I was able to have the wonderful opportunity of interviewing Kat Haseleu. Kat is a Video Production Coordinator with the Cincinnati Reds. During the regular season, she mainly shoots game footage and edits video content, like hype videos, for the video board. Other things that she does include filming various events and editing videos for the website, promotions, and special events. In the off-season, a lot of time goes towards brainstorming new ideas for video content for the video board to give a good experience for the fans in the ballpark the upcoming season. The off-season also includes planning video sets for Spring Training and they are later used both on social media and the video board for the upcoming season.
Before Kat worked with the Reds she was the Lead Media Manager for Penn State Baseball and worked as a part-time videographer for all of Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. For the media manager role, her job included attending and filming all practices and events and even traveling with the team to shoot content for the social media pages. For her part-time videographer role, her duties were similar and included filming all of the intercollegiate athletics and editing hype video recaps for the socials.
Kat said “Penn State Baseball and my job with Penn State Athletics really played a big role in pursuing this career. Once I became a media manager with the Penn State Baseball team, I was welcomed with open arms and felt like I was really making a difference for them through providing content they previously did not get. I finally found my spark through working with them. They constantly went out of their way to thank me and tell me how much they loved the content I was making and showed me nothing but respect. They made me feel like I was part of a family and from then on I knew I wanted to pursue a job in professional baseball. They showed me a side of baseball I did not see before and sparked my love and interest for the sport. I always wanted to make a difference in whatever I chose to do as a career and I really felt like I could do that in working in sports.”
In college, Kat majored in Telecommunications and Media Industries with an emphasis in Video Production. With this major Kat was able to learn a lot and got hands-on advanced video and television production courses. Those courses teach important skills surrounding video production. In her first two years of college Kat said “ I was really lost in knowing what I wanted to do, but through taking an introduction class to video production, I quickly fell in love with the art of creating and producing video. I then became involved with multiple clubs and began working with the baseball team and all of Penn State Athletics, which really continued my love for both sports and video production.”
While in college Kat joined a lot of clubs and did a lot of internships/jobs to further her experience with video production. Some of these jobs were PSNews and 46 Live which were both student-run news and production clubs. A few roles she did were when she was Media Manager with Penn State Baseball and her part-time position with Penn State Athletics.
Some skills Kat thinks are important to be successful in this job: “I think how you present and carry yourself is really important in this industry, especially as a female. Professional sports is very interconnected, so just know that no matter what event you're working, it could be the place you meet someone that leads you and connects you to your next job. I can't express how many times in college when working sporting events, that I was able to meet someone important also working in sports. Always dressing and carrying yourself in a professional manner can help lead you to having a good impact on whoever you meet.”
When asked about the challenges she has faced in this career Kat talked about how working in sports is a challenge, competitive, and time demanding. Working in sports means working long hours, working on weekends, and at unusual times. Kat said that you have to continue to put in a lot of work if you want to be able to continue to grow and succeed in your career.
Personally, earlier on in her career in sports she faced challenges with being undermined and treated differently due to being a female. In the beginning, Kat found it discouraging to be treated differently and with less respect than her male counterparts. Though when she was the media manager for Penn State Baseball she thankfully found out that it isn’t like that everywhere. Kat said that Penn State Baseball taught her what it was like to be respected in her field and she will now hold every job she goes into with the standard they set. She said that they treated her with the utmost respect and never made her feel as though she was less than anyone else.
Though there are many challenges with working in sports, there are also good things too. Kat said that her favorite part of working in sports is “making a difference and impacting / touching lives through my videos. Outside of filming, I love seeing and interacting with fans and families in the ballpark. My favorite part is seeing the emotion both on the teams and the fans. Seeing kids light up with happiness and excitement is definitely a favorite of mine.”
For her day-to-day Kat has many responsibilities. When they are on a homestand her day-to-day includes making sure any videos she was working on are ready for the game. Occasionally, it means she shoots content for an event that is happening before the game and editing it quickly so it can be played as a News of the Game. During the game, Kat is normally in the dugouts shooting game footage which she can later use for hype videos for the video board. Sometimes game days also include her working in the control room as a Technical Director. In that position, she listens to the Director’s commands on what controls need to be pressed on the video switcher. This basically means that she is the person who hits buttons to make things happen and change on the video board. After games, she will normally dump all of the footage she got onto the computer and then the day after she will label and update any videos for the video board.
When asked about what it is like being a woman working in sports Kat said “It has definitely been a challenge at times, but when you find sports teams who support you in everything you do, it is very empowering and amazing. As women continue to expand and grow within the industry, it feels really good being able to have a huge support group of people to be inspired by.”
Some tips from Kat for anyone who wants to go into this field “For anyone looking to go into professional sports, I highly recommend taking advantage of any related clubs and job opportunities. Even if it starts out as an unpaid or lower-paying opportunity, it really can lead to some great connections and jobs later in your career. For any women working in sports, never give up on your dreams or ever let what others say bring you down or stop you from pursuing your dream job. If you put in the time and take advantage of anything thrown your way, it will pay off in the long run. You just have to be patient and continue pushing yourself to keep learning and growing as you look for your dream job.”
Kat personally admires and looks up to Monica Bradbrun. Monica is a Live Content Creator for the Detroit Tigers and a Live Social Contributor for the Detroit Red Wings. Kat said “ Not only does her photography work in MLB inspire me every day, her positive outlook and personality really inspire me to always be myself. I feel like she's really made such a positive impact and mark on MLB as a woman in sports.”
Some last thoughts Kat has for the readers:
“Working in sports as a woman has been such an amazing experience and I just really want to reiterate to any women pursuing any sports to never let others bring you down or minimize your work. If you feel like you aren't being treated right or your work isn't being appreciated, just know there are so many amazing teams that will treat you with the respect you deserve .
I also encourage anyone pursuing sports to take advantage of every opportunity you are able to find or are given. I did not realize I wanted to pursue professional sports media until the second half of my time in college, so I knew I had to really put in the time and take advantage of any opportunity, if I wanted to be able to get where I wanted. This included becoming involved in multiple school clubs, doing unpaid internships, and doing things for free at first. All of which really helped pave my way into the sports world and work for Penn State Athletics which later led to my job in MLB.”
You can follow along with the rest of Kat’s journey working in sports on any of her socials @kathasmedia & @kathleen.haseleu on Instagram and @katwithacam on TikTok.
All photos courtesy of Kat Haseleu.
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