Brenden Escott has been a producer and fill-in host on Oilers NOW with Bob Stauffer on 630 CHED since 2018. However; before he landed the job, Escott started off in his hometown of Kamloops,BC as a student at Thompson Rivers University where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism.
After that Escott made stops in Edmonton where he received a diploma in the Television program at NAIT before heading off to Lloydminster to work at Newcap Television.
Escott took the opportunity for a Q&A about his journey leading him to where he is now.
Q: Being in the sports media industry, is that something you’ve always wanted to do from a young age?
A: “Yeah, I was always fascinated with media in general. When I look back, I was 14 years old running around with a little Sony handy camera just doing whatever with my friends. Eventually your passion for sports turns into a realization that if you’re going to make it in sports, it’s probably not going to be as an athlete.”
Q: From the time you started at Thompson Rivers University to the day you got your degree, what was the experience like and how valuable was it to you?
A: “The journalism degree builds a really solid foundation in what ethical journalistic practices are. And I think that gives you a sound respect for the industry as a whole. The program at the time was based in print, newspapers, magazines and online. So I had to make my own experience a little bit broadcast oriented. So I made sure that I volunteered at the campus radio station after hours and was able to get some credit for it. But I also had my own sports talk show with a co-host friend at that point. That was a good place to make a mistake because there was probably three, maybe four people listening to the campus station at that time.”
Q: After TRU you led yourself to NAIT where you took the Television program. What interested you to get into it?
A: “When I graduated with my degree and went to pitch myself to the media in Kamloops, they said that we like you, but you don’t necessarily have the technical background that we need. So I knew that I didn’t have enough schooling with what I had done to make money in media. BCIT being closer is way too expensive so then I looked to Alberta and was looking between Calgary and Edmonton and I just kind of landed in NAIT’s hands figuring that if I got myself to a big market, there would be an opportunity to work closer to a team like the Edmonton Oilers and very shortly thereafter, I was working for the Oilers official broadcast. I guess I was right betting on myself that if I got to the right place, I’d find an opportunity to get my foot in the door.”
Q: Tell me a little about your time in the Television program at NAIT and how much it helped you to get where you are now?
A: “It’s more hands on work that you’ll ever end up doing in a day to day in the actual industry. And that’s good because it teaches you how to perform in those high-stress environments. There’s a reason that there are so many assignments on the go. But by the time you get to the industry, you will look back and be blown away by how ready you actually are. You’re always working with the equipment. So you learn a lot more tactically and a lot more relevant stuff than you would learning about the history of journalistic theorists, for example.”
Q: So you’re now working at 630 CHED for the Oilers. Were you always a fan of the team growing up or were you driven towards a job inside the industry?
A: “I was a Vancouver Canucks fan growing up all the way until Connor McDavid came back from this collarbone injury, danced through the Columbus Blue Jackets and scored one of the most unbelievable goals I’ve seen live. I think that same evening I ordered his jersey and later that year moved to Edmonton just as a matter of happenstance.”
Q: Working with 630 CHED for an NHL franchise like the Oilers, is that something in your wildest dreams you would have imagined seeing yourself working at four years after you graduated from NAIT?
A: “It happened quicker than I could’ve ever imagined. I always saw myself working in the NHL. I always saw myself sitting in a press box. So I do have to sort of stop and appreciate it sometimes and drink it in because it’s pretty unbelievable. A lot of it is also being proud of all the work that I put in during those younger years getting myself to where I am now. I don’t miss the fact that I didn’t party as much as my friends did on the weekends because I had to get up the next morning to call a hockey game at 10 a.m. I was furthering my career at that point. Everything worked out I suppose. I actually quite enjoy going to work every day.”
Q: What are your thoughts overall on how far you’ve come to this point in your career?
A: ” It’s certainly proof that you can get as far as you’re willing to work hard if that makes sense. You look back on even six of seven year of work and it’s like, holy crap, I can’t possibly be here by accident right? I can’t possibly only be 27 years old and sound a polished as I do by accident. It’s because I’ve been doing this, treating it professionally for the last seven years. If you take things seriously and I know you do certainly then the opportunities are absolutely there.”
