Check out this terrific story from ESPN’s Pat Forde about a tiny Kentucky school trying to win the state title, a la “Hoosiers.” And these small-town players appear to have a big-time chance to pull it off. More importantly, Forde pulls off a terrific story that includes a terrific narrative, great observations and solid reporting – a piece that can serve as a model for any aspiring sports journalist. Check it out.
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Matt Kenseth
How does a driver (Matt Kenseth) win the Daytona 500 by racing fewer than 400 miles? Read how national and local writers address an aspect of auto sports that drives both intense and casuals fans batty. Sort of like ending a decisive World Series game in the fifth inning. (Wait, that almost happened.) (more…)
I’m both freaked out and mesmerized by this possible future for sports events offered by ‘Humpy’ Wheeler, former president of Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (more…)
Nice story by Jesse Baumgartner on North Carolina’s victory over Duke last night in the Daily Tar Heel. Solid writing. But a comment or two from the opposing team elevates stories like this. Still, good job. … David Ely’s game story chronicles North Carolina’s fourth straight victory in Durham. Pretty amazing. (more…)
In order to protect its copyrighted phrases, the NCAA released a list of terms that cannot be used without prior approval, such as Elite Eight, Final Four, Frozen Four and Big Dance. But don’t be alarmed. Clearly nobody can prevent the use of terms and phrases in editorial writing. You can even use an NCAA logo if it is used for an editorial purpose, such as a fact box. (more…)
How’s your school doing on the recruiting front this fine National Signing Day (otherwise called Christmas by football coaches and Rivals.com)? Several colleges are blogging news through the day. Few news items attract more readers than recruiting. A few years ago, a sports editor for the Atlanta Journal & Constitution said a single sentence on someone signing with, say, Georgia Tech, could generate more than 10,000 hits within an hour. So post the news as you get it. Then, compile these items into a nice overall package for tomorrow’s print editions. No print tomorrow? Then, file your roundup story online.
Is MLB.com hiring as many sports reporters, stats stringers, and pitch f/x operators as Monster.com suggests? Just received an email indicating this is so, along with a note warning that this could be my last chance to prove I can make it in the big leagues. Actually, that happened in 1983 when I had difficulty hitting the 90 mph sliders in a Florida semipro league. (Perhaps, MLB is really implying I can cover major-league games.) Since I have a job, I will pass this info along to you, hoping you can hit a home run with your application, knocking it out of the park in your interview to score a job. (Yeah, I know. Cut it out.) Here’s the link for the jobs advertised. The requirements posted for each team are the same:
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Here are some stories about sports and media you may have missed:
■ Fewer media requested credentials for Sunday’s Super Bowl. Still, 4,589 media folks did ask to cover the game. (more…)
Finding, or breaking, news is only part of the equation in sports journalism any more. You also need to attract readers, building traffic through posts on other blogs, Web sites and social networks. That’s what the Daily Nebraskan did yesterday. When a sports reporter reported that a top-ranked linebacker had committed to Nebraska, editors sent the story to a Web site widely read by Cornhusker football fans. As a result, the online publication received about 10 times more hits for this news than it does for its top story of the day. A copy editor for the college newspaper offers some useful tips for promoting stories online. (more…)
