As you develop features and profiles, don’t forget to focus on conflict, a driving force in all storytelling. A profile story without conflict is typically as exciting to read as someone’s resume. Don’t just cite someone’s accomplishments and stats, sprinkled with some general comments. Instead, tell stories that involve your characters, scenes, plots, and conflict. [...]
Jun
20
2012
20
2012
Feb
6
2012
6
2012
Take a break from game coverage
Look at most college newspaper sports sections and you’ll see pretty much the same thing – stories about games: Precedes, folos, sidebars, columns. Sometimes, live tweets. Unfortunately, few college sports sections focus on stories outside the lines, as the Indiana Daily Student did this week. Why the dirth of non-game coverage? Habit. Laziness. Lack of [...]
Oct
21
2010
21
2010
Kentucky Kernel works the edges
Kentucky Kernel adviser Chris Poore constantly talks to his staff about “working the edges,” bringing readers to places and moments they can’t see otherwise. His reporter, Aaron Smith, did just that earlier this week, revealing how some basketball players act when nobody’s watching (except an intrepid reporter, that is). Smith captures two freshmen, Brandon Knight [...]
Jun
30
2010
30
2010
ESPN’s ‘Paradise Lost’ is instructive, engaging
When the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo was canceled, few people outside the Louisiana bayous cared.
Aside from anglers and locals, few people had even heard about it.
But everybody knows about the disaster that started it – the explosion at BP’s oil rig that has allowed 25,000-60,000 barrels of crude to flow into the Gulf of Mexico [...]
Jan
21
2010
21
2010
Add some ’soul’ to your sports coverage
Games still dominate sports journalism, serving as a sort of skeleton to all other coverage.
But features are the heart and soul of sports coverage, allowing readers to dig deeper into social, economic, psychological and historical connections.
Of course, we usually don’t think about sports in these elevated terms. Instead too many sports departments focus more on [...]
How best to turn yourself from sports fan to professional sports journalist? Quickly moving beyond general guidance about sports writing, Joe Gisondi focuses on the nitty-gritty, with hands-on, practical advice on covering 20 specific sports. From auto racing to wrestling, you’ll find tips on the seemingly straightforward—where to stand on the sideline and how to identify a key player—along with the more specialized—figuring out shot selection in lacrosse and understanding a coxswain’s call for a harder stroke in rowing. Preparing you for just about any game, match, meet, race, regatta or tournament you’re likely to cover, Field Guide to Covering Sports is the ideal go-to resource to have on hand as you master the beat. You can 
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