CAS CONNECT 2017

22 A s fans of the Oklahoma City Thunder enjoyed seeing super- star Russell Westbrook become the “face of the franchise” and the NBA’s most valuable player last season, seven OSU undergraduates worked behind the scenes to help the organization manage and capi- talize on the media attention that his feats drew. The veteran guard set a league record for single-season triple-doubles (10 or more points, rebounds and assists in a single game), gaining attention and fame locally, nationally and even globally. All the while, the seven OSU under- graduates earned paid internships, easily becoming the largest class of OSU students working for the Thunder in such a capac- ity. Considering the Thunder received thou- sands of applications for these positions, it was no small feat for OSU to command so many of the openings. “You have to be exceptional just to land an interview with what is one of the best- run organizations in professional sports,” says Dr. Ted Kian, professor and Welch- Bridgewater Chair of Sports Media. The seven OSU students were: Logan Butler (Ottawa, Kan.), Thomas Chapman (Tulsa), Jordan Glover (Oklahoma City), Addison Plank (Oklahoma City), Addison Skaggs (Perryton, Texas), Corinne Simpson (Lincoln, Neb.), and Matt Valdez (Fort Worth, Texas). While the majority of these students worked under the supervision of Matt Tumbelson and John Read in the basket- ball communications (media relations) office, Butler and Plank served their intern- ships in the corporate office. So while they would occasionally work with the athletes at community events, they spent the bulk of their time interacting with supporters of the team, particularly through social media. “I learned a lot about the difference between social media styles and the differ- ent voices you have to take on,” Butler says. Adapting different voices to different audiences became particularly challenging for the interns, especially with an interna- tional audience. China is eagerly engaged in the NBA, so Butler and Plank learned to write for Weibo, a popular Chinese social media app. While they did not have to do their own translations, they still learned to connect with that audience through the use of emojis, bold text and exclamation points. It proved to be a successful approach. “I feel like we got more engagement on PHOTO / JASON WALLACE / CAS CONTINUES