Staying Consistent on the Path

By: Kate Norum

The path may not always be what you had in mind, but in the end it will help you get to where you eventually want to be. For Kylie Callura, her goal was to join the ranks of Doris Burke and Michele Tafoya as a sports broadcaster and even did broadcasting starting out in high school. Although the goal is still to cover in front of the camera, Callura found a home in sports, a field she always imagined to work within. Eventually gaining more experience in anything imaginable from producing, editing, digital content, along with reporting, made Callura a more valuable asset in this industry. The main component is to be willing to learn new skills and not be afraid to do something you originally didn’t plan. Regardless of the path, it’s all about remaining consistent on it, wherever it leads and for Callura it led her to NBC Sports. 


K: So, how did your journey to NBC Sports begin?


A lot of hard work and luck. When I was in high school, I really wanted to be a sports broadcaster, specifically a sideline reporter. I wanted to be like Michele Tafoya, and I would do anything to get there. I actually was involved in broadcasting in high school, I was super lucky in the fact that my school had a program paired with an outside agency, teaching us real life producing, reporting, camera work and directing. So I went to college and decided on broadcasting. I started at the University of Arkansas for a hot moment, not my vibe. So I transferred to the University of Missouri, more close to home and honestly I should’ve went to Mizzou all along but I wanted to experience life outside of what I was familiar. At Mizzou, the broadcasting program is fixated on students working in real-life situations. 
Whether the student is in broadcast, print, radio they have labs where they learn the ropes from the actual places by working there. I was very fortunate to be able to work for the NBC affiliate in Columbus, Missouri, where I did everything from assignment desk answering phones and story leads to producing and anchoring broadcasts to digital and web-writing. I did anything I could because I wasn’t sure where I wanted to end up. As much as I wanted to be on TV, I know that those jobs are too few and far between. 


For me it was super important to learn everything about the industry, as much as I could, so I could be valuable in any position. When graduation came I was applying to anything and everything under the sun in sports. I probably applied to 70 jobs and I heard back from two. The jobs were a production assistant at NBC Sports and a sports reporter/anchor job in Topeka, Kansas. I completely forgot I applied for the NBC Sports job, which was a production assistant for Sunday Night Football because it was simple application and three months later, I get a call and then an interview. I was amped up because I grew up a huge NFL fan and anything related to it. I was ready.


K: What was the interview process like for NBC Sports?


Ok so I did a few HR interviews and then I had an interview with Fred Gaudelli, the executive producer of Sunday Night Football. Gaudelli, a big-time producer for football, has changed the game and how everyone views games. I was a little naïve, I did some googling, and I really didn’t understand how national broadcasts worked because I just worked in local news. After I interviewed with Gaudelli and talking a lot about football, the NFL draft, and more what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be, I ended up talking a lot about social media and digital. I talked about this because that’s what I did at the station in Kansas and wanted it to set me apart from the other reporters. I’m going to be completely honest, I thought the interview went terrible. I think you’re your toughest critic, and I was like, “there it was, I blew it.” About 3 hours after the interview I get an email from Fred telling me about another job and an entirely different position in production that was full-time. Keep in mind, the production assistant job I originally applied for was only freelance and just during the football season. Then I interviewed with Lyndsay Signor, who is the vice president of consumer engagement at NBC Sports, overseeing all the marketing and media. From there, I actually was offered the job two days after graduation. 


K: What’s it like working for Sunday Night Football?


It’s been great, I’ve spent the last three football seasons on the road with our production crew. In my first year we also had the second half of the Thursday Night Football package. So, for 8 weeks of the season, I was doing Thursday Night, and then flying for the Sunday Night game. Lot of air-line miles! 


K: How do you regroup after each game, whether on Thursday or Sunday Night?


It’s difficult, for sure, as you don’t really get a break. But, at the same time, it’s so scheduled where you get into a rhythm. Every Wednesday, there’s a meeting with our production team which is like 3 hours long, where we go through game ideas for the home team, the away team and any special events like Salute to Service or Breast Cancer Awareness. Once Sunday is over and post-game interviews are over, we automatically switch to the next Sunday. Where Monday is the research day, going through recaps, players’ social media and the teams’ social media. It’s fun research for me, meaning it doesn’t feel like work. Then everyone will come together and collaborate on ideas throughout the week. The schedule helps me to stay focused. 

K: Who would you say has inspired you in this field?

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Overall in the industry, I have always been a big admirer of Michele Tafoya, which is weird because I work with her now. My parents actually embarrassed me when they came to a game and I introduced her to them. My dad said to Tafoya, “She loves you.” And that was crazy because at that point Tafoya did not know me like that, after I had only worked there for 8 weeks. I always admired her because she didn’t call herself a woman in sports but she was just in sports. That was something that was always important for me. Michele is professional and always prepared, I just remember thinking, “that woman knows her stuff.” Through her I never show up to a meeting unprepared, if you’re unprepared you’re setting yourself up for failure immediately. 

For the past three years, Kylie has been working at NBC Sports for Sunday Nigh Football as the Social Consumer Engagement Coordinator. No matter what the process is, the ability to keep going, even in unfamiliar territory, is essential and staying true to yourself. Everything in the end will work out.

Feel free to give Kylie a follow on Twitter @KylieCallura or connect with her on LinkedIn

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