Lindsay Fitz only knew one thing when she graduated from Oklahoma State University in the spring of 2002 — she wanted to find something that challenged her. She’s not only met her goal, but also gone far above and beyond.

New York television career blossoms from Oklahoma roots

By Katie Parish

continues

Working for NBC Sports Communications, Lindsay Fitz checks the announcer booth before Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis.

45

Now the senior director of partnership market-ing and innovation for A+E Networks, Fitz has thrived in the evolving and challenging New York City workforce. The Emmy Award-winner

has worked on some of the largest sporting events, television shows and political stages in the world, and she says she owes it all to her Oklahoma roots.Becoming Lindsay

Fitz grew up in Lawton with her parents and two brothers. Active and hard working, she was involved in community theater, tennis, dancing, basketball and more. At Lawton High School, she was class president for several years.

“I was very social growing up,” Fitz says. “Our family was always running from one thing to another, and I liked that.”

When it came time to select a college, her relatives were a big influence. Both of her parents, brothers and extended family attended Indiana University in Bloomington. Fitz applied to her parents’ alma mater.

“It was always an obvious choice that I would go to Indiana,” Fitz says. “But my dad asked me to look around at some of the Big 12 schools before I made a decision.”

Fitz agreed and visited all 12 schools in the conference at the time, including Oklahoma State. After visiting Stillwater, she knew she would break with family tradition and become a Cowgirl.

It took no time for Fitz to make herself at home at OSU, and she dove into college life. As a member of President’s Leadership Council, Fitz made some of her best friends before she attended her first class. Throughout her time on campus, she was involved in Student Government Association, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the journalism school. She also directed Orange Peel, led the SGA Speaker’s Board and served for two years as president of OSU’s Tau Beta chapter of Chi Omega national women’s fraternity.

PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

“I got a phone call, and they said ‘Congratula-tions you’re hired. You start Monday morning at 9 a.m.’ When I hung up the phone, I told my parents we had to pack immediately, and I was on a plane the next day.”

46 S P R I N G 2 0 1 5

“I loved every minute of my time on campus,” Fitz says. “From my sorority to Speaker’s Board to attending football games, I made lifelong memories there.”

One of Fitz’s favorite memories at OSU was being able to meet one of her most-admired heroes. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher came to campus through Fitz’s efforts on the SGA Speaker’s Board. In front of a

continues

Lindsay Fitz tours the OSU School of Media and Strategic Communications new broadcasting facility during a trip in March.

crowd of 5,000, Thatcher spoke against communism and the encroachment upon individual liberties.

“Margaret Thatcher is one of my personal heroes,” Fitz says. “It was a highlight of my time at OSU to meet her and to have dinner with her.”

A whole new worldFitz wanted to spend her college

summers exploring different cities and countries. She completed internships in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and London — each offering a unique oppor-

tunity to explore the cities, culture, food and people.

During her D.C. internship, Fitz frequently took the train to New

York. She loved everything about

the city and knew she wanted to be there after graduation.

“New York felt like a melting pot for me,” she says. “L.A. and D.C. are both focused on one specific career, and New York City is open to all things, ideas and ways of life.”

It was her determination to live in the Big Apple that led Fitz to apply to the pres-tigious NBC Page Program. The highly selective program accepts only 1.5 percent of applicants. Fitz was invited to join the program and is the only applicant from Oklahoma to ever be accepted.

“Being a page set the stage for my time in New York and my career in general,” Fitz says.

Since she had never spent a summer during college in her hometown of

47

Lawton, Fitz decided to stay with her parents after her May 2002 graduation. Her plan was to move to New York over Labor Day weekend even if she hadn’t received a job offer. In the middle of June, she received an email saying she had been accepted into the page program, but they wouldn’t have a start date for several weeks or months. All of that changed two weeks before Labor Day when Fitz received a phone call from NBC at 5 p.m. on a Friday.

“I got a phone call, and they said, ‘Congratulations you’re hired. You start Monday morning at 9 a.m.’” Fitz says.

“When I hung up the phone, I told my parents we had to pack immediately, and I was on a plane the next day.”

With nothing more than a suitcase, Fitz lived out of a hotel room until she could find an apartment.

New York, New York“It was traumatic because I felt like a

fish out of water,” Fitz says. “But when

I got to New York, everything worked out fine.”

Fitz started in the page program with 50 other high-achieving, goal-oriented individuals from all over the country — each with different plans and ambitions. Her first assignment as a page was on Last Call with Carson Daly. She then went to work with the Today Show, the NBC News communications depart-ment and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcast.

Because of the positive reputation she had built as a page, Fitz was contacted nine months later with a job offer. She left the page program to start as a produc-tion coordinator at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Three months later, NBC called again.

“In my first three jobs after the page program, someone called me and asked me to come work for them,” Fitz says.

“That’s the power of the program.”Back with NBC, Fitz became a coordi-

nator for the NBC News communications

department. She worked closely with NBC News during the 2004 presidential election year and the evening prime time network newscasts.

“I was with NBC when a lot of big things happened, including the start of the Iraq war,” Fitz says. “What you learn in this industry is amazing.”

From there, Fitz worked as a publi-cist and project manager in communi-cations and marketing for NBC Sports Communications, which included events such as NBC’s coverage the NFL’s Sunday Night Football, the Kentucky Derby, the U.S. Open, PGA Tour Ryder Cup and the National Hockey League. Fitz also managed talent and media relations for NBC’s coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and the 2006 Torino Winter Olympic Games.

In 2011, she was promoted to manager of strategic initiatives and integration at NBC, where she won an Emmy Award and multiple Promax Sports Marketing

PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

She left ... to start as a production coordinator at “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” Three months later, NBC called again.

48 S P R I N G 2 0 1 5

Awards. She was influential in developing and executing NBC Sports’ “Big Event Strategy,” which aims to attract larger audiences for sporting events.

Fitz left NBC in 2012 to become the senior director of on-air talent manage-ment and strategy at Discovery and TLC networks before assuming her current position as senior director of part-nership marketing and innovation at A+E Networks.

Lessons learnedLiving in New York and elsewhere

across the country has exposed Fitz to countless lessons and experiences. She describes working at the Olympics as the highlight of a lifetime and cherishes those three experiences.

“When it comes to the Olympics, you live it, breathe it and sweat it,” Fitz says.

“But you also learn so much about limits and how much you can stretch yourself.”

Round-the-clock breaking news and tight deadlines were only the start of

living in the Olympic village. The best journalists and networks in the world were all working within a five-mile radius, and the news never stopped.

Oklahoma rootsFitz says she owes her successful career

to her Oklahoma roots.“In New York, if you don’t take

chances and jump into something, some-one will do it for you,” she says. “You have to take initiative and learn to compete in a thriving environment.”

That’s a trait Fitz says she learned at OSU, crediting her helpful professors and the “open door” policy throughout the campus.

So, what advice would she give students who think she has a dream job?

Have a great attitude, be true to yourself and work harder than anyone else, she says.

“Being from Oklahoma made me original,” Fitz says. “I took advantage of the fact I was different and made the most of it. Oklahoma made me who I am.”

Lower far left: Former NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol greets Lindsay Fitz at the XLIII Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida. Lower left: Lindsay Fitz answers questions during a mentoring day for the OSU’s School of Media and Strategic Communications. Below: Lindsay Fitz, center, prepares to broadcast “Sunday Night Football” with Al Michaels, left and Cris Collinsworth, right, and other members of the team when she worked for NBC Sports.

49