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Soon-to-be WVU grad scores job with MLB.com

Journalism student gets to go to work at PNC Park

Todd Krise

Todd Krise will soon be donning a mortarboard, but for now, a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap is his hat of choice.

That’s because the West Virginia University student isn’t just cheering on one of his favorite sports teams; he’s actually covering it for MLB.com – MLB, as in Major League Baseball.

It’s a good gig, he admits, for a senior in college.

Krise, a news-editorial major in WVU’s Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism, was one of only 30 up-and-coming reporters lucky enough to land summer jobs with MLB.com. He competed against some 300-400 applicants nationwide.

“It was a long shot, I thought,” Krise said. “I applied for the last three years.”

After two strikeouts, Krise hit the ball out of the park this year, becoming an associate reporter.

He doesn’t officially begin his job until May 20, but he’s been getting his feet wet, splitting his time between Morgantown and Pittsburgh to cover a few games. He recently went to the Bucs’ spring training camp, taking in every pitch, strike and home run from the ballpark press box. He attended batting and pitching meetings in the morning, hung out in the clubhouse and even got to meet general manager Neal Huntington.

Though he gets to watch games, he said it isn’t all fun and games. As an associate reporter for MLB.com, he will put in about 40-55 hours a week this summer, covering home games and writing features on off days. Krise is responsible for producing five stories for each home game he covers by himself.

“We write a pregame notebook, a game story that goes online right after the game end and another story for the next day – probably talking about the pitchers and starters for the next game,” he said.

You can’t ask for better experience, said Krise, adding that he hopes to interview Pirates owner Bob Nutting.

He will also get to try his hand at multimedia, filing pregame video reports for MLB.com.

A press box beats an office cubicle any day, Krise said, especially when it’s at one of the best ballparks in the country.

“It’s gonna be fun,” he said. “I get to tell people I go to PNC Park every day for work.”

A die-hard Pirates fan, Krise had already been planning a trip to spring training camp with his dad when he got the job offer.

“My dad’s a sports nut,” he said, “and he turned his son into a sports nut.”

Krise was born in Johnstown, Pa., about an hour-and-a-half drive from the Steel City, and he’s always been a huge fan of Pittsburgh teams.

“I grew up loving the Pirates,” he said. “We always drove from Johnstown to Pittsburgh for games. I remember sitting on top of Three Rivers (Stadium) watching Barry Bonds. It’s just that little-kid feeling you get from watching a Major League Baseball game.”

If anyone has any doubt about the WVU student’s loyalty to the Bucs, just ask him about his baseball card collection.

“I collected over 350 cards of him (Bonds) when I was younger,” he said, “and there’s a picture of me when I was 8 months old, I think, in a Pirates uniform.”

His passion for sports has followed him throughout his life. It even factored into his decision to attend WVU.

“Obviously, WVU’s got one of the top-rated J schools in the country,” Krise said. “It has a lot of possibilities – and I wanted to cover big football and basketball programs. WVU was the obvious choice.”

Krise said the skills he’s picked up at WVU’s School of Journalism and the support of faculty mentors like Jan Boyles helped prepare him for the MLB.com job. Also, stints with the Reading Eagle; WVU’s Sports Communications department; and The Daily Athenaeum, WVU’s campus newspaper – along with freelance work for westvirginia.rivals.com, a sports news Web site – provided valuable, hands-on experience.

“I’ve covered so many big sporting events for the DA,” said Krise, who started out as a junior staffer his freshman year. “But the Fiesta Bowl has to be at the top of the list – the press conference with (Bill) Stewart and Patrick White?going into the locker room?watching them celebrate.”

As an intern for the University’s Sports Communications department this semester, Krise wrote features for gameday programs and did “behind the scenes stuff.”

Covering the Mountaineers was great practice for his new job, said Krise, who’s had his share of intimidating moments. His first MLB assignment was to write about four minor league players who were cut from the team.

“It’s intimidating; I’m certainly the youngest in the press box,” he said. “But so far, they’ve been nothing but nice to me.”

Krise said his experience interviewing WVU coaches also helped.

“You’ve got to make sure you know your stuff – make sure your questions are well prepared,” he said.

“Jenifer (Langosch, a full-time beat reporter with MLB.com) has helped me out a lot with clubhouse etiquette, making sure I know when to approach a player and when to speak to him.”

After Krise finishes with MLB.com, he hopes to turn his love of sports into a permanent thing, writing for a newspaper or magazine. His dream career is to be the “back page” columnist of Sports Illustrated, a position once held by his favorite sports writer Rick Reilly.

To check out Krise’s MLB.com reports, go to http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com.

The WVU Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism is a student-centered journalism school that has been graduating mass communications specialists since 1939. While rooted in tradition, the school also offers an innovative curriculum and real-world experiences that prepare students for careers in 21st century mass communications. Students learn by doing, using state-of-the-art equipment and cutting-edge media technology. For more information, visit http://journalism.wvu.edu/.