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Broadcasting in the Big Leagues

Kent State alumnus is living the dream while working at the world's biggest sports TV network
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From a young age, ESPN associate producer and 5X社区 alumnus Jason Kostura fell in love with the world of sports.  

鈥淢y first sports memory is my aunt taking me to Tower City mall in downtown Cleveland. I was probably 6, 7 years old,鈥 Kostura said. 鈥淪he took me to this little kiosk, and she explained to me that we used to have a football team, but they went to Baltimore overnight and explained to me that someday we were going to get them back and it was going to be awesome. She bought me a T-shirt that said 鈥楤ring Back the Browns鈥 with a little sad dog on it. I鈥檝e been hooked ever since.鈥

Long before his days at ESPN, you could find Kostura on the field ... or mat or court.  

鈥淚 played every sport under the sun, wrestling, football, basketball, you name it,鈥 Kostura said.  

Kostura also ran track, competing in the mile race. He reflected on how this time in his life shaped him as a team player and a young professional.  

鈥淲ith track, you鈥檙e a part of a team, but your contribution to the team is your event. In my job, I very much have to pull my own weight to help contribute to the team. I think there鈥檚 a lot of analogies and a lot of natural lessons learned that have helped me along the way,鈥 Kostura said.  

Coming to Kent State, Kostura channeled his love for sports into student media.  

Alumnus Jason Kostura on TV2 in the early 2010s

鈥淚 worked at TV2 for all four years, and I loved it. You know, getting to cover Kent State sports, getting to call basketball games. We did a lot of work with the local high schools in the area and did a Friday night high school show, which was a lot of fun. I learned a lot of the skills that I use now in editing, reporting and storytelling.鈥

Throughout his time at Kent State, Kostura was mentored by now-retired journalism professor Karl Idsvoog, famous for his tough feedback and ability to shape students into successful, strategic young journalists.  

Alumnus Jason Kostura on TV2

鈥淥ne of my favorite memories was when I took Karl鈥檚 class, and I worked really hard on this project. He looked at it and he was like, 鈥楾his is not great, but it鈥檚 going to get there.鈥 He helped me, and I remember I pulled an all-nighter to work and figure it all out,鈥 Kostura recalled with a smile.  

鈥淚 got an A on the project. And I learned from that day that with storytelling, you can鈥檛 be afraid of feedback, and you can鈥檛 expect that you鈥檙e going to get things right the first time. He really instilled the idea that you鈥檙e always going to have to work hard for what you want.鈥   

As his college years came to a close, Kostura got one final takeaway from Kent State 鈥 his wife. Christine Percha, now Kostura, also graduated from Kent State in 2014. She works as an acute care speech-language pathologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Kostura earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in broadcast journalism in 2014, but his big break came just days after graduation.  

鈥淲hen I was a senior, a buddy of mine from TV2 was a year older, and he got a job at ESPN. Justin Rockhold. And he reached out and asked if I鈥檇 be interested, and I said absolutely. And I owe him a massive, massive thank you,鈥 Kostura said.   

鈥淗e got me an interview and gave me a recommendation, and I ended up getting the job. I started eight days after graduating from Kent State. I moved to Connecticut. It was a wild journey,鈥 Kostura said. 鈥淚鈥檓 born and raised in Parma, so making that jump was a little bit a little bit crazy, but it was awesome,鈥 Kostura said.  

Kostura worked around the clock on every project he could get his hands on, ultimately falling in love with long-form storytelling. Now, he produces and directs content for ESPN brands including E60, Outside the Lines and NHL coverage, among other projects.  

鈥淪torytelling really is at the core of the human experience. Getting to not only tell these stories but meet these unbelievable people. 鈥業nspiring鈥 doesn't even describe some of these people and what they鈥檝e gone through and what they鈥檝e overcome,鈥 Kostura said.  

Many of the shows Kostura works on have been running for decades, but Kostura never wants the content to feel stale and works to find fresh stories and angles.

鈥淚 think that I always try to be inspired. ESPN has this motto 鈥楾o serve sports fans. Anyplace. Anytime.鈥 And I always try to think 鈥榃hat do the fans want to see?鈥 Like 鈥榃hat is there not enough of?鈥 鈥榃hat types of stories are people interested in?鈥欌 Kostura said. 鈥淚 try to bring unique ideas based on the fact that I鈥檓 a millennial, right? So I say, 鈥楾his is what my generation is interested in. Video games, music, those types of things and let鈥檚 find stories that bring sports into that and reach those different demographics.鈥欌

Jason Kostura

Although the story ideas never seem to run low, Kostura knows he can always rely on fans for more.

鈥淭he cool thing about sports fans is they鈥檙e dreamers,鈥 Kostura said. 鈥淭hey all go to sports because it鈥檚 an escape from our realities. They just want nostalgia. They want the love, the passion of it, and to be able to give that to them. I mean, it鈥檚 a dream job.鈥

So how does Kostura do his best work? By channeling his approach to storytelling the same way he did as an athlete.

鈥淵ou know, one of my dreams was to be an offensive coordinator for a football team. Unless Kent State is going to hire me someday, it鈥檚 probably not going to happen,鈥 Kostura said, laughing. 鈥淚 look at this like I have to execute a game plan. I come up with a game plan just like a coach would. The game begins when I start producing my story. It鈥檚 always going to change based on things that I might not have known about the story, things that are happening in the story, footage we can鈥檛 find, whatever it might be.鈥  

Kostura looks forward to the future of sports storytelling and is excited for his future at ESPN.  

鈥淚 want to continue to tell the best stories I can. I want to continue to find stories that relate to younger fans, older fans and everyone in between. Ultimately, I want to keep challenging myself by seeing what else is being done and being inspired by it,鈥 Kostura said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, the most important thing is to never lose that fire and passion to do the best you can and be the best teammate you can be.鈥 

Learn more about Kent State's Journalism Program

POSTED: Monday, October 30, 2023 02:45 PM
Updated: Monday, November 13, 2023 04:44 PM
WRITTEN BY:
Maddie Goerl, Flash Communications