job covering sports in Oklahoma City He just got there several months ago but says it has felt like years because of how busy the news has been.

The most recent news story that has covered the headlines are related to Kevin Durant. Mueller says it's been quite a challenge covering Durant because some people in Oklahoma City just don't want to hear anything about him now.

Mueller has had to found the balance in covering Durant while not over covering him since he made the unpopular choice of leaving OKC to play for Golden State.

For example the Olympics pre-trials have begun and if Kevin Durant has a big game Mueller said depending on the game he'll show Durant highlights but won't show the postgame interview. By doing this there people won't get as angry watching Mueller's coverage.


Mueller said balance is the key to his success. It applies in many areas in his career and life.

                                                            

Link to the interview, click here. 

Transcription
Hernz: Hey Brian I know you recently just graduated from Newhouse. What made you come here?

Brian: Well I'm from St. Louis so it was between Syracuse and the University of Missouri for journalism out of high school. I've gone to Missouri a lot to watch football games and basketball games. I liked it and I wanted a different experience so I checked out Syracuse. I visited it and I liked it granted I came in the summer. I didn't get the full Syracuse experience when I was there but I just liked the look of Syracuse and the fact that they had their own studio and the all the equipment they had. When I went there it felt like the right place and I was fortunate enough to get in.


Hernz: How did Newhouse best help you in your career?
Brian: I think they did a good job of giving me the necessary skills to be good in the real world. I was in the program during a traditional time in news. A lot of small markets was going away from linear editing and non-linear and I learned how to do
that there. The difference between writing for television and writing for radio and the difference in writing hard news. I still remember in some classes them giving us a checklist of the eight things you need to hit on before writing a story. (For example) these are the eight things you should be asking the fire chief. They did a good job of sectionalizing everything you need to be successful in the real world and nothing beats the actual story where you're side by side with journalists out there who have to do stories for their station that night. You know those are the things I remember the most and those are the things that merited the most growth for me and those are the things I remember when I actually go out and do things.


Hernz: Could you paint me a picture of when you graduated from Newhouse? Where did your career take you once you graduated.
Brian: Well I interned at the NBC CBS affiliate when I was a senior and I was fortunate enough when i graduated that a position opened up. It was a half news and half sports position so I had a lot of contacts from interning there. That's the case with a lot of jobs these days. Your first job isn't your dream job obviously. It's kind of a stepping stone to what you really want to do. I know I really wanted to do sports and I was steadfast on that even in my early college days. So I didn't want to do news but I worked in sports and build up my resume and had a great two years there then a position opened up in Time Warner Sports in Syracuse and it was all sports and I went there 2011 and learned a lot of stuff and it was basically a lot of stuff I love doing when I was in college like CitrusTV but it was now stuff I was doing for a living so that was a real dream come true. I was there for four years and I wanted to move my experience. I love basketball and I was on TV Jobs one day and I saw a job opening up in OKC and I applied for it and I was lucky enough to get there. It's been a crazy time to be there because when I got there it was a week until the College Play-offs and OU lost to Clemson and OU made it to the final four like Syracuse and the Thunder went pretty far in the playoffs. I've only been here for a couple of months but it feels like three or four years because of what has happened these last couple of months.



Hernz: Now how has it been since Kevin Durant left? I imagine the being one of the biggest stories you had to cover.
Brian: You know it's been a crazy time here. The day it happened it was tough because we were short staffed. We knew it was coming. It was on July 4th and a lot of people already booked vacation so a lot of people weren't here to cover it. So we didn't have the essentials to cover the top five biggest stories that has ever happened here. But the aftermath has been pretty crazy. A lot of people are feeling hurt and sad about it. I see a lot of people were hurt and even I the standpoint of covering it I had to stay on a balance beam of covering it. You need to make sure the news gets out there and when
something happens with Kevin Durant you need to make sure the news still gets out there. You have to strike that balance of covering it and over covering it. There are a lot of people who are still upset about it and a tot of people who don't want to hear nothing about it. For example with the US Olympic team, people may not want to hear Kevin Durant making shots. So you show him get points but you don't show post-game coverage....viewers can get really upset now a days


Hernz: So what angle do you approach a story like that. What your mindset like?
Brian: You have to step back a little bit. From a personal standpoint as a journalist you see him leaving as the Thunder not being able to win a championship anytime soon. You gotta strike that balance and to a certain extent you want to sympathize with the city. The day it happened of course you will have a somber story but you don't want to show him as a bad guy because enough people are already doing that. It is not our place to criticize.


Hernz: What sets you apart.
Brian: You have to be versatile. You have to do things that you aren't necessarily associated to what you do. As much as I didn't like to do the news there were elements that helped me in sports. Sports is becoming more like news so in covering court cases and other things that may fall in to the sports world I feel I am well equipped to handle the challenge


Hernz: Finish this sentence for me. Brian is?
Brian:Brian is a hardworking individual who has fought for everything he has achieved so far and is hopefully not done yet.


Hernz: What's your philopshpy through your career?
Brian: Do what makes you happy. A lot of people will think I have to be on air and that's when I'll get fulfillment. A lot of this job is staying patient and staying focussed. you increase your chances by working hard and staying focused.