Los Angeles native Nick Palmer isn’t your ordinary New York Yankees beat reporter.
He’s a Fordham student majoring in history and minoring in Spanish. But he’s also a journalist, fully credentialed to cover the team for WFUV, Fordham University’s public media service.
The station, an NPR affiliate, has long been a launching pad for students looking to go into sports journalism, broadcast news, and more. Today, many of the top voices in New York sports are Fordham grads, trained at WFUV. And all the city’s major pro teams grant Fordham students press access to interview players and cover the games.
“There’s really very few places that can do what Fordham does and have the reputation that Fordham has,” Palmer said. “This is a special place that creates special talent.”
We went behind the scenes with Palmer before a September game to get an inside look at what it’s like to be a college student and a journalist covering the Yankees.
Nick Palmer sets up his phone to capture video and interviews at Yankees batting practice.
Pregame Routine
Palmer gets to the stadium a few hours before first pitch and hits his first stop—manager Aaron Boone’s pregame briefing. That’s where Palmer learns the Yankees lineup for the night and hears about any player injuries or roster changes.
“If you have a question, you gotta make sure it’s a good one,” he said with a laugh.
After the press conference, Palmer heads onto the field, where the teams are taking batting practice and sets up his equipment.
“Before I go to a game, I make sure that I’m ready for every player that’s going to be there that day,” he said. “I’m waiting for a player that’s got an interesting storyline.”
Palmer aims to provide updates during the game on social media, interview players for pieces that air on the radio and on the web, and gather information for weekly and special shows.
Nick Palmer (left), a WFUV Sports reporter and Fordham student, interviews New York Yankees relief pitcher Thomas Kahnle on the field after batting practice.
On-Field Player Interviews
That September night, Palmer stopped to grab relief pitcher Thomas Kahnle. It wasn’t the first time they had connected. Kahnle previously pitched for Palmer’s “hometown Los Angeles Dodgers,” he said, and in an earlier interview, Palmer asked the reliever about the differences between playing in LA and playing in New York City.
This time, he had two other topics in mind—he said he’s always been fascinated by the “cosmetics of baseball” and players’ superstitions, so he wanted to ask Kahnle why he wears his uniform socks so high. He also wanted to know why Kahnle’s changeup has been so deadly this year.
“Hitters still can’t hit it, and I asked him about what makes it special,” Palmer said. Kahnle told him that his go-to pitch moves “laterally a lot, which sets it apart” from off-speed pitches that typically have more vertical movement.
Nick Palmer (center), a Fordham student and WFUV Sports reporter, had the chance to connect with two WFUV Sports alumni who are now Yankees broadcasters—Emmanuel Berbari (left) and Justin Shackil (right).
Connecting with WFUV Alumni
Covering the Yankees is also a chance for Palmer to connect with the many WFUV Sports alumni who now work with the team. There’s Michael Kay, FCRH ’82, the voice of the Yankees on the YES Network; Ryan Ruocco, FCRH ’08, who calls some of the games on YES; Justin Shackil, FCRH ’09, WFAN’s play-by-play broadcaster for the Yankees; and Emmanuel Berbari, FCRH ’21, who serves as a color commentator and pregame and postgame host on WFAN.
Palmer said he’s not sure he wants to pursue a career as a journalist or broadcaster. “My plan is to go to law school and use that to get into the sports contract world.” But connecting with Fordham alumni is always a fun time, he said, and a chance for him to ask them for advice on how he can continue to hone his own craft.
“Getting the chance to know these guys is really awesome,” he said, referring to Shackil and Berbari in particular. “They’re the standard, they’re top class.”