Monday, November 3, 2008

"And back in 5, 4, 3..."

On the road with the Bulldog Sports Network

Halloween weekend of WAC football finds us in Ruston, La., looking in on the matchup between Fresno State and Louisiana Tech. This happens to be broadcast #4 of the fall season for those involved with Fresno State’s Bulldog Sports Network. Let’s check in with Paul Ladwig, Producer for BSN and Associate Athletics Director at Fresno State.

A lot of people watch sports on TV, but don’t get the opportunity to take a peak behind the scenes. Tell us a little about what it’s like in the production truck during the broadcast.

Ladwig: Live broadcast TV should never get old and should always be fun… Controlled chaos is the best way to describe the control room. It is thirty people coming together to do a show, a show no one knows the script for and what event or thing will happen next. But you need to be prepared for any change in the story.

What do you get out of producing your own show?

Ladwig: For those of us who help produce the Bulldog Sports Network it is a medium that we use as one venue to help promote and enhance the Fresno State Athletics story. It is not just a football or basketball or softball broadcast; it is three hours of talking and telling about our student-athletes and their coaches and the experience of being a Bulldog. As the producer of the show, I am very fortunate to have a core group of people who work on every show, who bring the highest level of professionalism to each and every game. I hope I tell them thanks enough; they are the real stars. They are my friends, friends who put their heart and soul into each and every show.

35 shows and counting… What’s the future for BSN?

Ladwig: We hope to do more contests in the future and become a model that other departments our size can follow to tell their stories as well.

Check out Producer Paul and Director Matt McCandlish during Saturday's broadcast:

Captions from photos shown above:

1 - Inside the control room

2 - Paul Ladwig, Producer (left), and Matt McCandlish, Director (center)

3 - Randy Rosenbloom, Color Commentator (left) and Ralph Wood, Play-by-Play (right), interview Karl Benson, Commissioner of the WAC (center)

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