While several Penn State football players anticipate the NFL Draft this week and their move to professional football, a team of College of Communications students also awaits the event and the opportunity to cover it for ComRadio for the second year in a row.
The draft begins Thursday, April 22, and continues Friday, April 23, and Saturday, April 24. Coverage on ComRadio, at http://comradio.psu.edu online, will originate live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, N.Y., throughout the three days of the event.
"When people ask me what the coolest thing I've done in my college broadcasting career, my answer is immediately, 'Doing the broadcast from the draft.' Getting to meet and interview the commissioner, all of the players and just the whole experience of being there is so cool and so exciting," said senior broadcast journalism major Dan Krupinsky.
Krupinsky helped initiate the coverage last year when he and Matt Vratarich, who earned his journalism degree in 2009, covered the event. Krupinsky had initially contacted the National Football League and requested a pre-draft interview with commissioner Roger Goodell. That proactive approach led to an even bigger opportunity when Penn State alumnus Mike Signora, who earned his journalism degree in 1996 and works as the NFL’s director of media relations and international communications, helped facilitate something more.
As a result, this year marks the second year in a row when ComRadio will serve as the only student-run media outlet covering an event that attracts worldwide attention. Coverage includes a draft preview show at 9:35 p.m. Wednesday, April 21, and live broadcasts from New York City begin at 6:35 p.m. Thursday, April 22.
"I never get tired of telling the story about going up there," Krupinsky said. "I might be even more excited this year because now I know a little bit more about what to expect and how things run, which I think will make the trip more fun than last year."
Established in 2003, ComRadio is a student-run, Internet-based radio station operated by students in the College of Communications. ComRadio broadcasts a nightly newscast, produces a variety of public affairs and talk shows, and provides play-by-play of all Penn State sports as well as many State College Area High School athletic events.
More than 200 students work at ComRadio each semester. When student programming is not on the air, ComRadio supplements its coverage with Associated Press All-News Radio and soft rock music.
Krupinsky will cover the draft on location this year with Brian Tripp, also a senior broadcast journalism major. Other members of the draft team include: Alex Braunbeck, a senior broadcast journalism major; Kevin Haslam, a senior broadcast journalism major; and Kevin Foedinger, a sophomore broadcast journalism major. They will organize production of the coverage from the on-campus ComRadio facilities.
Live programming and scheduling updates for ComRadio may be found at http://comradio.psu.edu online and on the station’s Facebook page, at http://www.facebook.com/psucomradio online.