Senior producer for NEP Group Mackenzie Pearce ‘21 talks with Newhouse students about her journey

Syracuse, NY – Mackenzie Pearce calls it the Girls’ Room. Pearce, the producer of NWSL on ION’s Saturday Night Soccer doubleheader wants her weekly production meetings with a coach or a player to feel like safe spaces. 

“Those are the types of things that you want people to be really comfortable,” Pearce said. “Showing that you put in the work, and show that you did the research on them, they start to open up more. And I think that is really how you get to it, is putting in the research ahead of time.”

Pearce spoke with Newhouse students on Thursday evening in a session moderated by Professor Olivia Stomski, the director of the Newhouse Sports Media Center.

Pearce was one of the initial three students working for Newhouse’s ACC Network. She was a freshman with two seniors working under the direction of Professor Stomski.

“I was literally ready to transfer after my first semester,” Pearce said. “I found my own family and I think also it’s really special because you get to, I think it makes you a better person.”

Pearce started her career as a broadcast associate for MLB Network. She then got a job as a studio producer for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pearce and her dad bonded over Steelers games as she was growing up, so the job was particularly meaningful to her. 

Working for NEP producing NWSL games has been the perfect fit for her. She sees herself as a human-centered producer. Women’s soccer gives her the opportunity to tell stories that haven’t been told before, because there are less eyes on the sport. 

Pearce sees being a woman in sports, particularly being a woman covering women’s sports, as an advantage.

“You understand what people want and not how to tokenize women in this sport and how to treat them as their own athletes,” Pearce said. “A lot of them have partners that play in other major leagues in this country and abroad. So I just think that giving them their flowers and not tying them to other people’s accomplishments is a really big part of it.”

Pearce still values the connections she made at Newhouse. Her classmates from Newhouse have a group chat to give each other advice and encouragement. 

“Everyone’s opinion is valued and you can, you know, get your foot in the door pretty fast and, you know, learn from people who’ve already done it,” Pearce said. “I think it’s a really special thing that we have here.”