Sports journalism is not only about covering the game — the advance, the story about who wins, and the follow-up. It’s also about how the teams are doing, who the coaches are, and what it’s like to be involved. And it’s about the structure of the system, such as whether women’s sports are treated equally and whether the use of state and student funds is appropriate.
You’ll want to approach each assignment with a process before, during and after a game. Before, you’ll research the teams, find out about their record, their star players and their coaches. During the game, watch for dramatic moments that can help explain the outcome. Listen for great quotes. Follow the action and take notes on time of the best clips. After the game, look for instances of good sportsmanship and perhaps a determination to excel among players and coaches. Of course, look for things that are unusual or different as well.
Sports is not only about fun and entertainment. There are business and educational institutions, and most of all, human stories, to encounter on the sports beat.
One question for every interview helps bring out unknown elements in a story. Ask a player or coach: What are your goals, and what are your obstacles?
Example of a true controversial sports story:
Linda Randall says her daughter, Randi-Lyn, a student at Radford University in southwestern Virginia, is not a “die-hard” follower of the Highlanders sports teams. Even so, by the time Randi-Lyn graduates in 2012, her parents probably will have paid an average of nearly $1,000 a year in fees to the school’s athletics department. They just didn’t know it from the school’s billing statements or website. ( USA Today )
But is this fair to RU? Does the university have high athletic fees compared to other schools? USA Today took the story further, compared all the athletic fees for the state, and then explained why large schools like Virginia Tech can have low fees and yet have stellar athletic programs. One way to find out more is to go to the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts reports page and search for university reports.
The baseline is statistics
Any news article starts with basic facts, and in sports, that means game and player statistics. To the right is a page of NCAA official stats for a college basketball game in February, 2024. These are usually issued frequently during a game. Both players and the overall game are tracked. See if you can tell how many three point shots were made by each team. You may want to use this basketball statistics guide from Wikipedia.
Experienced reporters will use the statistics to see who has done well, and who is falling behind an old record, and judge which players to interview accordingly.
MORE SPORTS LINKS
“For nearly as long as sports have been televised, athletes have sought to stay in the spotlight by retiring into the broadcast booth…” (Columbia Journalism Review, March 28, 2024).
SPJ video of Suzy Kolber, ESPN Monday Night Countdown – Mar 28, 2023
College sports resources, Journalists toolbox, links to coach salary database, etc.
“Sticking to Sports” — 1-A, WAMU‘s current events program, had a great discussion on sports journalism on Dec. 11, 2019. Can sports journalism be limited to “just sports,” or is there a broader responsibility? Is there an ideal of objectivity, or is it better to openly admit your perspective?
For example, when former president Trump went to the World Series in 2019, He was cheered by some, boo-ed very loudly by others. Fox broadcast network, which was airing the world series, decided not to broadcast it. Should they have?
Women as sports reporters have long been in a minority, and have faced discrimination, according to a 2021 article by Paola Bovin.
Get rid of the “clown questions”
Tennis star Naomi Osaka left the French Open for mental health issues exacerbated, she said, by facing questions at the tournament-required press conferences. (There is) a fundamental struggle between athletes and those who cover them: interviews contested in a press room forum that feel more like a mixed-martial arts octagon than Oprah’s couch.
Sports Photography
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/gallery/2016/sep/09/history-sports-photography-brooklyn-museum-in-pictures
https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/MwKStrCJtolhKg
Photo hoax football fire http://hoaxes.org/weblog/comments/football_fire
Deadspin:
The senseless death of Deadspin, Nov. 9, 2019 New York magazine. Also, Deadspin editorial staff quits en mass, NPR Nov. 1.
Jamele Hill . Hill leaves ESPN. Washington Post. Sept. 14, 2018.
BBC to block hate speech on its Twitter account — Nieman lab Aug 20, 2020
RU Graduate Marty Smith to speak in Salem — Roanoke Times, Aug 2020