By the time most college seniors have only started to adjust to their chaotic schedules: balancing classes, clubs, and sports, plus a current or looming job hunt, Jessica Buckley COM, JMS'26 has already carved out a lane in professional sports media.

As a double major in Journalism and Media Studies (with a Sports Journalism Specialization) and Communication, Buckley has spent her fall semester commuting into New York City three days a week for her internship with SiriusXM NFL Radio—all while continuing her on-campus work with R Vision, Rutgers’ student sports broadcasting network and her many classes.

Buckley, a New Jersey native, has known since her earliest days at Rutgers that she wanted to pursue sports journalism. Her decision to major in Journalism and Media Studies traces back to the annual event, Accepted Students Day, when she and her mother attended a lecture given by longtime SC&I Teaching Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Journalism and Media Studies Steven Miller.

“My mom and I were just blown away,” Buckley recalls. “My mom was like, ‘You need to take all of his classes.’ And I thought, yeah, this is it. That was my introduction to the program.”

 

At Accepted Students Day, Buckley and her mother attended a lecture given by longtime SC&I Teaching Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Journalism and Media Studies Steven Miller. “My mom and I were just blown away,” Buckley recalls. “My mom was like, ‘You need to take all of his classes.’ And I thought, yeah, this is it. That was my introduction to the program.”

Miller, known for sharing with students a near-constant stream of emails announcing internship opportunities, as well as his deep connections with SC&I alums working in the media industry, became Buckley's guiding influence. “He’s just like the hub of the Journalism Department, I swear,” Buckley said. “Seeing someone like him, talking about the millions of people that he knows in the professional world, really motivated me to want to join SC&I.”

Freshman year, Buckley connected with Taryn Hatcher JMS'15, Flyers Rinkside Reporter at NBC Sports Philadelphia, through Miller–a moment she calls a “pinch-me moment."

By last year, Hatcher invited her to a Flyers game she was covering, where Buckley sat in the press box and spent the night alongside her. “It was so surreal,” she says. “We’re just walking through the Wells Fargo Center and I’m thinking—wait, I’m with her.”

Mentors Who Made It Click

Buckley took her mother's advice and signed up for all of Miller’s classes. “I love television reporting, just because that is something that I want to go into, and I think that was a good hands-on class to get in the mindset of what it would be like to actually be a reporter.”

While Miller helped her get her start, Buckley also credits Lecturer Erica Herskowitz and Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in Journalism and Media Studies Neil Bennett for shaping her skills. Herskowitz’s courses in Broadcast and Sports News Writing gave her valuable exposure to industry professionals through weekly guest speakers, while Bennett’s Media Field Production class helped her understand the importance of behind-the-scenes work.

“I’d rather be on-air, but knowing what goes on behind the scenes makes you more versatile,” she explains. “And it also gives you so much appreciation for the people running things behind the camera.”

Learning the Game at SiriusXM NFL Radio

That outlook is proving useful at SiriusXM NFL Radio, where Buckley is doing plenty of behind-the-scenes work. Her responsibilities include running the board during live shows, cueing promos and advertisements, clipping audio highlights for social media, and syncing Zoom video recordings with broadcast audio.

Buckley has spent her fall semester commuting into New York City three days a week for her internship with SiriusXM NFL Radio—all while continuing her on-campus work with R Vision, Rutgers’ student sports broadcasting network and her many classes.

“I’m seriously excited! It’s so much learning,” she said. “I’ll be there for three different shows, so it’s a lot of different people, a lot of different content.” 

The internship almost didn’t happen. Buckley laughs as she admits she doesn’t remember applying to them – she sent out 180+ applications last summer. “I think I was just bored one day scrolling through Indeed, which I never do.”

Over weeks of refreshing her inbox, Buckley assumed the opportunity had slipped away. “I honestly didn’t think I did well because it’s so hard talking to a screen,” she admits.

By mid-August, after a series of interviews and a surprise phone call from a Utah number, Buckley got the news: she’d been selected. “It was crazy. My dad came running upstairs and I was like, ‘They wouldn’t call me just to deny me!’” When the official offer came through, the moment hit hard. “It was such a rush. I just kept thinking, oh my gosh—where did you come from?”

Buckley’s packed weekly schedule now includes three back-to-back classes on Mondays in New Brunswick, followed by early morning commutes into New York on Tuesdays through Thursdays.

“I do think that no matter what I do there, having this expertise is going to benefit me in the long run,” she says.

On the Sidelines with WRSU and R-Vision

Even with the internship, Buckley hasn’t slowed down at Rutgers. For the past year, she’s been an integral part of R Vision, which produces live broadcasts of Scarlet Knights athletics. She’s tried nearly every role—from camera operation to graphics to directing.

“I love R Vision. It’s a lot of sports. It’s really fun!” she says enthusiastically. “I’ve gotten to do everything now, so it’s really cool to see it from every different stance.”

Among all the opportunities she’s explored, Buckley says her favorite has been stepping onto the field as a sideline reporter for Rutgers football games with WRSU-88.7 FM, the university’s official student-run radio station.

“If there’s a home football game, I’ll do sideline reporting for that—that’s one of my favorite things at RU,” she admits.

Facing Nerves, Finding Confidence

Buckley admits she has been intimidated at times on her path. As a freshman walking into the sports department of WRSU, she was the only woman in the room. “I was so nervous. But my parents told me, ‘Get a grip—if you want to work in sports, this is going to be the rest of your life. Being nervous just shows you care.’”

Buckley admits she has been intimidated at times on her path. As a freshman walking into the sports department of WRSU, she was the only woman in the room. “I was so nervous. But my parents told me, ‘Get a grip—if you want to work in sports, this is going to be the rest of your life. Being nervous just shows you care.’”

Now, she reframes her nerves as a positive. “If I wasn’t nervous, then do I even care about it? Of course you’re going to be nervous when you’re doing something for the first time or you want to be good at it,” Buckley says, passing on advice to new students, which is especially valuable in a place as big as Rutgers.

Eyes on the Future

As for what comes next, Buckley is open-minded. She knows the job hunt in media can be grueling. “We have to apply to like a million jobs to even hear back from one,” she says, ready to cast a broad net. In a perfect world, Buckley would love to land a job in Philadelphia, close to her South Jersey roots. However, she emphasizes her flexibility to keep learning and growing no matter the setting. “I won’t be picky with what I apply for," she said. "I’m definitely cool to move anywhere.”

Ideally, Buckley hopes to break in as a sideline reporter, maybe even covering the NFL, but she’s just as open to anchoring, producing, or any role that builds her skills on-camera and behind the scenes. She also envisions starting out at a news station as an ideal training ground to grasp the demands of TV and the teamwork that drives it.

“In ten years, I would say I definitely want to be in some type of reporter role, ideally sideline reporting,” she says. “But as long as I’m a reporter, I’ll be happy!”

For now, she’s soaking up every opportunity, whether it’s clipping NFL audio highlights, reporting from the sidelines at SHI Stadium, or networking with guest speakers in her classes. From South Jersey to SiriusXM’s Manhattan studios, Buckley is proving that with a mix of talent, persistence, and a willingness to take on any role, a career in sports journalism isn’t just a dream for her—it’s already underway.

Learn more about the Journalism and Media Studies and Communication majors at the Rutgers School of Communication.