Neil Slotkin

Neil Slotkin, Produder, Comcast SportsNet
I made this contact while trying to contact the producer of the Flyers game broadcast.

What are your specific duties?

As a Senior Producer at Comcast SportsNet in Philadelphia, I have various roles and they change on a day-to-day basis. Most often, I work as a field producer, which means I go out in the field and conduct interviews with players, coaches, etc. based on the news of the day or the assignment I'm asked to cover. Depending on the assignment I will either work with a reporter, but more often it's just me and a cameraman. I then will typically transcribe the interviews and then write a feature using the best soundbites we gathered. I then will generally edit the features myself on our non-linear editing system. I also travel frequently - I cover all Eagles games home and away, playoff games (I'm traveling with the Flyers right now) and will often go to other big events like All-Star games, baseball winter meetings, etc. When I'm on the road, I must also organize and oversee all of our live news hits with our reporters and coordinate them with our crews back in Philly. There's a ton that goes into this and I won't bore you with all the details.

I also line produce frequently, which means I will be assigned to produce a particular studio show (like SportsNite) and I will determine the order of the stories we will run. I spend the day putting in a rundown (order of stories) and working with our anchors to write the entire show. I will then go into the control room and produce the show, making sure we get all the news in the time allotted, adjusting the rundown for breaking news and most importantly getting in our commercial breaks and ending the show on time.

I most enjoy producing long-format features, but those usually take weeks or even months of collecting interviews and editing and are much longer - not something I have time to do as often as I'd liken. (A typical News of the Day feature on the Flyers may run about 2:00, whereas a long-format feature, say a retro on Donovan McNabb's career which I had ready before he was traded - that will be 6:00 or longer. I typically will create these "retros" for major players that are traded - McNabb, Westbrook, etc. or people who pass away-Harry Kalas, Tug McGraw, etc. They also are usually done well BEFORE the news occurs so I'm often working on stuff thinking it may happen.)

Just so you have some background on Comcast SportsNet (CSN) - our network aims to provide in-depth and comprehensive sports coverage (pregames, postgames, intermissions), breaking news and features with emphasis on the tri-state area (Pennsylvania/New Jersey/Delaware). We want to provide our viewers with exclusive access to the athletes, coaches and important people in the Philadelphia region and cater to the interests and needs of the passionate sports fans in town. We produce and air hundreds of hours of live professional sporting events annually including the Phillies, Sixers, Flyers plus more than 100 college basketball and football games, most in high definition. We reach nearly 3 million households in the 4th largest TV market in the country.

• How did you get started?

I began my career while attending Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. I did play-by-play and produced at our college radio station WRSU-FM. During college I also did an internship at WPVI TV (Ch. 6) in the Sports Department under Gary Papa. I also did an independent study at WFAN Sports Radio in New York. Five weeks after graduating, I landed a job at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut, and worked as a production assistant for over 3 years. I worked on various studio shows including SportsCenter, PrimeTime (NFL), Prime Monday, NHL-2-Night and many others. I also worked on some remote locations and covered the Patriots-Packers Super Bowl in New Orleans and a Final Four in NY. I then came to Comcast SportsNet in August 1997 and helped launch the network and have worked here in different roles since then (12+ yrs.)

• What experiences led you to this position?

I've held various different roles both at ESPN and here at CSN - from Production Assistant to Show Producer, Field Producer, Feature Producer and now Senior Producer. As I mentioned earlier, I currently do a variety of things on a daily/weekly basis, mostly field producing at various sporting events and cover many different teams and sports (Eagles, Flyers, Phillies, Sixers, Big 5 basketball, high school sports, etc.) The combination of field producing, line producing and feature producing has all helped me get to this position and currently makes up what I do every day. I have also been nominated for 11 Emmys and won 3 times.

• What do you like and dislike most about their job?

LIKE: I like the variety of jobs I can fill so I rarely get bored. I also love sports and grew up in this area (Cherry Hill) so I'm covering the teams I grew up watching on a daily basis. I can cover any sport and feel comfortable interacting/interviewing players and coaches as I do every day. I love writing and telling stories, which is really the most important part of my job.

DISLIKE: Working in sports makes for very long days. It's not a Monday-Friday 9-5 job, which means (with travel) missing holidays and family events and working long hours away from my kids. I also feel I'm underpaid for my experience and work hours/schedule, but that's typical on the production side.

• How do you feel new technologies will impact the media industry in the future?

Since the internet and mobile communication devices are now dominating the landscape, the industry is completely changing every day. At Comcast SportsNet, we are making a concerted effort to improve our website and make a greater push into social media such as Facebook and Twitter. We've budgeted more money and made several hirings in our on-line department and intend to make this the first place our viewers go to for the latest news, information, scores and original web content. We now have the ability to stream some games live on our website (csnphilly.com) and this is just the beginning.

• What recommendations do you have for students?

INTERNSHIPS, INTERNSHIPS, INTERNSHIPS. To get a foot in the door, you have to get hands-on and practical experience. Find as many internships as you can, and the more varied they are, the better. It's important to be well-rounded. Learn how to write well, make contacts in the business, and feel comfortable talking to people - it's all part of communication. Also, strive to do well in your classes in general. Take your grades seriously and work hard, but definitely find time to enjoy the social part of college.

• Where and how can students get started?

Find an area of journalism/communications that you like and get an internship or volunteer. Working at Home Deport or CVS may pay the bills, but it won't get you a job in this business. Most TV/Radio/Marketing departments all hire interns (most without pay/just need college credit) so find one. Start by working the internet and calling people. Then - if you get an internship, just don't go in and do what's asked of you - go above and beyond and make the people there remember you (many interns come and go-only a few make lasting impressions and they get jobs-we almost exclusively hire former interns when low-level positions open up.) Ask questions, but remember-there's a fine line between inquisitive and annoying.

• How important is experience and what is the best place to get experience?

There is nothing more important that experience, competence and confidence. You get it from being around people in the business (internships, making contacts, asking questions, etc.)

• What qualities/characteristics are important for someone getting started in the industry?

Learn how to write well, and just as importantly, be a better listener. Be hungry to learn; go above and beyond what's required. Be prompt and responsible for your actions. Realize that you'll need to have a flexible schedule (late nights/weekends) and be versatile to perform many different types of jobs and be a quick learner.

• Is there an Industry Journal/Trade Publication they would recommend reading?

There's not one publication that I'd suggest, but READ AS MUCH AS YOU CAN: Read the internet, newspapers and magazines every day - know what's going on in the world in general, but also in your business and in your specific line of work.