Cassie Carlson, an alum of the University and sports anchor at FOX 32 Chicago, spoke to students in the College of Media today about her career in journalism and tips for future reporters and producers at an event hosted by the Richard and Leslie Frank Center for Leadership and Innovation in Media.
In a loose Q&A style, Carlson took questions from attending students about breaking into sports reporting and covering teams like the Chicago Bears. Throughout the discussion, she emphasized the importance of being a go-getter in the competitive field of broadcast journalism.
“If you have friends in business or another profession like engineering, a lot of them probably have their jobs lined up if they’re graduating this year: Journalism is so different,” Carlson said. “Don’t think that you need to intern at the biggest station in Chicago — do something that’s going to get you practical experience.”
Carlson graduated in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism. During her time at the University, she worked with Fighting Illini Productions, the Big Ten Network’s StudentU program and was in charge of cameras for the shows at Richmond Studio.
The Frank Newsroom at Richmond Studio, located at the corner of Goodwin and Main streets in Urbana, hosts weekly broadcasts like Good Morning Illini and UI7 that are produced by students. The newsroom had an official reopening and ribbon cutting in October 2023 after a series of renovations funded by Richard and Leslie Frank.
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Since leaving campus, Carlson has worked in stations from WMC-TV in Memphis, Tennessee to a local FOX affiliate in Lubbock, Texas. She said that her passion and ambitious nature drew her to a career in sports journalism.
“I’m naturally a very competitive person, and sports broadcasting is very, very competitive,” Carlson said. “I remember walking into an event called ‘Media-palooza’ as a high school senior and sitting at the desk at Richmond Studio. We read an anchor read, and I honestly fell in love with it.”
Carlson has worked as a sports anchor and reporter for FOX 32 Chicago for the past two years. She said that her experience covering high school sports in Texas prepared her to host shows like “Bears Unleashed” and give commentary on professional football.
“I’ve been (at FOX 32) for two years, covering the Bears primarily and doing our sports show on Sunday nights,” Carlson said. “But the biggest thing I tell people is my job is exactly the same as it was in Lubbock, Texas — it’s just a bigger market.”
The Richard and Leslie Frank Center, established in 2020, hosts monthly events like speaker series and panels aimed at supporting the professional development of media students. Previous speakers have included Brian Williams, former anchor for NBC Nightly News, and anchor for KFOX 14 El Paso Robert Holguin.
