Ethan Sands is now the co-host of the Cleveland Cavaliers podcast Wine and Gold Talk

Ethan Sands just graduated from Ohio University in 2021. But the journalism news and information major was recently named the co-host of Cleveland.com’s Wine and Gold Talk podcast, which provides in-depth coverage of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. Sands’ short media career has been packed with jobs and opportunities that many just dream about. And that is something he largely credits to the professional, hands-on experience he gained in college at WOUB.

“I think WOUB allowed me to work in a fast-paced environment and get opportunities in different roles,” said Sands. “People ask me why I have confidence at such a young age, and I think it’s because of the number of reps I got while in college at WOUB. That is such a big part of it.”

Sands grew up in Ellicott City, Maryland. He was excited about real-world experience you could get at Ohio University at places like WOUB right away. Sands worked in the news and sports departments at both WOUB and The Post while he was on campus. He was a reporter and producer at WOUB and served as multimedia director at The Post.

After graduation, Sands did a sports internship at the LA Times. He was one of two people selected for the 10-week internship which allowed Sands to cover LA sports while the professional staff reporters went to Toyoko to cover the 2021 Olympics.

“I actually spearheaded the first social update video for the Times based on the Olympics in a series called “The 105” where I would give a breakdown of events from the night before and headliners for the upcoming day of the Olympics.”

After LA, Sands worked for USA Today Sports in Louisiana covering Grambling State, Louisiana Tech and high school sports. Then he got the opportunity to work as a seasonal producer and reporter for Major League Baseball covering the Atlanta Braves and eventually as a producer for Podville Media in Washington D.C., working on ESPN’s podcast The Domonique Foxworth Show and producing the critically acclaimed Hip-Hop 50th Anniversary series Rap Stories podcast for ESPN.

Now working at Cleveland.com as the Cavaliers beat reporter and co-host of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, Sands has taken all of his different experiences, including those from WOUB, to increase the number of podcast episodes and promote the content.

“Before I got here in November, the podcast was released one time a week or one time a month. Now it’s five times a week. I created social media promotions for the podcast and monthly downloads have increased nearly 2000%,” said Sands. “I host and produce using skills I learned at WOUB with the Adobe Suite. WOUB allowed me to get my hands on really early while allowing me to really get an understanding of the industry. I learned how to work and grind on a daily basis in order to grow. It made me so versatile in the work I was able to do and the areas I was able explore.”