UNLV communication student Sonny Minx and communication professor Dennis Mazzocco will get an up-close and personal look at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, next month when they will be working with CBS to help the network in providing coverage of the games.
"This is a great opportunity for both Sonny and myself," said Mazzocco, an assistant professor of communication in UNLV's Hank Greenspun School of Communication. "As a veteran of eight previous Olympics, I know how exciting it is to cover the games. I'm delighted that I'll be able to share the experience with one of our students. This is an outstanding educational and career opportunity for Sonny."
Mazzocco, who has won four Emmy awards for his work at previous Olympics, will be a videotape producer for CBS and has been assigned to the International Broadcast Center. Minx, who was chosen for one of 50 paid student internships by the network, also has been assigned to the International Broadcast Center. He will work in the management information system area in support of broadcast production.
Minx, a 26-year-old senior who will graduate in May, said he was excited to be chosen to go to Nagano. "It's the biggest television event I can think of. That in itself is pretty awesome.
Mazzocco expects to be involved in producing various taped pieces on a variety of events for broadcast on CBS. Minx is less certain exactly what his duties will involve.
However, both know that one of their self-imposed duties will be keeping in touch with Mazzocco's broadcast students back at UNLV. Mazzocco has assigned Minx, who is enrolled in Mazzocco's advanced television production practicum this semester, to create an interactive website through which the duo can communicate with Mazzocco's students and visa versa.
Each day Mazzocco and Minx will post information to the website in which they talk about their experiences at the Olympics. The students in Mazzocco's broadcast classes, in turn, will be able to post questions asking the pair about their work and about how certain shots or stories were achieved.
"I wanted our work at the Olympics to be a valuable experience not only for Sonny and myself, but also for my other communication students. I'm hoping the website will provide them with the opportunity to learn about what goes into broadcasting such a major event," Mazzocco said.
Members of the public will be able to read Mazzocco and Minx's postings on the website, but they will not be able to send them questions. The website will be operational before the CBS broadcast of the XVIII Winter Olympics begins Feb. 6.
Minx said his work at the Olympics will fit in well with his career plans as he has a strong interest in both computers and broadcasting. Originally, Minx was a business student at UNLV with an emphasis in management information systems. Then he switched his major to communication with an emphasis in broadcasting.
"The assignment at the Olympics will give me a chance to combine my two primary career interests -- computer networks and broadcasting," Minx said. "I predict that in the future there will be a growing closeness between broadcasting and information technologies, so this is a perfect opportunity for me."
Mazzocco, who has won six Emmy awards -- including the four for Olympic coverage and has been nominated for a total of 13 Emmy awards during his career, said that each time he goes to the Olympics he learns more.
"It is an excellent way for me to keep abreast of the latest technical developments in my field. And that translates to my being better able to educate my students at UNLV," Mazzocco said.
