Communiqué
WOUB Senior Spotlight: Jack Demmler
By: Andre Norrils
Posted on:
Jack Demmler will be a multimedia journalist in Hazard, Kentucky after graduating
Jack Demmler, a journalism news and information major at Ohio University, currently is a student news and sports reporter for WOUB Public Media. But Demmler already has his first full-time job in television lined up after graduation. He has been hired as a multimedia journalist in Hazard, Kentucky. Demmler has known that he wanted to pursue a career in media from the moment he joined a student broadcasting club at his Cincinnati high school. He started covering athletic events and found his passion.
“I fell in love with the club as soon as I joined,” said Demmler. “I’m not athletic enough to be an athlete, but I still wanted to stay connected to sports through broadcasting.”
When Demmler joined WOUB, he started as a sports reporter and later became the senior reporter for WOUB’s high school football program, Gridiron Glory, and the host of WOUB’s high school basketball program, Hardwood Heroes. When it was time to decide how he wanted to spend his summer last year, he chose to stay in Athens, Ohio, as part of the WOUB Summer Internship Program. During the internship, he was a reporter for NewsWatch.
“I found a newfound love for storytelling and wanted to connect that to sports and just get connected to the community,” said Demmler. “Developing a closer relationship with the people who we cover has sort of kept me in it.”
After graduating, Demmler will be a sports/news multimedia journalist at WYMT in Hazard, Kentucky. When he recently visited the station, he enjoyed the people and the environment. During that visit, Demmler had the opportunity to go with the sports director to a basketball game the station was covering.
“There was this feeling, similar to one I had my freshman year of college, where when I went to cover a game, I got this sort of rush of excitement,” said Demmler. “I got that on the ride to the basketball game in Kentucky. I also felt a strong connection with the people, so I felt it was a perfect fit.”
Demmler wants to continue growing as a reporter and possibly get a sports reporter job with ESPN one day. He believes WOUB gave him new skills that he will use his entire career.
“I think I’ve become more persistent,” said Demmler. “I don’t recall myself being as persistent as I am now, and I think a large part of that is because WOUB has taught me to be persistent with sources.”
Demmler said sports is the first thing he thinks about in the morning, and the last thing he thinks about at night. But, outside of sports and journalism, he enjoys watching television and playing video games.