ISSUE 021: Have you thought about working in television?

IN THIS ISSUE

• 👋 Introduction: The unconsidered career path

• 👨‍🎓 Soccer Thought Leader: Shaw Brown, TV Producer Extraordinaire

• ⚽️ Soccer Jobs: New + interesting jobs

• ⭐️ Featured Job: Graphic Designer at San Diego Wave FC

• 🫵 Do This Now: 5 tips for job-seeking designers

• 📸 Photo of the Week: 🤯 🤯 🤯

INTRODUCTION

Hello, Pathwayers! 👋

If you’re subscribed to this little ol’ newsletter, chances are you are either already working in soccer or very much want to work in soccer. The places most look for jobs in the sport are fairly obvious - at a club, a federation, a brand (think Adidas, Nike, Puma, etc.), or agency.

But…

There are a number of other places you should consider depending on your particular interests and skillset. Today, we share a conversation with a lifelong builder in soccer - he’s worked in an industry that everyone knows (and engages with on a weekly basis!), but might not immediately be front of mind for a career. How’s that for a teaser? 😉

We hope today’s Soccer Thought Leader conversation will open up some new ideas as you consider future opportunities.

-Kyle Sheldon, Co-Founder & CEO

Did you spot a job that we need to include or have feedback on the newsletter? Drop us an email!

SOCCER THOUGHT LEADER: SHAW BROWN, TV PRODUCER EXTRAORDINAIRE

“I think it's really important to check on people and see if you can help them.”

Shaw Brown has done it all in the world of television production. 📺

A 25-year veteran of the soccer industry, he’s worked for ESPN, NBC Sports, FOX Soccer/FOX Sports, CBS, Apple TV, and Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT, HBO, Max). In other words, he’s worked for everyone.

On top of a storied career, Shaw is the type of person who puts others first time and again - and looks to offer a helping hand or an introduction where he can. He’s generous and kind.

While we all watch soccer on TV constantly, I’m not sure folks always consider it as a viable career option. To me, at least, it feels like an area of the industry that is a bit opaque.

We were thrilled Shaw was willing to spend some time with us to shed some light on the space for those who might be interested in pursuing a job in television.

Enjoy!

-Kyle Sheldon, Co-Founder & CEO

Questions and answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity (and any emphasis below is ours).

PATHWAY: Shaw, you’ve worked in television production your entire career and I think it's an industry a lot of folks that love soccer don't know a lot about. Can you start by sharing how you got started in your career? 

SHAW: When I moved to America from England, I moved to Michigan and I was a Detroit sports fan. I wanted to play professional soccer, but I wasn’t good enough. My dad worked at Ford Motor Company as a PR person, and he knew one person in television who worked at WDIV, which is the Detroit NBC station.

He got me signed up to go in for a day and say hello to the sports department, which I did. Then I applied for an internship and got it after my freshman year at the University of Michigan. 

And then soccer started happening. The US Cup was coming [in 1993], which had Brazil, Germany, the United States, and England, which was just an incredible tournament. The Silverdome was hosting its first soccer game, which was awesome. Jim Trecker, who is the godfather of soccer PR in our country - he worked with the Cosmos back in the day - he just took a shine to me. He put me up in the booth with JP [Dellacamera] and Ty Keough who were calling the game. And that sort of was it for me, I thought “this is awesome” and I knew it was what I wanted to do. 

I went to ABC Sports in New York for the ‘94 World Cup. I was working as an intern and about halfway through the tournament they were about to put up an incorrect graphic that said Jürgen Klinsmann was the leading goalscorer. Oleg Salenko [of Russia] had scored five the night before against Cameroon and I sheepishly opened my mouth and the producer of that show said some not-so-kind words back and then asked, “wait, who are you?” And they realized I was right. Jim McKay who was the commentator said, “I want this guy next to me the rest of the way.” And he ended up taking me to the World Cup final, which was not part of the plan. And yeah, that was it for me. 

