Games provide the foundation for all sports coverage, yielding features, notes, columns, and, of course, game stories.
For nearly a hundred years, game stories have been the main course for sports fans wanting to gorge on everything they can about their favorite teams and players – even when they already watched the game.
Unfortunately, game stories are [...]
Mar
24
2010
24
2010
Mar
4
2010
4
2010
Work hard (and realize when you screw up)
Keith Gave didn’t know what to expect from Red Wings players when he walked in their locker room for the first time. After all, he was the third writer assigned the hockey beat by the Detroit Free Press in only 18 months. Gave also knew that he was not a hockey expert.
The Red Wings players [...]
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 [...]
Jan
8
2010
8
2010
Jan
7
2010
7
2010
Coverage commandments for a new semester
Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. And those who sit around, hoping to find stories on the fly, buzz back with poor coverage. Or something like that. Anyway, here are a few tips for planning sports coverage for the new semester.
1. Assign writers to specific beats, allowing them to immerse themselves into their [...]
Jan
6
2010
6
2010
Sports staffs deliver terrific coverage ‘on break’
College sports journalists remain as busy as ever (despite being on holiday break from school) thanks to new media opportunities.
No longer do college staffs have to wait for students to return to campus and read old news in a print edition. Now, sports fans can receive updates on their favorite teams as easy as you [...]
Jan
1
2010
1
2010
Tweeting and live-blogging the Outback Bowl
The Daily Northwestern is covering the Outback Bowl live and online this afternoon, sending two reporters and a photographer to Tampa for the Wildcats’ football game against Auburn. The newspaper is live game-blogging (or glogging) with Cover It Live, a web-based tool that allows live commentary during any event, not unlike the the glogs offered [...]
Dec
29
2009
29
2009
Sports reporting will survive Woods’ affair
Most sports fans get far more excited about fantasy leagues and analysis than by an athlete’s personal fantasies. Yet, Mitch Albom believes sports journalism is devolving into gossip, rumor and paparazzi.
Seems like a lot of people are angered by how Tiger Woods has been treated in the media during the past month. Woods’ affairs have [...]
Sep
9
2009
9
2009
More models for online reporting
The Roanoke Times did a tremendous job covering the Hellgate 100K race through the mountains of western Virginia. Yes, that’s right – 66 miles. And the course elevates 13,000 feet over the peaks of the Jefferson National Forest. Check this out for some suggestions for covering events on, and around, your campus.
The St. Petersburg Times [...]
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 
Writers shouldn’t vote for Hall, BCS champ
I’ll say it again – journalists should not be part of the news; instead, we should be reporting the news. Yet, sports writers have been doing just that, making news during the past two days – first, for their votes on baseball’s Hall of Fame, and, second, for their decisions about BCS champ.
Sure, the BCS [...]