Week 5: Joe LoGrippo
- lmkomson58
- Dec 10, 2023
- 7 min read
This week, I’m sharing some insights from my conversation with YES Network Social Media Content Creator, Joe LoGrippo. I broke down our conversation into different points in his life, so feel free to read all the way through or pick the sections that interest you most!
Quinnipiac
When Joe made his first visit to Quinnipiac, he stepped on campus and had his cliché “yeah, this is it” moment. Besides the beautiful campus, he met faculty and students at an open house that “made the greatest pitch as to why QU was the place to be and how much opportunity was there,” he said. “That was definitely the best choice I made because there’s not a single regret I have about Quinnipiac.”
As a journalism major, it makes sense that his favorite class was the journalism capstone, QNN (Quinnipiac News Network). Not only did he learn to adopt various roles in a newsroom, but the biggest lesson he learned in the course was responsibility. “If you didn’t do something, okay, you didn’t do it. And now the show has to go on with a major part not functioning, and that was a lesson learned,” he said. “The professor wasn’t like, ‘hey guys, make sure you’re doing this’ because in the real world, people aren’t going to do that.” (If you’ve read all the blogs up to this point, that seems to be a common theme with QU’s classes – preparation for the real world!)
Outside of the classroom, the majority of Joe’s college experience was defined by his involvement in student media. Q30 TV was the first club he joined, and he spent all 4 years of college with the organization. He was an Associate Producer of Bobcat Breakdown his first year and Executive Producer of Sports Paws his second year. It’s safe to say he enjoyed being involved in sports media, and he even co-hosted a radio show on WQAQ called “Crosstown Rivals” with Jacob Resnick.
Ultimately, Joe focused all his attention on Q30, and he was elected President in March of 2020 (yup, right at the beginning of COVID). While the beginning of his presidency took place on Zoom, he had big aspirations for the organization – getting a new, modern set for their live shows. COVID logistics made the goal difficult to reach during his junior year, but senior year he was determined to get the deal done.
Once a month, he met with Chief Experience Officer Tom Ellett to propose his ideas. “I presented a PowerPoint to him as to why the space in the media suite was not going to be substantial for attracting students and building the School of Comm,” he explained. “In order to fit the bill and make a name here at Quinnipiac, we’re going to have to look the part as well. You have to look professional if you want to be professional.”
After some negotiations, Ellett and Provost Debra Liebowitz allocated funds for Q30 to officially receive their new set. In addition to the set, the organization received new cameras, tripods, casing and protective equipment, lighting, and more. This incredible investment in student media has allowed for the organization to grow exponentially since then (I’ve been in the media suite quite a bit, it looks amazing), and it’s all thanks to Joe.
Career
While Joe grew up wanting to be the next Derek Jeter, he realized it might be more realistic to work in sports in another capacity.
During his time at Quinnipiac, he had reached out to several YES Network employees who were associated with the school. Seth Rothman, Graphics Coordinator at YES, had told Joe he’d help him break into the industry in any way he could, and that came to fruition quickly after. When a position opened up in research in the spring of 2022, Joe took that opportunity and began working right after graduation. Like, right after. “I graduated on Saturday, started on Monday,” he said.
In the research department, he spent time monitoring stats and trends, creating shot sheets, and helping prepare on-air talent for their shows. In addition to research, he worked in script writing and graphics as well, making sure that everything runs smoothly for pre- and post-game shows.
Joe had dabbled in social media before, as he put it, and started in the social media department by letting the team know that he could help out. His first major pitch to the team was during the 2022 Postseason, when all games were broadcasted nationally. “A lot of Yankee fans were like, ‘we can't take the national broadcast because they're not speaking from the Yankee fan perspective that we want to hear. You know, that Michael Kay or David Cone or John Flaherty,” he explained. “So, I was like, ‘Hey, since our talent is in office, why don't we actually have their reactions and post them on social media, so Yankee fans can digest the content that they want to get?”
After getting his boss’ approval, he recorded their reactions every few innings and garnered hundreds of thousands of views. “That’s the biggest thing about social media, it doesn’t matter what you think or what I think about a piece of content,” he said. “It matters what our followers think about it. So it’s kind of playing to your crowd that follows you.”
