Tara Chozet

Publicist

I’m a recent transplant to ESPN and Bristol, by way of Los Angeles. I received my undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and my Master’s degree from the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. At ESPN, I handle TV listings and viewer inquiries for ESPN Deportes and our international networks, and I provide support for our ESPN MediaZone.
Sports have always been a passion of mine, and everywhere I have lived has played a role in the teams I follow: I grew up in El Paso, TX where I was born and bred a Dallas Cowboys fan; a college study-abroad program in Barcelona, Spain fostered a fanatic love for FC Barcelona and gave me the unforgettable experience of watching a few games in the Camp Nou; a period of living in the San Francisco Bay area made me partial to the Oakland A’s ($2 Tuesdays and Dollar Dogs may have helped) and the Golden State Warriors; and my time as a graduate student at USC made me a Trojan for life.
My tenure at ESPN has thus far been exciting and enriching, and though the New England winters will take some getting used to, a la Mark Twain, the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.

Recent Posts

posted by on January 24, 2013 4:41 PM

I Follow: Lon McEachern

ESPN's new voice for PBA coverage Lon McEachern. (ESPN)

ESPN PBA commentator Lon McEachern. (ESPN)

Editor’s note: I Follow is all about ESPN employees on Twitter: what they tweet, whom they follow and how you can interact socially with anyone and everyone.

Twitter Handle: @lonmceachern
Following: 55
Followers: 7,456
(*As of 1/24/13)

Lon McEachern is known as ESPN’s “voice of poker.” But he’s also in his first season covering ESPN’s bowling telecasts. McEachern is paired with PBA Hall of Famer Randy Pedersen as the commentating team.

Screen shot 2013-01-24 at 9.56.27 AM

Both will be on-site to call the action live for the first of six PBA League events on ESPN, airing Sunday, Jan. 27, noon ET in a two-hour telecast. The PBA League, a new concept in the 2012-2013 bowling season, is an eight-team pro bowling league featuring PBA stars as Franchise Players and celebrities from the TV and sports worlds as team owners, including the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul, tennis legend Billie Jean King, Grey’s Anatomy’s actor Jesse Williams and actor/comedian/blogger Chris Hardwick.

Front Row caught up with McEachern to learn how he approaches his new job and social media.

How has Twitter changed the way you do your job?
I’m very conscious of what I’m tweeting, because I know I’m representing the network and all the good people I work with. It’s an extension of our on-air business. I know what I’m saying will have an impression on people. It’s also direct contact with fans, which you don’t have when you are on TV. It helps me feel like what I’m doing on-air is real and has an impact on people. It’s a nice bridge between us and the folks out there who are watching.

Who is your favorite person or account to follow?
I follow people for professional and personal reasons. I keep track of all the main bowling guys to find out where their heads are ahead competitions. Some of my personal follows are @HenriLeChatNoir, and guys like @ConanOBrien and @StephenAtHome [Stephen Colbert]. Of course, I have to follow my San Francisco Giants and San Jose Sharks!

Give us a preview of our upcoming PBA League telecasts. continue reading…

Filed in: I Follow: Inside Twitter

posted by on January 8, 2013 2:15 PM

Front & Center: J.A. Adande

ESPN's JA Adande. (Rich Arden/ESPN Images)

ESPN’s JA Adande. (Rich Arden/ESPN Images)

Click HERE to listen or visit iTunes to download the podcast and be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the Front & Center podcast. Also, make sure to check out the ESPN Radio app, available for the iPad.

J.A. Adande wears many hats at ESPN — he’s an ESPN.com senior writer, an Around the Horn panelist and sometimes host of Pardon the Interruption. Perhaps not as well known is that Adande has another title to his name: educator. Since 2004, Adande has taught at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. He serves as an adjunct professor, teaching Sports Commentary to undergraduate and graduate students (including this Front Row contributor).

An alumnus of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, Adande brings lessons from his own schooling and his experience at ESPN to his students, even running them through mock PTI and ATH exercises to demonstrate that being on camera isn’t as easy as he and his co-panelists make it look.

Front Row recently sat down with Adande to talk with him about his experiences in the classroom, his thoughts on education and how ESPN factors into his lessons.

Filed in: Front & Center, Podcast, Uncategorized

posted by on June 22, 2012 1:00 PM

Healey and Palomo find common ground on “Goalllllll” vs. “Goollllllll”!!!!

ESPN soccer play-by-play commentators Adrian Healey and Fernando Palomo have been logging many hours preparing for and calling matches during Euro 2012. Healey, in English, and Palomo, in Spanish, each have their own styles. But whether it’s “Goal!” or “Gooool!!” both share the same passion for the game, even if their delivery methods are different. Front Row sat down with both announcers to discuss their techniques.

ESPN soccer analysts Adrian Healey and Fernando Palomo have different approaches to the same call.

What commentators influenced you, and what did you take from their deliveries (if anything) to develop your own style?
Healey: Though I’ve spent most of my adult life in the U.S., my influences are from growing up in England in the 70s and 80s: Barry Davies and John Motson from BBC and Brian Moore of ITV. I took something from all of them and melded it into my own style. They had an incredible knack for adding to the sense of drama unfolding in any game and mirror the ebb and flow with their own commentary.
Palomo: I haven’t by design let myself be influenced by any particular voice, but they play a part in my delivery. Growing up, my mentors were local radio personalities and Americans like Al Michaels, Howard Cosell and Jim Lampley. The way they were able to transmit emotions without losing their elegant cadence is something I always try to imitate. This is not me being arrogant, but I didn’t want to copy anyone in Spanish, or let it influence anything I do.

Is there a call (aside from one of your own) that is particularly memorable to you? continue reading…

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on April 20, 2011 2:00 PM

Barcelona-Madrid party revisited

Editor’s note:In Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona meet again Wednesday in the second installment of their dramatic rivalry in five days. Here’s how a U.S.-based viewing party unfolded.

QUEENS, N.Y. — April 16 marked the 240th Clásico match between Spain’s soccer titans, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

For those uninitiated into the passionate rivalries that burn in the world of soccer, this clash represents more than a game between two good teams; think Yankees-Red Sox with the weight of decades of political and ethnic strife, civil war and regional pride added.

Millions saw the action on the pitch from Saturday’s match, thanks to ESPN Deportes’ broadcast, and it was nothing short of exhilarating: Each team’s top players — Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi — scored; the coaches screamed; the fans sang and chanted. While the game ended in a 1 -1 draw, the scoring opportunities were numerous.

As the play unfolded on the screens in the bar, a flurry of activity also occurred behind the scenes. The game was ESPN Deportes’ “Super Bowl” for the year, and Deportes employees went all-out to make it feel like one.

Staff members from the Communications, Marketing, Sales and Production departments pulled together to throw a viewing party for the public and select VIPs at The Garden at StudioSquare in the heart of Queens. continue reading…

Filed in: Behind The Scenes