Living His Dream: Alumnus Sportscaster
Brandon Green '18, sports reporter, credits Hood professors for a great start, and hard work and tenacity for everything else.
Brandon Green
Graduation Year
2018
Department
- English & Communication Arts
Degree
Bachelor of Arts in Communications
Title
Sports Reporter, Spectrum News 13
Brandon Green '18 has achieved a lot so far in his fairly short career as a sportscaster--a notoriously tough industry to break into. He credits his Hood professors for encouraging him, helping him see things he couldn't see in himself, and modeling careers that "made me see that I could do it too." In fact, professor Alan Goldenbach helped him land an internship in the field before he even graduated. Brandon worked hard and kept focus, paying dues newscasting in some smaller markets (South Dakota winters, anyone?), getting his break post-pandemic to be a full time sports reporter, then anchor, then sports director in Michigan. Now he is in Orlando covering the NBA with the Magic as well as many other national and international sports. His take on where he goes from here is decidedly positive: "As long as I am still getting paid to talk about sports, I'm the happiest person in the world."
Describe your career journey since you graduated from Hood.
Once I graduated from Hood in 2018, I was a reporter/producer for DMVStream, an online sports network focused on the DMV area high school sports and live coverage. I was there until March of 2019. Then I moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to become a news/sports reporter for KDLT-TV, my first full-time reporter job.
I was at KDLT for nine months then the station was sold and I did not want to stay in South Dakota, leading me to Flint, Michigan. I started at ABC12 in January 2020 as a full-time sports reporter, right before the pandemic. When the shutdown happened, I transitioned back to news until about August/September for ABC12. Then I finally got my chance to do sports full-time my dream job. I stayed at ABC12 for four and a half years, where I got multiple promotions: sports reporter to weekend sports anchor to sports director. I won numerous APME awards for best sportscast and sports coverage. My favorite things I covered were the Lions' first playoff win since the 90s and the Michigan football team winning the national championship.
All of those experiences helped me land my dream job in Orlando, Florida at Spectrum News 13 in September of 2024. I get to cover the NBA full-time with the Magic and still tell the stories I love. Plus, I get to cover things I never thought I would such as the NFL Pro-Bowl, Citrus Bowl, Pop-Tarts Bowl, Daytona 500 the list goes on and on.
What professors or mentors at Hood had the biggest impact on you?
Multiple professors believed in me during my time at Hood. Professor Donna Bertazzoni was the first--she saw things in me I didn't see in myself and helped me set my classes and schedule so I could be successful in my first two years at Hood.
Professor Alan Goldenbach was a great person to bounce ideas off of and offered me so much advice that it's hard to focus on one thing. Also he helped me get my internship at DMVStream.
Professor Elizabeth Atwood, Tim Jacobsen, Katherine Orloff and so many more, I learned so much from them. Especially when they told their career stories--it made me see that I could do it too.
What trends do you see coming in the future of Sports Journalism? What are some of your goals?
I used to be a very goal-oriented person, but since I started this journey I just try to work as hard as I can and see where the dominoes fall. As long as I am still getting paid to talk about sports, I'm the happiest person in the world.
The trend in sports media is that the small TV markets are getting squeezed out. I saw first hand at ABC12. We went from a full newsroom with multiple reporters and anchors to just a few, the sports department was three people and now it's one person. The stations where I got my start might not be around much longer.
What advice would you give a Hood student or alum who is interested in your field?
The best advice I can give is: some days are going to suck, but if you keep working hard each day and do not cheat the process, one day you'll look back and be proud of where you came from.
Just constantly work to get better at your craft. Even for me, pronouncing names correctly is essentially my job and something I needed to get better at. And now I have a catalog of tough-to-pronounce names from athletes on different teams, so I get them right when the time comes.
Another thing: you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Whether that's asking tough questions after a loss, or covering something you didn't grow up watching, you have to step out of your box.
What do you like to do when you aren't working?
I love to play video games and watch sports. I can do both all day long. My favorites right now are College Football and NBA 2K.
Share a stand-out or funny memory from your time at Hood.
A story that I will never forget is when Professor Orloff told us how she worked on the set of the movie "Step-up." It was a movie I watched growing up. She brought us the original script of the movie--a super cool moment.
Also, one day when it snowed badly, somebody made an igloo. That was crazy.
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