Rutgers alumnus wins Emmy for Sandy coverage
Working for three sleep-deprived weeks and clocking in 15 hours a day to cover the hard-hitting Hurricane Sandy helped Rutgers alumnus Harry Cicma achieve his goal of winning an Emmy award.
“It’s always been my goal to win an Emmy. It’s been something that I cared about, that I always had a dream about,” said Cicma, currently a seasoned sports reporter working for NBC News 4 New York, NBC Sports Comcast Sports Net and managing Harry Cicma Productions LLC.
Cicma did most of his Emmy-winning storm coverage in New Jersey from Long Branch and Hoboken. At one point, he had to report from the parking lot of his Eatontown hotel because he and his team were stuck there.
“We had such a big viewership,” he said. “Everyone was locked in, watching to see how New York and the tri-state area was doing. I knew that I couldn’t stop. I was reporting and my cell was ringing every two seconds.”
Now 32, Cicma’s résumé boasts internships at NBC in Providence, Rhode Island, NBC New York, a straight-out-of-college job at ABC in Iowa as their weekend sports anchor, a weekend sports anchor position at CBS in Massachusetts and an anchor position at News12 New Jersey.
But before embarking on his professional journey, Cicma was, and still considers himself, a proud Scarlet Knight.
A class of 2004 alumnus with a bachelor’s in journalism and media studies and a minor in political science, he was also a ranked for four years in doubles on the ATP Tour World Professional Tennis Rankings while on the Rutgers team, along with broadcasting for WRSU and RU-tv and a position as Rutgers student senator.
“I love Rutgers University more than words can describe,” he said. “It was really a roller coaster there … it was such an adventure.”
Cicma’s 12 years spent around the newsroom gave him the familiarity with covering news that led him to his Emmy.
Cicma’s NBC 4 New York coverage streamed nationally, and people all around the country contacted him to thank him for the report.
During the report, all Cicma thought about was helping the people in New Jersey and New York. He characterizes the experience as an emotional one, saying all the people who were struggling pushed him to perform his due diligence.
Cicma said he matured quickly during the storm.
When he found out he won the Emmy, Cicma instantly called one of his best friends, holding out until the next morning to call everyone else he knew because of the late hour. He said all the appreciation from his friends, peers and industry colleagues was really special.
Cicma said winning an Emmy can be done in a lot of different ways, but to do it by helping people meant a lot to him.
“I think that to win it in this manner, you couldn’t have scripted it better,” he said.
Jack Bratich, chair of the Journalism and Media Studies Department at Rutgers, said in an email that Cicma’s talent, commitment, humility and hard work personify the best of journalism and media studies.
“He has been willing to take risks and travel far to seek his calling,” Bratich said. “We’re especially glad that he has returned to the area to share his knowledge and craft with his home communities.”
