WISN-TV Sports Director Dario Melendez is the WBA Young Professional of the Month for the month of July.
The WBA Young Professional of the Month is a nominee for the WBA Young Professional of the Year Award. The award seeks to recognize young broadcasters who have made a significant impact on their stations and communities. A subcommittee of the WBA Board of Directors will select the Young Professional of the Year, who will be recognized at the 2025 WBA Summer Conference on June 18 in La Crosse.
Melendez was nominated by WISN-TV sports reporter Jerad Fialko who wrote of Melendez, “Dario is beyond deserving of this award. Since joining WISN two years ago, I have seen him take our department to new levels. He challenges us to find the story that needs to be told and doesn’t take the easy way out. That philosophy has led to multiple Emmy, WBA, MBJA, and Milwaukee Press Club nominations and wins.”
Here’s more about Melendez:
Company: WISN 12
Position: Sports Director
Years at station: Two currently (Four all together. This is my second stint at WISN 12)
Started in broadcasting (year): 2008 (WINK TV in Ft Myers, Florida)
1) How did you get into broadcasting?
During a football practice my freshman year at Sacred Heart University (a small Division 1 school in Fairfield, Connecticut) Jon Corto, an insanely talented linebacker who went on to play for the Buffalo Bills for five seasons, LEVELED me on a crossing-route, and that’s when I knew, playing wide receiver at the next level was NOT in my future.
So, if I couldn’t play sports after college, I wanted to at least talk about sports after I graduated.
I spent the next four years taking advantage of EVERY opportunity SHU had to offer. From being Co Editor-and-Chief of the university newspaper, to hosting a weekly sports radio show on WSHU, to covering multiple events for the school TV station, to landing a handful of internships, I just tried to absorb every experience possible and set myself up for my post-grad future.
And when I was given my first chance of getting into “the business” (something I’ll get into a little later) I jump at the opportunity and as they say, “the rest is history.”
2) How do you view the role of young professionals in broadcasting?
Continuing the standard of excellence that those before me established.
My predecessors, Dan Needles and Tom Sutton, were two of the most talented, knowledgeable and respected sports broadcasters that the state of Wisconsin has ever seen. And it has been my mission, since taking over as Sports Director in 2022, to not only continue the standard they set, but also grow the department and push-the-envelope.
I constantly challenge myself, and those in my department, to find the tough story, ask the tough question, do hard things, to better a deliver the BEST product for our viewers.
3) What advice would you give to other young broadcasters?
Never say “No.” Because there are hundreds of people who are willing to take any opportunity that you turn down. The available opening might not be the one you want but it might lead to it.
Example: From the day I graduated college, I wanted to be an on-air talent. But after being turned down by HUNDREDS of stations, I finally received ONE offer: A part-time sports producer role at WINK-TV in Ft. Myers, Florida. This was NOT a job I wanted. But it turned out to be the job I needed.
For the next year I learned the ins-and-outs of our industry: Learning how to produce and stack a show, how to edit, how to shoot, and how to write. And, when there was time, I’d tape sports segments after the 10 p.m. show on Saturday nights.
When I felt like I had enough experience and skill need to move into an ‘on-air’ role I met with my bosses and presented them with a list (and reel) of all the things I had done over the past year. And the very next week, I was the new weekend sports anchor.
Moral of the story: NEVER SAY NO!
4) What does the future of broadcasting look like to you?
On-the-go and non-stop. With so many advances in technology and different avenues for our viewers to get information, our job will be taking advantage of this avenues and master them.
There will always be a need for a formal newscast and sportscast in order to give viewers a condensed and palatable look at the “news of the day.” But the viewer’s thirst for more information is growing and that is where the different avenues: social media, websites, webcasts, and podcasts will come into play more and more. We already see the industry shifting to those avenues. Allowing viewers to digest information on the own time, in their own way, and at their own pace.
News never stops. The thirst for news never stops. News organizations can’t stop evolving can’t to help quench that thirst.
