Wintersville native Michael Burns, right, with "Today" host Craig Melvin at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, is getting a close-up view of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy, as he works with the production team with the “Today” show from Feb. 6-22. (Photo provided)

WINTERSVILLE – While the general population gathers around the television to view the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, Wintersville native Michael Burns is getting a close-up view as he works with the production staff at NBC’s “Today” show.

The 2001 Indian Creek High School alum works with the production management and logistics team and is currently spending his ninth time at the sports extravaganza in Milan and Cortina from Feb. 6-22 as athletes from around the world vie for gold. As part of his job, Burns is responsible for managing all the logistics for the show and working with every aspect to make sure it can go on air.

The team handles all travel and transport needs, including colleagues and guests, and Burns oversees the show runners (essentially interns) who aid with research, shopping, scouting locations, venue visits, and set up. The team also prepares for all aspects of the show, from making sure people are on the set on time, setting up the green room, helping with props, printing scripts, and any last-minute changes. After the show ends, they are already formulating plans for the next day.

“I say we are like air traffic control for the show. We know where everything and everyone is at all times,” Burns said. “We arrive at the Olympics to an open office space and begin setting up the temporary space so we have a functioning news bureau while the team is on location. We work closely with the tech and engineering team to make sure they are making progress on set up to ensure we can broadcast.”

Despite the neverending buzz of activity, Burns has always had an interest in television which began at a young age. The son of Bob and Kathie Burns of Wintersville, he recalled his days as a member of Indian Creek’s media clubs both in junior and senior high, as well as the Odyssey of the Mind academic competition which promotes creativity, problem solving, teamwork, and more.

“I was always fascinated by TV, news, and live events, and when I got to college I realized there were other ways besides being on-air or a journalist to work in the media and events space. My senior year, I interned at the ‘Today’ show in New York City and found myself assisting the production management and logistics team regularly and really liked that side of the industry.”

He studied communication in college and ultimately obtained an undergraduate degree at Ohio University, a master’s degree at Texas State University, and his Ph.D. at North Dakota State University. Burns spent a year working as a communication specialist at UPMC in Pittsburgh before heading back into the classroom, this time as a professor at Texas State University.

After spending 10 years at TSU, Burns moved on to the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2023 and still teaches full-time, but he still remained rooted within the television industry.

“I have worked really hard to keep a foot in academia and a foot in industry. I think staying connected with industry makes me a better professor,” he explained.

His Olympic experience began while interning at “Today” in New York City while still a senior at OU. As Burns tells it, he gravitated toward the production management team and has continued working with them for the past 20 years.

“I joke that I have had the longest internship in the history of the world,” he quipped.