ABOUT.Jeanna Trotman most recently served as the Sports Director at WEYI/WSMH in Flint, Michigan. Prior to her stop in Michigan, Jeanna was the Sports Director at KAAL in Rochester, MN. Jeanna has a masters degree from Boston University, as well as an undergraduate degree from Lake Superior State University, where she competed as a NCAA Division II athlete.
|
|
|
MORE.
Jeanna was brought to Flint as the weekend sports anchor and reporter before getting promoted to the Sports Director. While in her home state of Michigan, Jeanna covered the teams that she grew up watching, like the Lions, Red Wings, Tigers, and Pistons, as well as the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. As a solo MMJ, Jeanna has the experience of covering major college sporting events like the Big Ten basketball tournament, as well as back-to-back March Madness runs. Jeanna traveled with the Wolverines to the national championship in San Antonio, followed by the Spartans in the Final Four in Minneapolis. In addition to college basketball, Jeanna traveled to college football bowl games in San Diego, as well as in New York City. When the PGA Tour Champions returned to Greater Flint, Jeanna helped create the award-winning "19th Hole" which was a one-hour live show that aired each night from the Ally Challenge. In addition to covering the major events for Michigan sports fans, Jeanna prioritized the importance of local storytelling within the sports department through series such as Path to Greatness and For The Win. In addition to bringing local highlights and stories on a nightly basis, Jeanna was an active community member as well. She helped the station expand "The Playground Project" which helped build brand new playgrounds to deserving neighborhoods in Flint. She also kickstarted the first ever "Path to Greatness" banquet to honor and celebrate local athletes within the community. In 2018, Jeanna won the Michigan Associated Press award for Best Sports Coverage in 2018. While serving as sports director in Minnesota, Jeanna covered a wide variety of professional sporting events, from Twins Opening Day to Kobe Bryant's final game in Minnesota before retiring. Jeanna was an integral part in redefining KAAL's presence in the local community, shifting the department's main focus to storytelling and thorough coverage of local sports in Southeastern Minnesota. She also helped start a corporate partnership with Scheels and Rochester Motor Cars to bring a Game of the Week program to ABC 6 News. Prior to beginning work at ABC 6 News, Jeanna earned a Masters degree at Boston University in Broadcast Journalism, with a specialization in Sports Reporting. At BU, Jeanna was the host of the sports segment of BUTV's live show, Good Morning, BU. She was part of the core that launched BU's first-ever live television show. Jeanna also assisted with the university's website development and design. In addition to maintaining COM's website, Jeanna was the college's reporter who had the responsibility to conduct interviews with distinguished visitors who came to campus. During her final year at BU, Jeanna interviewed various prestigious people like Judy Smith (ABC's hit show, Scandal), Pete Souza (official White House photographer for the Obama administration), and Stephanie McMahon (WWE). She was also a sports reporter and field producer at Neighborhood Network News. Additionally, Jeanna completed an internship with Comcast Sports Net New England where she served as a production assistant in both the studio and field. Jeanna gained an insurmountable amount of experience while spending time in Boston. She covered the Boston Marathon, before and after the tragedy. She also took part in coverage of the 2012 presidential elections, the winter storm Nemo, and the 2013 Red Sox World Series Championship. Jeanna was also a fellow at the College of Communication Writing Center where she assisted students with their writing work. Before making the move to Boston, Jeanna completed her undergraduate education in her home state of Michigan. At Lake Superior State University, Jeanna was a four-year NCAA-division II athlete and earned academic awards each season. She graduated cum laude from the Honors College with a degree in communication and minors in both public relations and professional public speaking. While working through her undergraduate degree, Jeanna compiled a variety of work. She spent a summer interning with the sports department at Detroit's ABC affiliate station, WXYZ. During her junior year, she created and completed a videography and reporting internship with LSSU's PR department. In this internship, she was able to write, shoot, produce, and edit her own news packages for publication on the university's website. She also was a radio DJ for WLSO-FM and became the Business and Marketing Director for the station. On a personal level, Jeanna spends her free time staying active, whether that is spending time at a local CrossFit gym or out with her family dog, a German Shepherd named Murphy. Jeanna has been married since July 1, 2017 to Zach Trotman. Jeanna and Zach met as student athletes in college at LSSU. Sports very much dominates their world, as Zach has been playing professional hockey since 2010 and is currently part of the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. Together, Zach and Jeanna started the Trotman Foundation, a charitable organization. In December of 2020, Jeanna and Zach welcomed their first child, Luca Gregory Trotman. |