I've done pro football and college football. I've done hockey, I've done bull riding, I've done the Olympics, but I always wanted to just do soccer. I did it for ESPN for many, many years. I've done it for Fox Soccer when it was Fox Soccer Channel. I did soccer for everybody. NBC offered me a chance to come aboard when they took over MLS and that was kind of the springboard to me only doing soccer. I've worked for all four major networks doing soccer, among many others inside the country and out. 

PATHWAY: For those who want to work in soccer, how would you describe your proximity to the game in television production? 

SHAW: Look, I'm in and around the game all the time. When we go to games to produce, you meet with players, you meet with managers, you do interviews with players. Once they started making a list of all the players I'd interviewed, and it was crazy - the list of names was fantastic.

And some have become friends. The [Andriy] Shevchenko’s of the world and Hector Moreno now. I'm lucky enough that I understand how lucky I am and I work really hard at it. But you are there, it's all around you. You get immersed in it. It's wonderful. I mean, if you're a soccer fan, it's a wonderful place to be. Being a broadcast rights holder is something very special when you get to be that involved in the game. 

PATHWAY: What’s the best part about working in television production and what’s the most difficult?

SHAW: The most difficult part is the travel. It's great and it's terrible at the same time, right? When you do a big tournament, you're gone for 40 days at a time. And travel is not what it used to be at all - it’s hard.  

The best part about it is I get to decide what you get to watch. And, as a producer, I try to think about the fans all the time, whether it's me talking to my announcers and what they should say, whether it is me choosing a replay, whether it is the stories you want to tell, I'm trying to always think “what do the fans want? What would they want to see?” 

The best part about it for me, is that it’s soccer, it's the thrill of it. It's the enjoyment of being around the game. 

PATHWAY: The American soccer fan base can be a disparate group - for any given match, you likely have very different fans watching games. What is your philosophy in trying to educate a new soccer fan versus serving a lifelong soccer fan? How do you balance that in your production decisions?

SHAW: I would say first that I think the actual person who watches all the games is really important to me. The casual fan that tunes in, I want to make sure that they feel welcome. And I've always been that way. You know, if you're a new fan, great. What do you want to know? But, I also want to make sure that the person who knows all those answers is watching it and not feeling like we’re dumbing it down for them. 

I don't need to explain offside. I feel like if you've come and found my channel to watch a game, then you probably have some inkling of knowledge in the sport. We shouldn't dumb it down. As much as what you said is true, there's more soccer on TV in our country than probably anywhere in the world now. And you get to choose what you watch. And it's amazing. 

CBS has been great about it, NBC has been great about it, Turner, FOX, ESPN, they all do it differently and they all do it really well. I think it's really important  to make sure that your [production] approach explains the things that need to be explained while pushing it forward and educating and making you smarter, but not dumbing it down either. 

PATHWAY: If someone is thinking about working in television production, what do you tell them? 

SHAW: I came out [of college] with a communications background, so that was a good lead for me, but I’ve met people who have a political science degree [who work in television], so I don't think it actually really matters. 

If you love the sport or you love what you do, I think that’s really important - there are long hard days, whether you're doing features as a field producer like I've done, as a studio producer like I've done, or you're doing live television, they're long days and they're hard days and you're gonna make mistakes, you gotta just move on. 

You should work hard. You should appreciate what you've got and what you're doing. You should always be looking for opportunities. You should be networking. You should be kind and helpful and help other people. Don't be in a competition with them, but try to make sure that they're in a good spot, too. 

It’s our job to leave this sport in a better place to support the television part of it, the broadcast part of it, the media coverage of it. 

So, look, go for it. Don't be afraid. Connect, ask questions. 

PATHWAY: You are known in the industry as someone who treats people the right way. You’ve shown me kindness and offered to help me numerous times. Can you speak to how relationship building and showing kindness to others has impacted your career? 

SHAW: We're so privileged, right? And some of us got in on the ground floor of soccer. I try to go out of my way to make sure I know people's names and a bit about their lives. And it makes me happy when other people are doing well. 

Look, my life's pretty great. So, for me to take care of other people is something that is important to me. You know, Stu Holden, Tim Howard, Maurice Edu, among many others are people I brought into the business. I am good about staying in touch with people. I think it's really important to check on people and see if you can help them.

