Jackson Farough: It is just the beginning

By Elisabeth Rositsan

Canadian Baseball Network

Jackson Farough is currently studying Sport Media at Ryerson University in Toronto and throughout his time at Ryerson, he has volunteered at many university games and other sporting events.

However, he has been passionate about broadcasting even before starting his journey at Ryerson and has always been an ambitious individual.

From an early age, Farough had a knack for public speaking. He was constantly cast for school plays and was great at theatre. Another factor was that Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics was not an option for Farough. He disliked math and science and always knew that he would take the creative route in life. But the biggest factor that led Farough to broadcasting was that his dad, Dave Farough, was a radio executive with 102.1 The Edge and Q107 in Toronto. Dad was also in charge of all of Corus Entertainment’s Rock stations across Canada for a while.

“My dad is in radio and he is a big music guy, but I did not want to do that necessarily,” Farough said. “I did not want to be just a radio host, I wanted to do something more and something a little different because I did not want to be that kid that built a career on the back of his father even though I could have done that. That is why I picked sport media.”

Farough has never regretted his decision and has been leaping at every opportunity he can get. The culmination of his young professional career occurred this past summer when Farough had the chance to host the Legacy Classic and Guelph Royals game.

Farough’s performance made the broadcast come to life as he filled it with a unique perspective on historic tales and events. After the game, coaches and baseball broadcasters started noticing this young student. Although, many do not know that Farough actually acquired this opportunity by accident.

“It is honestly a crazy story. It all started with me randomly messaging a guy on Twitter,” said Farough.

To give some more context, Farough lives in London, Ont. and enjoys listening to college radio stations, that is how he heard Fanshawe College student Noah Smith hosting a radio show and decided to give him a follow on Twitter. Later, this random act led to Farough doing play-by-play for the Strathroy Rockets games in the Greater Ontario Junior League. Eventually that led to hosting the Legacy Classic as the Guelph-London Majors exhibition game. Dylan Baker was the colour man, while Smith did the play-by-play.

Farough said, “It went from me messaging a guy who I randomly followed on Twitter to now doing this interview for the Canadian Baseball Network. The butterfly effect is crazy.”

After Farough found out that he was going to be hosting this Majors exhibition game, he knew that this was an opportunity of a lifetime. Not only did he get to host a major exhibition game, but this game was also picked up by Rogers TV and covered by The National.

“I do not think I prepared or practiced harder for anything in my entire life,” said Farough. “It felt like that week was the pinnacle of my life because I have never been on a proper network before and I have never worked with an actual producer.”

Fortunately, Farough had a good support system from his dad who worked as an on-air radio broadcaster and later became program director of multiple big stations.

“My dad helped me a lot. Having someone who has been in those kinds of situations was really good to have. He told me to focus on what I am saying rather than how I am saying it,” Farough said.

With the help from his dad and with multiple hours of preparation Farough felt confident in his ability and was ready to deliver his best work. He managed to keep his composure while delivering engaging and interesting stories to the audience.

Farough said, “It was basically sink or swim for me. I thought that if I do well then not only will I feel better about myself, but I will also prove to the crew and to people around me that I can deliver quality coverage at a moment’s notice. Being able to handle that pressure at the age of 20 does say something about me.”

Once the game was over, Farough knew that he had delivered a great performance. His hard work had paid off and he was not the only one satisfied with his hosting skills. Many were intrigued by the historic elements Farough added to the broadcast along with the composure he had at such a young age. It was even more special because no one had ever seen him do sideline reporting before so proving himself to everyone watching was an outstanding feat for such a young broadcaster.

“It was the best I have ever felt,” he said. “It was such a relief. It was a celebration because I knew I did well. Also, a lot of people reached out and that helped me boost my confidence. The support was great, and I had a lot of good feedback from producer Kris Bergholz and the crew.”

One of the those who immediately noticed Farough’s talent was veteran Ontario Terriers coach Scott Vandevalk.

“I was watching the Legacy classic and this kid came on and started speaking on the history of London and Labatt Park I thought ‘Wow, he is really good,’” said Vandevalk. “I didn’t think enough people knew about this guy,”

Vandevalk was amazed by the engaging stories Farough told and immediately knew that with practice this young broadcaster will have a very bright future.

After Farough’s debut, the producer contacted him once again and asked to help out with more games. It is very important for young broadcasters to get noticed by media professionals and that is exactly what happened with Farough. Now, he further continues to work with the same producer and help out with more games.

“This time I had confidence because the producer instilled me with confidence, and I was definitely calmer, “ said Farough.

Currently, baseball is Farough’s top sport and he wants to continue to progress in the baseball broadcasting world. However, this was not always the case. Growing up Farough’s main sports were hockey and football. Around the age of 14, Farough started following the Toronto Blue Jays.

That is when he fell in love with baseball.

“I realized it was a really cool game and I really enjoyed it,” said Farough, “Once I learned the league and the players I fell in love. Sometimes I would watch games all day in the summer. Now baseball has definitely become my favourite sport and the sport that I have the most passion for right now.”

With the COVID-19 pandemic on the rise, it is hard for sports broadcasters to find opportunities but Farough remains optimistic. He continues to do work for the Strathroy games and is aiming to come back to the Majors. In addition, school is a big focus in Farough’s life right now as he is trying to get used to the new online format of learning.

“I don’t just want to stick to sports. I want to do different things and get a bigger understanding of how the world works,” said Farough. “I want to be able to tell stories that instill change and help make the world a better place. I mainly want to be happy and I never want to be in a rut. I would rather take a low paying job if it makes me happier.”

(Jackson Farough is not the only success story at Ryerson University among third-year students. Canadian Baseball Network regular Elisabeth Rositsan, who penned this piece, is in the same year. Elisabeth, a former member of the Lithuanian National Rhythmic Gymnastics team, made her own impressive debut at the 2019 Tournament 12 at Rogers Centre.)