By Sean Boyle ’19 

Growing up, WNPR’s Frankie Graziano always dreamed of covering sports and never wavered in his determination to become a reporter.

Along the way, Graziano realized that his passion for covering sporting events was rooted in the personal stories he got to share and the relationships forged with sources and listeners alike. He was telling human interest stories that just happened to take place in the world of sports.

Graziano said he enrolled at UConn looking to be exposed to marquee events at a Division I university. After gaining valuable experience through internships and covering on-campus news, Graziano graduated in 2011 with degrees in journalism and history.

Graziano said he understood early in his career the importance for journalists to always be flexible and willing to cover any story, taking on whatever role is necessary for their editor or producers. Now, he’s assigned to breaking news for WNPR.

“I like to say yes to any job,’’ he said. “You have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get a story…I’m kind of super competitive in that way.”

While it may be easy for aspiring reporters to get discouraged by the current state of the industry, it’s important to keep up that same determination and tenacity. Graziano said too many reporters nowadays are turned off by the idea of failure. His biggest advice to young journalists: don’t be afraid to be embarrassed.

“A good way to approach it is you treat every day like a brand-new opportunity,” he said. “It’s a good way to forget about mistakes and shake off that humility that so many of us have.”

Graziano has covered everything from the state’s high school tournaments to doing play-by-play commentary and producing content for TV.

No matter the story, Graziano said he tries to treat each one with the same level of energy and professionalism: whether it requires wearing a full black suit to a baseball diamond on a 90-degree day or having to restrain his fandom while covering the UConn men’s basketball run in the 2011 NCAA tournament.

“I do love being in front of the camera,” Graziano admitted when asked about his favorite role.

Graziano said he enjoys getting his personality out there for people to recognize, allowing his audience to establish trust once they see the enthusiasm he brings to their story.

In his reporting for Connecticut Public Radio, Graziano is always looking to tell human stories. He considers himself an “everyman,” one he hopes people will not only relate with and trust, but also actively seek out as their go-to source for news in Connecticut.

Graziano implores young reporters to “stay at it, no matter what.” He said perseverance will pay off for determined journalists, making the moment when they fulfill their dream of telling the right story that much more rewarding.

Follow Frankie Graziano on Twitter: @FrankieGrazie6

By Nicole Rothman ’15

Disney World’s slogan is “the happiest place on earth.”  Mark Sadowski, a 1998 UConn graduate who is the public relations director for Disney Destinations, says being able to work for “such an innovative and inspirational company makes going to work fun.”

Growing up in Connecticut, Sadowski said the University of Connecticut was an easy choice when it came to picking a college. It ultimately became his top choice because of the programs it offered. Sadowski said he credits his education from the UConn Journalism department, especially his advisor, the late Prof. John J. Breen, department chair Prof. Maureen Croteau, and Prof. Wayne Worcester.

“I found the Journalism department much more engaging and caring about the students,” Sadowski said. “It wasn’t just in the classroom; they take an interest in all students in the program.”

Sadowski said that the writing skills he learned at UConn really helped in his career as a PR professional.

“Writing first and foremost was the biggest help,” Sadowski said. When writing a news story or a magazine story, having the skills to be able to craft a story is very important. He believes that having that ability helped to strengthen the skills of an everyday reporter.

Sadowski did an internship at the local Fox television news station while in college and said that his internship allowed him to learn how to work with reporters. That was important to him later as a PR professional. He said that a lot of the members of the Disney PR team are former journalists, who covered Disney in the news before switching to PR.

“It’s a definite marriage between those two,” Sadowski said.

For Sadowski, his start at Disney didn’t begin because he was covering the company. A friend from UConn, who was a manager at Disney at the time, told Sadowski he should come down to Florida. In 2000, he moved to the Sunshine State and took a temporary position with Walt Disney Imagineering, which is responsible for designing concepts for theme parks, hotels, cruise ships and Disney real estate, among many other projects. The position, which was supposed to last six months, ended up lasting three and a half years.

“I was the spokesperson and communications coordinator for a variety of future projects,” Sadowski said.

