James McNab participated in a 13-week externship with LTN Global, a major player in live sports production. He shares what he learned and how students will benefit from this experience.
As the demand for real-time sports content skyrockets, Iowa State University’s Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication is working to stay ahead of the curve. Assistant Teaching Professor James McNab is doing that by going back into the field.
In the fall of 2024, McNab participated in a 13-week externship with LTN Global, a major player in live sports production. The externship, a professional development opportunity designed for faculty members to gain industry experience, took McNab across the country, working on broadcasts for ESPN, Fox and other networks.
“An externship is basically an internship for faculty,” McNab said. “It allows us to keep up to date with the latest practices and bring that knowledge back to the classroom.”
During the externship, McNab worked as a replay operator, contributing to collegiate broadcasts from cities including Philadelphia, Kansas City, Memphis and Iowa City. The work ranged from traditional on-site broadcasts to emerging “remote production” models, where part of the crew works at the event site while others operate from a centralized control facility.
That hybrid production model is exactly what students in Greenlee’s newly launched Sports Media major will be learning when the program debuts this fall.
“I’ve freelanced in this industry for years,” McNab said. “But this was a chance to formalize that experience in a way that directly benefits our students and programs.”
One major outcome of the externship is the development of a sports broadcast production course, or SMC 3520, which will introduce students to modern workflows used in professional sports media. The class is built around real-world practices, like those McNab experienced with LTN.
“Remote production is becoming the norm,” McNab said. “And now, with how accessible and efficient it is, literally every sport, at every level—from Division I to high school—can be broadcasted.”
That shift in technology has also fueled a massive growth in opportunities for students.
“Ten years ago, student-produced content had little chance of airing,” McNab said. “Now, students are working on broadcasts that reach national audiences.”
But with that growth comes increased expectations.
“The industry is looking for Swiss Army knives,” McNab said. “You can’t just specialize in football or only want to run camera. You’ve got to do everything from graphics to replay to multiple sports. I did rugby for the first time last week.”
The externship also strengthens Greenlee’s positioning as a hub for cutting-edge media education. With Sports Media and Digital Storytelling now among the school’s offerings, the program is becoming a destination for future media professionals.
“There’s so much energy behind this,” McNab said. “The demand is real, both from students and the industry. Sports is one of the last things people still watch live, and that urgency creates opportunities.”
And while the externship may have ended, the real work is just beginning. Students will soon learn firsthand what it takes to thrive in the fast-paced world of sports media.