12-year-old Noelle Taylor will be the Kid Reporter when the Brooklyn Nets host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday
When the Brooklyn Nets announced “Kids Day” as one of their theme games for the 2025-26 NBA season, the event matched with one of YES Network’s broader goals for the campaign: highlight youth across Brooklyn and shine a light on local schools and young talent. And YES Network’s “Kid Reporter” initiative was born.
During the offseason, the network’s broadcast personnel — Director John Purcell, Associate Director Samantha Hickey, Graphics Coordinator Rasheed Tyree, and Lead Nets Producer Josh Isaac — ideated on how to create fresh, new content to elevate the production and incorporate a student reporter into the live broadcast.
“Once we solidified the idea and mapped out potential storylines,” says Isaac, “we pitched it to Executive Producer/VP, Production, Jared Boshnack, who supported the concept from the very beginning. We believed it would strengthen our coverage while also helping us attract and engage younger viewers.
“From the outset,” he continues, “there was genuine passion and collaboration across all teams involved. That early buy-in and shared commitment ultimately turned the idea into a successful and impactful reality.”
To date, there have been three Kids Days for YES this season — the Nets are 3-0 during those games. For Brooklyn’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, March 1, 12-year-old Noelle Taylor will serve as Kid Reporter.
Ava Suarez was the YES Network Kid Reporter for the Nets vs. Denver Nuggets broadcast on Jan. 4.
This season, all the participants have been middle school students and members of the Nets Kids Dancers program. The initiative has provided additional “momentum, energy, and positivity” to the YES broadcasts, Isaac says.
He gives a shoutout to the Nets Kids Dancers coaches for helping develop their confidence, stage presence, and professionalism skills that translate well to being on camera. Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment (BSE) Global Manager, Communications, Julia Way and Senior Director, Entertainment, Criscia Long, who play important roles in the overall collaboration with YES, oversee mini-audition sessions to identify energetic students who are comfortable on camera.
After the audition, YES selects students who exhibit “strong personality, confidence, and an interest in stepping into the reporter role,” Isaac says. The YES team helps the selected students prepare for their day as Kid Reporter, reviewing interview questions and coordinating their outfits to not only reflect their personalities but ensure that they’re confident in the role.
The initiative requires collaboration across several departments: production, Nets public relations and operations, BSE, YES Network operations, and the Kid Reporter and their parents.
“Preparation begins well before game day,” notes Isaac, “with alignment on interview subjects, segment timing, access points, wardrobe guidance, credentialing, and approvals. On game day, everything runs on a tightly managed production timeline to ensure the Kid Reporter is in the right place at the right time while still creating a fun and supportive experience.”
The Kid Reporter normally appears in one of the broadcast’s open segments, interviewing a Nets player. In addition, they participate in the coach’s press conference and a pregame segment and join broadcast talent at the announcers’ table during the third quarter.
Not all the Kid Reporters have expressed an interest in pursuing a professional career in sports media, public relations, or communications, Isaac says, but the opportunity to work with YES provides early exposure to those respective areas. “For many, it opens their eyes to new possibilities and introduces them to roles within sports and broadcasting that they may not have previously considered.”
Over the current season, YES has continued to iterate and evolve the Kid Reporter initiative to make it “fresh, engaging, and more immersive each time,” he says. In its inaugural broadcast, on Dec. 6, 2025, Kid Reporter Dean Kim went behind the scenes at Barclays Center, interviewed head coach Jordi Fernández and guard Drake Powell, and joined the announcers during the broadcast. For subsequent games, YES has aimed to build on the momentum and expand the experience to include visits to the production trucks, arena food tours, and an interview with the team’s sideline reporter.
“The goal,” says Isaac, “was to give viewers a true sense of everything it takes to put on a live broadcast highlighting all the moving parts that make game day possible.”
Joss Brand served as the Kid Reporter on YES Network during the Brooklyn Nets–Washington Wizards broadcast on Feb. 7.
Below is Kid Reporter Joss Brand’s timeline for the Feb. 7 Kids Day, the Washington Wizards–Brooklyn Nets game at Barclays Center:
12:15 p.m. — Meets the YES Production Team at the TV truck12:45 p.m. — Attends the production meeting with YES Network talent to review show rundown and segment placement1:15 p.m. — Sits in on Jordi Fernandez’s press conference and asks a prepared questionApprox. 1:40 p.m. – Tapes interview with Brooklyn Nets player Ben Saraf (via ENG crew)Approx. 1:50 p.m. — Tapes interview with YES Network sideline reporter Meghan Triplett (via ENG crew)2 p.m. — Records on-camera standup (“Coming up next, my interview with…”)2:30 p.m. — Food-taste segment inside Barclays Center (operations coordination for location access)
The key goals of the Kid Reporter initiative are four-fold: promote and celebrate youth in a positive light; create fun, engaging content for fans; inspire the next generation; and strengthen connection with the Brooklyn community. “When we see excitement from the community, continued enthusiasm from our partners, and young viewers actively wanting to get involved,” Isaac says, “we know the initiative is resonating and achieving its goals.”
It’s still too early to formally confirm whether the initiative will extend into the 2026-27 NBA season, according to Isaac, but, if the Nets continue to include a kids-centric promotion on their calendar, Isaac says, YES Network “would absolutely look to continue showcasing the youth in a positive light as part of our broadcast coverage.
“We’re proud of how this initiative has come together and the joy it has brought to our broadcast and our viewers,” he continues. “Beyond the wins, what stands out most is the confidence, preparation, and personality each [Kid Reporter] brought to the role. It has been inspiring to watch them step into a professional broadcast environment and truly own the moment.”
In addition to Isaac, Purcell, Hickey, and Tyree, Senior Production Manager, Operations, Dana Rowinski and Associate Producer Eilish Montgomery played integral roles in the Kid Reporter initiative.