Last year I had someone who was producing his first ever live game for me. I got on a plane and flew all the way to LA so that I could be there and be behind him because when I did my first game for ESPN Tom McNeeley showed that kindness and was behind me just so I had someone there just in case I didn't know what to do.

It's more important than the sport to me. And, if you know me, you know how important the sport is to me. Take care of people, be there for them, give them your time. Pick up the phone. Don't just send them a note or a text, pick up a phone and check on people. It doesn't cost anything to be kind - and we should all be. 

Ed. note: You can connect with Shaw on LinkedIn.

SOCCER JOBS: THE MOST INTERESTING NEW JOBS IN SOCCER

New soccer jobs get posted every week and we like to highlight a few of the roles that stand out to us. We’ll do that… now. ⬇️

• Scout - NJ/NY Gotham FC

• Head Boy’s Coach - Darlington School

• Manager, Travel - FIFA World Cup 2026

• Senior Director, Club Performance - MLS

• Human Resources Generalist - New Mexico United

Want to see all the soccer jobs in one place? Sign up for our weekly “Pathway Jobs Newsletter” where we aggregate as many as 100 new soccer job listings - and drop it into your inbox every Friday.

DO THIS NOW: 5 TIPS FOR JOB-SEEKING GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

I'm currently reviewing applications for our open Graphic Designer role role at Name & Number. There are a ton of talented creatives out there but many applications fall short in the details.

DO THIS NOW: Here are my recommendations for the five things you need to get right if you're a designer trying to land a job:

1. ELEVATE YOUR BEST WORK ✨

However you're showcasing your designs (website, portfolio via PDF), make sure your best and most relevant work is front and center.

Yes, this may mean taking extra time to reorganize your website or portfolio, but you have seconds to grab someone's attention.

2. SHOW VARIETY 🎟️🎨

Simply: You have to show more than HYPE in your portfolio.

A big chunk of design in sports has a business purpose - selling tickets, integrating sponsors, driving TV tune-in, etc.

Show hiring managers you can do both.

3. WRITE A COVER LETTER 📃

Yes, your design chops are most important, but don't overlook this one.

Keep it short, but capture:

• Your interest in the role

• Relevant experience

• Your personality

Seriously: Don't apply until you have a cover letter.

4. DESIGN YOUR RESUME 👩‍💻

I'm surprised at how many designer's resumes are... not designed.

Don't lose the importance of clearly communicating your work experience + education, but this is another place to show your capabilities and personality through your creativity.

• NOTE: This doesn’t mean it should look like a full-on hype graphic but should be sound in design principles - well organized, clear hierarchy, smart use of spacing and typefaces, etc. It shouldn't just be a Word doc with a bunch of blobs of text.

5. LINK TO YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE 👩‍💼 👨‍💼

Time to face facts: No matter your discipline, you need to be on LinkedIn and you need to showcase your work there.

If you're reading this, chances are you are already on LinkedIn - so, now be sure your profile is updated with your best work.

Good luck and go get 'em, designers! 🤝

-Kyle Sheldon, Founder & CEO

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: TAYLOR BANNER FOR CHARLOTTE FC

We don’t even do a Photo of the Week, but this photo from Saturday’s Charlotte FC-Columbus Crew match was *SO* good we just straight up decided to launch a whole new feature.

This inch-perfect photo was taken by Charlotte’s in-house Creative Director, Taylor Banner. 

And she absolutely nailed it. 🙌

WHEN YOU’RE READY, HERE ARE A FEW WAYS WE CAN HELP:

1. If this email was forwarded to you, you can sign up here to ensure you get every issue (sent on Wednesdays!) directly in your inbox.

2. You can subscribe to our Pathway Jobs Newsletter, which hits inboxes every Friday and lists as many new soccer jobs in North America as we can find (usually 80+ per issue!).

3. And, if you’re a club or brand looking to hire the most ambitious talent in soccer, drop us a line and we can tell you about our process, our growing talent pool, and the services we offer.

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Isn’t soccer great?

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