About Ben
I am a 2020 graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in Journalism and an Integrated Marketing Communications Certificate at the Medill School of Journalism. Throughout my career, I will strive to reach a high level of television reporting and would love to fulfill my dreams of becoming a lifelong MMJ.
While serving my role as a sports news director and reporter with the Northwestern News Network (NNN) student TV station, I worked as full-time MMJ and reporter at WJFW-TV, an NBC affiliate in Rhinelander, Wis., during the winter of my senior year. There, I covered general news stories, politics, agriculture, sports and much more. It was my first professional on-air opportunity with an affiliate and forced me out of comfort zone while reporting on dozens of different subjects over the course of a few months. I was lucky enough to go on camera in the field and studio and create daily news packages as a college student.
In 2019, I moved to Atlanta to work as an editorial intern with Turner Sports, where I managed a heavy workload writing daily stories for NCAA.com as a staff writer. During those three months, I covered 12 sports and, on occasion, was tasked with running the website on my own. Some of the pieces I wrote about, such as my story on NBA star Kawhi Leonard, received thousands of impressions.
During my junior year of college, I worked with the Chicago Bulls Media Relations team for the 2018-19 NBA season to record and transcribe the quotes of players and coaches on a deadline after games.
In the summer of 2018, I developed my sports writing and reporting skills by producing articles related to Chicago’s professional teams for NBC Sports Chicago and contributing to a Chicago Bulls NBA blog. During my digital internship at NBCSC, I searched for story ideas, managed social media accounts, covered sports in a large market and worked in a newsroom. My articles about athletes like former baseball player Sammy Sosa received thousands of impressions and were some of the most-read pieces at the outlet. A memorable highlight of my internship was the time I sat in on a conference call with Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman and wrote a story about his comments on the team’s goalie, Corey Crawford.
At Northwestern, I covered Big Ten teams for NNN and the WNUR radio station, which guided the development of my editing, writing, filming, video logging and reporting skills. As a radio broadcaster, I spent time attending games, interviewing players and writing recaps for the station. Additionally, I anchored, wrote scripts, produced, directed and created news packages with on-camera interviews as an Executive Producer for our weekly campus sports news show. I covered events like the Holiday Bowl in San Diego and Big Ten basketball tournaments.
My journalism coursework with world-class professors like sports columnist J.A. Adande also complemented my experiences. For our student radio station, I broadcasted play-by-play and color, and recorded a Northwestern baseball podcast as the host of “Baseball Matters,” which allowed me to write and create show rundowns. While working with NNN and WNUR, I gained an extensive understanding of social media content management while operating the Twitter accounts for both outlets.
Sincerely, Ben Bokun
Ben’s Resume
Benjamin D. Bokun
318-780-6538 ● benjaminbokun@gmail.com
EDUCATION
Northwestern University – Medill School of Journalism Evanston, IL; June 2020
Bachelor of Science in Journalism
BROADCAST EXPERIENCE
Northwestern News Network (NNN), News Director and Reporter Evanston, IL; Sept. 2017-July 2020
· Filmed and edited college sports video content and anchored five editions of “SportsNight,” the weekly Northwestern sports news show, yearly
· Created numerous sports video packages with interviews from athletes and coaches, and recorded standups on camera at games
· Supervised the news and content choices of over 25 shows while producing and editing each story within newscasts
· Searched for innovative segments and worked with a team of reporters and executives to design new show formats
· Shot football, baseball and basketball footage, along with team press conferences and worked as a studio analyst for Northwestern sports
· Produced shows, assembled rundowns, edited graphics, reported, logged video, wrote scripts and managed social media accounts
WJFW-TV (NBC Affiliate), General News and Sports Reporter Rhinelander, WI; Sept. 2019-Dec. 2019
· Covered general assignments, news and sports stories as a full-time reporter in the Northwoods of Northern Wisconsin
· Completed and edited nearly 40 news packages and almost 50 total stories about public interest, political and general news topics
· Filmed over 30 on-camera standups in the field and went live for multiple newscasts during snowstorms in Wisconsin
· Wrote scripts for each evening newscast, helped compile topics for show rundowns and interviewed dozens of story subjects
· Fronted packages and stories live in the station’s studio, and turned each story into an article format for posting on the WJFW website
WNUR Sports Radio, Sports Radio Broadcaster and Writer Evanston, IL; Jan. 2018-May 2019
· Broadcast Northwestern home and away basketball, baseball, soccer and lacrosse games as a play-by-play announcer and color commentator
· Recorded a baseball podcast called “Rounding The Bases” and managed the station Twitter account while tweeting Wildcats game updates
· Wrote dozens of recap articles for Northwestern lacrosse, baseball and basketball games
UMTV SportsDesk, Broadcast Sports Reporter Coral Gables, FL; Aug. 2016-May 2017
· Composed, edited and executed multiple sports video packages for the “SportsDesk” live television show
· Interviewed athletes on camera such as golfer Greg Norman, and created sports packages on athletes including Alex Rodriguez
WRITING EXPERIENCE
NCAA.com (Turner Sports), Staff Writer and Digital Content Creator Atlanta, GA; June 2019-Aug. 2019
· Created almost 40 articles about NCAA college athletics, covering 12 different sports and writing analytical pieces
· Edited a multitude of the website’s stories and posts written by some of NCAA.com’s most distinguished reporters including Andy Katz
· Oversaw and ran the website and made content decisions on occasion while editing the NCAA.com homepage
Chicago Bulls, Media Relations Team Member Chicago, IL; Oct. 2018-May 2019
· Recorded and transcribed postgame quotes of NBA players and coaches for distribution to national and international media
· Attend interview sessions in team locker rooms at 40 Chicago Bulls home games
NBC Sports Chicago, Digital Content Intern Chicago, IL; June 2018-Aug. 2018
· Wrote over 30 articles relating to professional Chicago sports for NBC Sports Chicago’s website
· Managed the company’s social media accounts and website content, which reached thousands of readers
· Proofread writing, posted writers’ articles, and pitched and wrote sports stories
FanSided Pippen Ain’t Easy Blog, Sports Blogger Evanston, IL; Jan. 2018-Aug. 2018
· Contributed to the FanSided Chicago Bulls blog, “Pippen Ain’t Easy” and provided an analytical look at professional basketball
· Wrote analysis pieces about Bulls games and opposing teams in the NBA
The Miami Hurricane Newspaper, Staff Writer Coral Gables, FL; Aug. 2016-May 2017
· Wrote article about comedian and football player that was retweeted to almost 35,000 people
· Finished baseball and soccer game recap articles on a strict deadline
SKILLS
Computer: Microsoft Office, Edius, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Photoshop, Mixlr, QuickTime, Inception, Rundown Creator, Field59, Slack
Camera: Panasonic AVCCAM AG-HMC150 3-CCD, Sony HSC Power HAD FX, Standard mobile news cameras
Social Media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Periscope