There’s this cliche’ that gets thrown around and says “you can do anything that you put your mind to.”

Personally, I think this comment is inaccurate. As a person with a disability, I know from firsthand experience I occasionally need help to complete tasks. 

One of the tasks I have difficulties with at TV2 is a reporter standup. A reporter standup is when a TV reporter stands at the site of the story and gives a monologue about the story they’re covering. 

This past Friday I had a pretty important story to cover for my newscast, the Akron/Kent State men’s basketball game. I needed to go live during the newscast, so I needed a lot of help with the camera from a person on TV2’s staff. 

That person was our hardworking sports reporter, Dante Centofanti. He is one of the most determined people I know. Dante spends countless hours in our newsroom and pushes himself everyday to get the job done. I knew I could depend on him and he did the job well. Dante is from Howland, so it is nice to have someone from Mahoning Valley in my friend group. 

However, this reporter standup was a real challenge for me. I was live on the newscast at 6 p.m. and I had to talk for two minutes and 30 seconds. Now you might think that talking about Kent State basketball for that long would be easy for me; the truth is that this was really hard. 

This was difficult for me because standing in focus for that long is very tiring. My muscles tighten up and I get tense when I’m in a stressful situation. Combine that with standing in one spot for a long time and this event became a real hurdle for me. 

It wasn’t the best standup ever, but I tried my best and I believe that’s what is important. I had one of my great friends to help me with this project. I can’t wait to get another opportunity to do a live standup so I can sharpen my skills. 

After the standup was over, I stayed at the game and live tweeted it. It was an amazing night at the M.A.C. Center as the Flashes beat their rival, the Akron Zips, in the final seconds 68-67. As time expired and the game ended, I reflected on the wonderful experience that I had covering this game. It was an experience I’ll never forget. 

I am incredibly grateful for everyone that helps me at TV2 on a daily basis. I don’t know what I would do without them. 

The journalism industry goes 100 mph. I’m happy I got to be present and enjoy this excellent Friday night doing what I love to do.

Contact Michael Reiner at [email protected].