By BRENDAN MCGAIR

Sports writer

CUMBERLAND – The moment of clarity arrived courtesy of a fourth grade production of The Wizard of Oz. It was the featured role as the Wicked Witch when Sara Hogan realized what she wanted to do with her life. She knew, at such a precarious age, that she wanted to stare into a camera and deliver something worthwhile to the masses.
“I knew I wanted to be on television, being a broadcast journalist, since that day,” said Hogan, whose nirvana moment unfolded before friends and family at Ashton Elementary School. “The feeling I just got entertaining an audience, it was a high I couldn’t get enough of. I wanted to be on TV telling a story.”
As she advanced in years, Hogan remained committed to her childhood ambition. She followed, chapter and verse, the necessary steps in order to someday break into TV. Roughly 14 years after her character portrayal in L. Frank Baum’s literary classic, Hogan is seeing her prophecy come to life as a sports reporter/anchor for Channel 12.
Not too shabby for someone who just turned 23 and is a little less than a year removed from earning her bachelors degree in Broadcast Journalism from Emerson College. Yet this isn’t a case of a female flashing a smile, and, presto, the job is hers. This took years of calculated planning on Hogan’s part, desire and determination among her two best friends.
A soccer standout first at Cumberland High, where she was a key factor in the Clippers copping three consecutive Division II titles earlier this decade, and later at Emerson, Hogan counts her blessings daily. To launch her post-career a stone’s throw away from where she grew up (according to a ranking by digitalsyndicate.tv of the top-100 TV markets in the U.S., Providence checks in 51st) seems almost too good to be true.
“Breaking into this type of market is unheard of, especially for a female in the sports industry,” said Hogan, who was officially welcomed into the WPRI family last fall. “I have to say I’m pretty lucky.”
The uber coolness Hogan displays when delivering a report, be it from Gillette Stadium or a high school site, is a product of the training she was privy to. The ex-Clipper feels she is well-prepared to delve into any subject matter. That in turn allows her to smoothly fit into a realm of sports reporting that has born witness to an influx of females since the turn of the century.
There’s the hands-on training Hogan received at Emerson, where as a senior defender she was on a Lions squad that advanced to the ECAC Division III New England Championships.
“After going to Emerson (for a college visit) and seeing the studio and what the students were doing, I was sold. They teach right off the bat what the industry is like and the equipment you would use,” said Hogan, who also dabbled in track at Cumberland High, where as a ninth grader (“at five foot nothing”) won the hurdles in the freshman outdoor states.
She also credits her internship at Channel 12 for instilling her with “field” knowledge, i.e. the chance to step away from the editing equipment and go cover a story. How she was able to fortify her journalistic skills comes from crossing paths with WPRI sports director Patrick Little at McCoy Stadium, where Hogan was a suite hostess for two years (Her uncle Jim is the director of concession operations for the PawSox while her father Tim is a beer vendor).
“I told Patrick I couldn’t do a fall internship because of soccer but that I would like to do one in the spring,” said Hogan, who began her apprenticeship at WPRI last spring, not knowing that it would eventually land her something more permanent.
Hogan immediately took to her surroundings, applying what she was taught in school. “I was editing right away, whereas interns usually wait until the end of their internship. Right away they were like ‘Whoa where is this girl from?’ Whenever I went out they were impressed because I knew what to do.”
One lesson that wasn’t covered in any of Hogan’s college classes is the decorum cub reporters must exude when in the presence of professional athletes. This how-to guide becomes essential when making the transition to a credible member of the fourth estate.
“I went to a Red Sox game shortly after I was hired. Somebody hit a home run and I almost went to clap. Patrick is looking at me and I’m like ‘I didn’t do it,’ ” said Hogan. “You have to check your bias at the door. You can’t have slanted journalism because that would kill your credibility.”
Once the internship at WPRI was complete, Hogan moved on – across the globe. Through Emerson she participated in the opportunity of a lifetime as a pool reporter for the Beijing Olympics. “For the first time the Olympics were held in a country that was dominated by a non-English language. They needed English-speaking journalists to come in, and Emerson was one of the colleges chosen because of its journalist program.”
An e-mail captured Hogan’s attention while trying to keep pace with the Olympians. The author was Patrick, saying to send in her resume for a potential hiring upon returning stateside. The interview was merely a formality since Hogan’s work was still fresh in the minds of the decision makers; the years of careful execution were about to pay off.
“I had connections already,” said Hogan, who signed papers in early September. “so it kind of made sense.”
Since making it official Hogan has hit the ground running. Her enthusiasm for sports (favorite team is the Red Sox) allows her to get creative with her stories. Make that interactive.
“One story was about a person into judo, and she flipped me consecutive times. I have fun with that,” Hogan said. “I recently played 1-on-1 with a Harlem Globetrotter and I got my butt kicked, it was hilarious.”
Showing her face nightly has helped Hogan reconnect with those she grew up with in Cumberland. “People come up to me and say ‘I thought I saw you on TV.’ It’s nice to catch up with people I haven’t seen in so long.”
Hogan is living, breathing proof that anything is within reach if you apply oneself. “Coming out of college I was frantic,” she said. “No one gets a job; it takes forever and you have to send out hundreds of tapes. I have friends who graduated the year before who haven’t gotten a sniff.
“The fact the first time out I didn’t have to send out more than one resume and I got a job, you can’t even imagine.”