Alumnus James Dunn Q & A

UGA alumnus and ESPN executive James Dunn visited the UGA campus in October and spent time with students in Communications Studies, his home department in the Franklin College.

Hometown: From Atlanta, Georgia

Currently: Work in Bristol, CT but lives in Farmington

Degree from UGA: A.B. Speech Communications, '98

Title: VP of Production for ESPN

Why did you attend UGA: When I was in high school, a recruiter spoke to my class and I was taken. I didn't know if it was affordable, it didn’t seem real. But the way he spoke… I remember going home and I told my mom, “This is incredible, and I think this could happen.” She said, “of course this could happen! You have the grades.” At the time it was the second year of the Hope Scholarship, and once I sent in my application, I remember everyone asking, “is it a thin letter or a thick letter?” But when I got it, I couldn't tell! It was sort of medium. My mom told me to just open it, so I did, and it said “Congratulations!”

What experience in your time at Franklin had the biggest influence on where you are today: Taking the public speaking classes and getting over the fear of communicating and speaking in front of groups and to people was so important for me. Everyone was nervous, but I thought to myself, “everyone is in the same boat, so why not embrace it? I am going to be aggressive with it.” So, I volunteered first on most assignments. You have to get over that fear. 

What would you tell your 20-year-old self: It is so important to network; I stress that so much. A lot of jobs that I have gotten and people I know have gotten, are because of their network. Network, network, network. Introduce yourself to people, let them know what you’re interested in and don’t be afraid to express that. It’s so important, because you could have something that separates you from several qualified candidates, and if you already have an in with someone, that may be the difference. 

What separates ESPN from other sports networks in terms of the production: I think the vastness of it, we are the place people think of when they think of sports. With that, there is a certain level of competition, so internally, we all push each other and strive to be the best because you want to be in position to move forward. PAs want to cut the best highlight, because they want to be assigned that Super Bowl highlight, that NBA finals highlight, or that WNBA finals highlight. Also, the vastness of our resources…there is no story we can't cover. In this era of direct-to-consumer and so many options, we want to be that, too, so we have a lot of creative people who are trying to make that happen. Those are the things that make people trust ESPN, and if there is something sports related, those four letters are going to it first. 

How have you seen the role of production, or your department, change throughout the years: The imprint of social, and the way athletes are covered. Athletes have their own platforms now; they don’t have to come on ESPN now if they choose not to. Look at someone like Lebron James, he has made himself a media career. Even someone like Pat MacAfee, look what he’s done. So how do you entice people to speak with you? That’s always a challenge, but one thing ESPN has is if you’re a sports fan, you’re interested in games. Well, if you are going to watch anything college football, where are you going? ESPN. Part of that is also “How do we get into the digital landscape?” We have ESPN+ to give you events that you are not going to get on linear. UFC, F1, getting into all those things. How do you reach out to a digital fanbase that is a different demographic and doesn’t sit down and watch a 2-hour broadcast. They want to keep it short, so how are you competitive with that? All of those things challenge us and keep us pushing. 

Has there ever been a piece of advice from a Franklin faculty member or one of your peers that has stuck with you throughout your career: I remember just the overall emphasis from professors on how important communication is, no matter what your field. If you can communicate well, there is no job you can’t get.

What is your proudest accomplishment in your career as of right now: That’s a tough one, you know you should take pride in everything you do. Some projects are more successful than others, but I would say what I am most proud of is that when someone sees my name attached to a project, they have an expectation that it is going to be done very well and it’s going to be done in a professional manner. It is also important because as you give recommendations throughout your life and career, if your name matters, then people take that recommendation more to heart.

Dunn will return to campus in May to deliver the commencement address for Spring Communication Studies graduation.

Image: Photo of James Dunn, left, with Franklin College Dean Anna Stenport.