Arts & Communications: Sports Anchor
Arts & Communications
Sports Anchor:
Steven Uyehara
Three minutes left. Your hands are shaking. You might miss the deadline. If you botch up, the ENTIRE WORLD will see you. A mad dash for the studio. 5-4-3-2-1. The camera lights up. You open your mouth to speak…no words come…you attempt to find your voice…still no words…a common nightmare that haunts many a news anchor.
Anchor's Worst Nightmare
Does it happen in reality? It comes darn close. Ask Steve Uyehara, KGMB9 Sports Reporter and Weekend Anchor. "I think the scariest part about deadlines is that if something messes up, it's not a question of a boss getting on your case…EVERYBODY sees you mess up…I've actually had dreams where I've 5 minutes to deadline and I don't have ANYTHING…that's how stressful it can be."
For An Adrenaline-Junkie
But if you're cool and "with-it" as Uyehara is, you find ways to conquer that stress. "What I've come to realize is, you have your rundown…if you can't get in that little extra baseball or basketball game, just don't do it. You need time to take a breath before you go on set or you're going to crash…Part of the fun is the stress. It's almost like a job for an adrenalin-junkie. Just to be able to say that you did all that you did — that's HUGE."
A Typical Day
"One Friday, I had to be at Turtle Bay at 10 o'clock in the morning with my photographer to videotape golfer Michelle Wie tee off. Then I had to rush back to the studio, take a 15-minute lunch break, and edit…Then, you go through the rest of your rundown. Maybe the NBA basketball or the UH baseball team's last roadstand…all the way up until 6 o'clock, you're just cramming."
He adds, "There are times — when there's a BIG breaking story — like the time I was able to track down UH President Evan Dobelle at a game…to talk to him about the Christmas Day Hawaii Bowl fight. I nailed that interview, and they wanted me to "front" it for the 5 o'clock, 6 o'clock, AND my other 6 o'clock segment…and you're just CRAMMING and JAMMING! You have to totally budget your time, meet certain requirements…the FEAR is, you're not going to complete a SINGLE THING! You start shaking, and your heart starts racing 'cause it's like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm gonna look like an idiot!' Then things lull off after 6:30…you just kind of relax, you catch a deep breath, A~hhhhhhh…10 o'clock, we tend to rewrite things, but your nerves are just so shot, you're not nervous at all after 6:30."
Detail-Oriented to Anal
"My apartment, it's still a mess, but I can get 'completely anal' at work. There's no coming to work and just sitting back, thinking that the work's actually gonna get done. You have to know exactly what you've got to do. And sometimes you're dealing with coaches for interviews, who are on strict schedules themselves. If you're late, they won't give you an interview…everything has to be ON TIME or you're messed up."
If You Want In
"For kids trying to get into this…just be aware of EVERYTHING around you. A lot of times…I just didn't pay attention to anything. You know, all these names that I now have to go back and research…If you walk around life in a closed world without really reading the newspaper or really paying attention to what's going on, you have to gain that ground when you start working."
For That Extra Edge
"If you come into reporting, everybody has a journalism degree. If you can have some sort of specialty that you're good at, including your writing, you're way ahead of everybody…if I could do it over, I would've minored maybe in political science. The other thing, when I was in high school, I was on the speech and debate team. I think that helped a lot…I didn't decide that I wanted to start learning until I was in this journalism program (at CAL State Northridge in California)."
The Reality
"This is one of those jobs where you're always on the edge, because you never know what could happen. Tomorrow, they could decide that I'm not bringing in the numbers (ratings) they want, and they can just get rid of me. I always think about it at night… For now, it's kind of a fun career. If you EXCEL at it, then you can eventually make money down the line. It's not a secure career. Not to be depressing…you have to kind of earn your spot."
Steve's Words of Wisdom For Teens
"Your career will eventually come if you work hard, make enough connections, and you're not lazy. Don't start stressing about it from the time you enter college — then you're not going to enjoy it… (That's not to say slack off.) You just got to let it happen. My words of wisdom…(laughter)."
Steve's good friend describes him as humble, decent, down-to-earth, considerate, and above all adventurous — all qualities that combine to help smooth out the toughness that's required to sit in the anchor's seat.