After his time in Imagineering, Sadowski applied for an opening in public relations. He was hired as the public relations manager, and then promoted to Disney Destinations Public Relations director. He based in Orlando, handling public relations for the parks and resorts.

Sadowski said that from his experiences with UConn Journalism, internships, and other jobs, he said his biggest piece of advice for current students is plain and simple: networking.

“Networking is imperative,” Sadowski said. “Taking the time to meet people and asking what their jobs are like and their own individual career path…Nowadays, it’s all about who you know and how to cut through the clutter.”

By Ethan Linder ’15

It was November 1968 and anti-war protesters had stormed into Gulley Hall at the University of Connecticut and refused to leave the building. UConn’s Storrs campus was in turmoil.

G. Claude Albert was an undergraduate student and news editor for The Daily Campus. Albert ran to Gulley Hall as soon as he heard what was going on. After observing the scene and gathering all the facts he could, he began writing a news story about the hostile takeover while his friend drove him to the printer. Albert was determined to have his breaking news story run in the next morning’s paper. Continue reading →

By Ylenia Elvy-Panton ’16

It was short walk from Buckley residential hall to Arjona on the campus of the University of Connecticut. For Curtis M. Wong, though, the commute has taken him a long way.

Wong, a Journalism and English major from Coventry, Connecticut, graduated from UConn in 2001 and is now senior editor of Queer Voices at the Huffington Post.

The first time Wong saw Connecticut’s flagship university during a tour, he said he found himself immediately drawn to the school. The large campus in Storrs could make a student feel like a little fish in a big pond, but the journalism department was small and made him feel comfortable, he said.

When Wong began working at The Daily Campus in his sophomore year, he got to practice the lessons from his journalism classes hands on, while nurturing some lifelong friendships.

“I loved working for the Daily Campus,” he said. Continue reading →

By Shannon Hearn ’16

Three semesters into his college career at the University of Connecticut in 1983, Keith Phaneuf dropped out.

Deciding he had no business majoring in engineering, Phaneuf nabbed a job as a reporter at a local radio station, WINY in Putnam.

“I wasn’t entirely interested in working for the radio industry, but I really liked the reporting aspect to my job,” Phaneuf said.

After a full year of covering municipal meetings for the radio station, Phaneuf decided to re-enroll at UConn, this time majoring in journalism. Continue reading →

By Chloe Vincente ’16

Elizabeth Crowley credits her University of Connecticut journalism classes and professors for helping her discover two important things: her passion for media and a path toward achieving her career goals.

Three years after graduating with her UConn journalism degree, Crowley is now working in Manhattan for NBC Universal as a creative coordinator.

A native of Fairfield, Connecticut, Crowley said she always aspired to make it in New York City.

She transferred to UConn from Northeastern University in her sophomore year, picking journalism as her major. During her very first week in Storrs, she began writing for UConn’s student newspaper, The Daily Campus.

Crowley said she loved her journalism classes, and reporting and editing for The Daily Campus. When she wasn’t practicing her print journalism skills in Storrs, Crowley interned at her local newspaper, the Stamford Advocate, writing mostly feature stories. She worked at the Advocate full-time during every break; winter, spring and summer.

Crowley said she focused all her efforts on print news when she first arrived at UConn. But after studying broadcast journalism in a class taught by adjunct Prof. Steve Kalb, she said became much more interested in television news production. Continue reading →

By Laura Costello ’15

Growing up a train ride away from New York City, Ryan Gilbert always wanted to see Broadway shows.

Now, seeing them is his job.

As national editor of Broadway.com, a website devoted to news and editorial coverage of New York City’s theater scene, Gilbert sees every Broadway show at least once and brushes shoulders with some of the biggest names in theater.

He also curates web content for the 43 cities that host tours of Broadway shows through Broadway Across America, Broadway.com’s parent company. Recently, he spent several days immersed in the “Phantom of the Opera” production in Orlando, Fla.

He’s basically living his dream.

Fifteen years ago, though, his dream was very different. Continue reading →