When he first took on the Social Media Content Creator role, he tried to take a professional approach, posting videos of condensed games so fans could enjoy them as short form content. But when they weren’t getting as many views as expected, he had to flip the switch. “Once you realize social media is just having fun and engaging with the fans, that’s when I started to see hundreds of thousands of views,” he said.
His most memorable post was during the Subway Series this year, when the Yankees beat the Mets 7-6 on June 13th. Taking viral sensation Frank the Tank’s video and overlaying it with highlights from the game not only did numbers on TikTok, but got two fanbases to butt heads in the comments, which was huge for the algorithm. “That one was 300,000 views. The next one – 247,000, 100,00, 690,000…so it was like, wait a second. All you have to do is have fun.”
In addition to TikTok, he’s created content for all social media platforms, and has even been field producing in Brooklyn for the Nets. He makes sure “the talent is ready, the rundowns are out, the cameras are good, everybody’s in their positions,” and much more.
Networking
Ever since he was young, Joe knew the importance of having connections in the sports industry – that’s why he spent lots of time building those connections in college. First of all, he said, joining organizations and getting to know older students is a great way to start networking. It doesn’t even feel like networking, but when those people are out in the workforce, you already have your first connections.
Additionally, many colleges have their own networking platform for alumni bases. Quinnipiac has Bobcat Connect, a software that students can use to connect with alumni. Joe used Bobcat Connect, along with LinkedIn, to get in contact with people from Quinnipiac who were associated with the company he wanted to work at. But networking can only get you so far – “Seth got me in the door, and then it was up to me to define my career and get where I wanted to go.”
Now for the part everyone’s been waiting for – his advice.
As someone who recently entered the workforce, Joe stressed the importance of preparation and demonstrated interest in a company. Whether it’s being prepared for an interview or a new job, he emphasized that “you need to be scouting what they’re looking for and see what they’re already doing.” When it comes time for a job interview (especially in social media), scouting is super beneficial. “Look at what their social media has right now. Scout it out,” he instructed. Ask yourself questions like “What would you do differently or keep the same?” “How would you execute their strategies?” or “What accounts do you think they remind you of?” and then be able to present your thoughts to the company you’re looking at.
Joe also touched on how important it is to have a diverse skillset, but be able to work hard at any task. To have a communications career, being ambitious and having a sense of creativity is essential. You can write these skills on a resume, but being able to outperform those written words and showcase your hard work will make you stand out. “Derek Jeter had this quote – ‘there may be people who have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anybody to work harder than you do,’” he said. “You could have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t work hard, it doesn’t matter. You can work harder than somebody that has more talent than you, and that’s when you can beat them.”
For students like me, graduating in May, he encouraged us to stay resilient in the face of rejection. The sports industry, like many others, is very competitive, so you may not get a job right away. But rejection also comes when you have a job, especially if you work in a creative role. “My boss told me that when she was younger, she would be pitching things every day, and she’d say, you know, 30% of her ideas would actually be accepted,” he said. “Just because you didn’t get something, or because an idea was rejected, doesn’t mean that it’s on you or that it’s wrong. It’s just that it’s not going to work in this specific moment.”
Additionally, you have to be smart on social media. Social media is forever, and that could be both positive and negative. While it’s easy to have fun on Instagram, X, or any other platform, your online persona has such a huge impact on your professional reputation. “Prove to companies that you could represent them well, and that you’re not just here to have fun. You’re here to actually work and do a good job for them,” he said.
For students with 4 years of college ahead of them, Joe stressed the importance of getting your foot in the door somewhere – whether that’s a student organization, an internship, or any other opportunity. You don’t have to know what you want to do for the rest of your life, but you’ll never know if you don’t start somewhere. “Don’t put so much pressure on yourself at such a young age…take it day by day and try not to stress out.”
“Keep grinding through,” he said. “Don’t expect success right away, I think you have to earn it.” Even though he’s been super successful thus far in his career, he’s earned every title along the way.
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If you’d like to keep up with Joe, check out his Gondola profile @Joe_LoGrippo or connect with him on LinkedIn.
Week 5 is in the books! This post officially marks the end of my content creation project. I truly enjoyed getting to know each one of my guests, and I know these connections will last me way beyond my senior year of college. Thank you to everyone who read the blog, sent me a LinkedIn connection, or interacted with me in any way.
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