May 21, 2023 | Janasia Phillips
AHS marketing and communications intern Janasia Phillips spoke with RST undergraduate student Aniyha Jones, who in spring 2023 was awarded a Paragon Marketing Group Scholarship, about her studies and her career plan. (Answers were edited for length and clarity)
Janasia Phillips: As a fellow student, tell me what I should know about you.
Aniyha Jones: I am Aniyha Jones. I’m a senior at the University of Illinois. I’m majoring in marketing and I’m minoring in RST, which is basically for sports management. I’m from Chicago. I have a sports background. And when I got to college, I realized whatever occupation I want to go in, I know I want it to be sports-oriented. As a college freshman, you’re trying to figure out what is that exact area you want to go in. And I think the pivot for me was building my podcast. I’m the host of the “You’re Wrong, Sir,” podcast. I started it in 2020.
JP: What influenced you to want to be a sports journalist?
AJ: In my freshman year, COVID hit. I was having a great time, and COVID hits, and we all got sent back home. As a result of that, classes are online, which was an adjustment for everybody. So I tapped into my health and wellness. I was getting up at 5 a.m. every day, working out. During those times, I read a lot too. I found a different outlet, and that was listening to podcasts, and I enjoyed them. A podcast that I listened to at the time, called “All The Smoke,” is hosted by Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, former NBA players. I was like, ‘OK, I like this.’It was also what they were talking about. These are the casual conversations I had with friends. I thought, ‘Why don’t I just start a podcast?’ I thought I wanted to be a sports agent, and then I started (her) podcast. But if you look at top prominent sports podcasts, they’re all men. There isn’t a woman being the lead or even hosting on the podcast. I wanted to change that trajectory because I hadn’t seen it for myself. Even after starting a podcast, I thought, ‘I like this but who is telling the stories? And what stories are we telling?’ So when you think about platforms like SportsCenter or ESPN, they only have a limited amount of time for a certain segment. You have to discuss this topic and be concise. Also there’s a lot of institutional racism. A lot of people aren’t picking up golf clubs or tennis, because financially, these sports are purposely being kept away from us. I think a lot of Black people are the muscle of sports, but we don’t own anything. I wanted to change the narrative for the stories that are being built around Black people and also educate us on the history. We don’t know the history of the sports that we’re getting into. That’s my motivation for being a sports journalist.
JP: Have you always had a desire to tell stories, or did sports specifically bring it out of you?
AJ: I think you find your creativity when you find your passion or what you like to do. And then I think whatever you’re good at, it kind of oozes out. So I didn’t know that I wanted to storytell until I started the podcast. But when I think about little small stuff that I like, like I love documentaries. I love reading. I’m always reading. But I didn’t really connect those to that I could be the person who told the story. I always felt like I would be the consumer. And now I feel like I can do both because of the podcast.
JP: As far as establishing your voice, has that been something that you’ve been able to easily navigate?
AJ: I think establishing my voice is ever-changing and evolving because when I first started my podcast, there was a woman in sports who gave me advice. It’s a male-dominated industry … What is going to make men listen to you. This is where my marketing major has helped a lot because you can have a good product, but if you don’t know how to market it, it doesn’t matter. Before my podcast, I wasn’t a big social media girl. I had to tap in. I was making my own graphics, learning how to edit my own things. I’ve built a community of people who not just support me for the podcast but support me because they believe in me and like my work ethic. I found my my voice by marketing myself and just continuing to learn, like reading books, watching things, such as Colin Kaepernick’s documentary on Netflix with Ava DuVernay. It’s called “Black and White.” I don’t want to be another woman in sports who just wants to represent women in the sports-dominated industry. That’s amazing. But what am I doing that’s different and impactful? And for me, after reading, having conversations, I started to discover telling people about the history of sports and how Black history plays a part in it, that has helped me find my voice.
JP: Tell me about your internship with Paragon Marketing Group.
AJ : When I got to campus, I knew I wanted to be in sports. I joined an organization called The Sports Business Association. But there weren’t any Black people. Sophomore year, I became the first female and Black president of that organization. Before that, they had an event, and my friend and I went to the event. Paragon was presenting, and after they were done, I went up to the two people who were presenting. After looking at their internship and what they were talking about, they weren’t looking for a freshman. They had a position called the Road Warrior Position, and you had to travel and I wasn’t old enough. But my thought was, ‘I’m going to keep this connection.’ I followed up and they advised me to apply and maybe they can tailor it. Matt Waitz emailed me and asked about an interview. We had the interview, and then I had to come to Chicago to go to their downtown office to have the interview. That went extremely well, and I got the internship. So I was their first intern that they had in office, so I built that connection freshman year, and I still talk to them. This morning, I talked to one of their (executives), Tony Schiller. I try to maintain that relationship … I am super grateful for them.
JP: How do you prepare for your interviews?
AJ: For me, the biggest preparation is research. I feel like I have a successful interview when I evoke an emotion from you. Whether you were (angry) because you didn’t agree with something I said on the podcast … if you’re happy—if I got an emotion out of you, I was successful. I think I am successful as an interviewer especially because a lot of the times when you’re interviewing people, they’re media trained. I would say preparing for interviews is just research, knowing the person in and out, knowing where they grew up, knowing what they have been asked before because then you start to see different angles that people haven’t taken it to. It’s just like a natural conversation in terms of talking to them when you know and you’re prepared.
JP: Who are some of the people you’ve interviewed?
AJ: I’ve interviewed (Illinois alumna) Taylor Rooks. I’ve interviewed Kendall Gill, who’s a 14-year NBA veteran. I’ve interviewed Jelani Floyd, who helped start Beyond Management Sports Agency within Chicago, and he now works for Wasserman. I’ve interviewed Aja Evans, who’s an Olympian, a bobsledder Olympian and medalist. I’ve interviewed Michaela Onyenwere, two years ago, she was the WNBA Rookie of the Year. All really dope conversations.
JP: Is there a documentarian you aspire to emulate?
AJ: My favorite sports documentary right now is probably going to have to be “Black and White,” with Colin Kaepernick, the one Ava DuVernay produced. Also, “The Last Dance.” I want to be the person who tells the story of who the athletes are personally, who they are as a human, because we just forget.
JP: What advice do you have for someone who wants to follow in your path?
AJ: In terms of sports and sports broadcasting media a motto that I live by is create to thrive. It’s one that I saw from India Taylor. It really stuck with me because when you’re creating content, you get so caught up in how many viewers, how many listeners. You just have to sometimes stop creating for monetization or creating for other people and create for yourself to thrive, release your creativity. Whoever is supposed to come and be attracted to your work will. Also, there are times where you’re going to go through stuff and you’re going to want to tell stories and feel like you don’t have the resources, you don’t have the opportunity. If somebody will not give you the opportunity, figure out a way to make it yourself. Even if it’s just a low-budget version of whatever you want. But if you keep sitting on your ideas and dreams, they are just going to collect dust. And maybe one day, if you’re sitting on it, you’re going to look up and somebody’s going to do exactly what you dreamed to do.
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