ESPN Sports & Lifestyle Content Creator Katie Feeney seems on ‘What’s Your Story?’

On Tuesday, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Program Director of Sports Communications Nick Pietruszkiewicz hosted the newest episode of his YouTube collection “What’s Your Story?” because the Quinnipiac group welcomed ESPN Sports & Lifestyle Content Creator Katie Feeney.

Pietruszkiewicz and Feeney explored the brand new realm of sports activities content material creation, Feeney’s journey and what the longer term holds for ladies in sports activities media. 

“Students, especially, were really excited about this,” Pietruszkiewicz stated. “She’s been in that chair that you all are in, that students are in, more recently than anybody else, so I think you identify with what she’s doing and the content she’s producing.”

The dialogue opened with the 2 speaking about their March Madness brackets and whether or not they see their bracket succeeding within the close to future, with Pietruszkiewicz mentioning his prior episode’s visitor, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi.

Similar to Lunardi, Feeney pioneered sports activities content material creation, a style of house that didn’t exist earlier than she began her TikTookay account, the place she has amassed 7.6 million followers. 

“It’s a huge honor,” Feeney stated. “It’s kind of crazy that five years ago, what I’m doing didn’t really exist yet. I was the first social media correspondent for the NFL, which, at the time, ‘social media correspondent,’I had no idea what that even meant.”

However, working in sports activities content material creation was not Feeney’s authentic profession path; she seemed to turn out to be a bodily therapist and dabbled in advertising after beginning her personal enterprise at 18. 

When she started attending The Pennsylvania State University, Feeney found her love for sports activities and the thrilling, unknown nature of working within the sports activities trade.

“I think the fear of the unknown is always there, but I would say I was more excited to kind of be a pioneer in this space,” Feeney stated. “You constantly have to reinvent yourself in this space, whether it’s in sports or in social media or really any job on the creative side, as things change.”

Despite simply beginning at ESPN 5 months in the past, content material creation isn’t a brand new world for Feeney, who started her social media journey in highschool. 

Yet, beginning on the sooner facet of the social media panorama, Feeney mentioned the challenges of posting on social media ‘not being cool.’

“Social media was also a different time then, not many people were doing it,” Feeney stated. “I was talking to some girl earlier about this, but like, it was not cool. What I was doing was not looked at as cool.”

Feeney went on to debate her profession take off, beginning across the time she started working with the Penn State soccer program. From her work with Penn State soccer, Feeney exploded on social media, residing her desires now of attending main sports activities occasions, together with the Super Bowl and the Masters.

Feeney and Pietruszkiewicz talked concerning the totally different abilities and methods Feeney has discovered and utilized inside her content material creation and work model. Feeney touched on the thought of giving your self time to decompress and loosen up when working in an surroundings that’s chaotic and fast-paced. She additionally highlighted the significance of conducting analysis and exploring totally different content material concepts she desires to hit throughout occasions. 

“I think it’s important to look at and to be aware of how something is doing, but I think when you get too caught up in it, it can mess up your mind a little bit,” Feeney stated. “I try to look at the general overview of how my stuff is doing versus a single post because sometimes it’s completely out of your control.”

With numerous college students in attendance, Pietruszkiewicz opened up the ultimate half an hour of the dialogue to the coed physique, asking inquiries to Feeney about her private {and professional} progress, life experiences and to share their idolization.

“I’ve followed you since Penn State,” a Quinnipiac School of Communications scholar in attendance instructed Feeney. “I’ve been a fan forever.”

To wrap up the dialog, Feeney left the ladies within the room with an necessary message about perseverance and navigating a rising house for ladies within the sports activities trade.

“Do it,” Feeney stated. “Get started. It’s still new, so our generation, we are the future.”