The news would impact two U.S. cities and interest millions of basketball fans around the world. And Chris Broussard of ESPN was the man who heard it first.

After nearly a month of 19-hour workdays, Broussard finally broke the story of his career: LeBron James would leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and join former Marquette star Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat.

Broussard, a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, spoke before a capacity crowd at the Helfaer Theatre on Tuesday. He said everyone always asks him what covering NBA free agency bonanza last summer was like. He simply responds, “It was crazy.”

During Broussard’s intriguing lecture, he touched upon his coverage of “The Decision” and offered guidance for aspiring journalists as part of the Diederich College of Communication’s annual Axthelm Lecture.

“Your goal should be to be the complete package – that’s what Pete Axthelm was – a tremendous writer but also a great reporter,” Broussard said. “And then you work your way up.”

That Broussard’s career success didn’t happen overnight resonated with Brad Galli, a senior broadcasting and electronic communication major and MUTV Sports Director, who introduced him.

“I hope people can appreciate his journey,” Galli said.

The Oberlin College graduate began his career as an intern at the Indianapolis Star, then worked at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Beacon-Journal in Akron and the New York Times before joining ESPN. He appears regularly as an NBA insider on programs such as “Mike and Mike in the Morning,” “SportsCenter,” and “NBA Fastbreak.”

In his lecture, “The Decision: Journalism, Entertainment or Both,” Broussard paid homage to Pete Axthelm – for whom the lecture series is in part named, and who wrote for the New York Herald Tribune, Sports Illustrated and Newsweek. Axthelm came to Marquette when writing his acclaimed book on basketball, “The City Game.”

Broussard spoke for about 40 minutes before joining three Diederich students – Galli, Ashley De La Torre, a sophomore broadcast and electronic communication major and Erik Schmidt, a junior journalism major and Tribune columnist – in a roundtable discussion.

Schmidt asked Broussard what pressures he faced during “The Decision” saga, particularly in respect to overcoming his competition at ESPN.

“There was pressure, but you also knew that your career wasn’t going to be made or broken on one story,” Broussard said.

De La Torre asked what Broussard thought of the comparisons made between himself and his ESPN colleague Stephen A. Smith.

”Some of it is because we’re black – just like we compare Jimmer Fredette and Steve Nash – but I think we’re different,” Broussard said jokingly.

When it comes to talking about the NBA he is serious, but it is not what clearly defines him.

Journalism is what he does for a living, but it is not his life, Broussard said.

After the lecture, students gathered around Broussard to converse more freely about his career at ESPN and his thoughts on current NBA standings.

“I thought he was very good because he was open and he spoke from his own experiences,” said Jose Manuel Lopez, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences.

For a man who made his mark reporting professional athletes’ decisions, prospective journalism students who chose to attend the event seemingly made a smart decision themselves.