1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Arriving to an empty building

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by valpo87, Oct 19, 2014.

  1. old_tony

    old_tony Well-Known Member

    In about two years there's going to be a thread with this title but it's going to be about people who were going to work their shift on the copy desk only to find the paper had been closed down.
     
  2. Madison Sports

    Madison Sports New Member

    The take-away from this is obvious: ALWAYS send a note to the athletic director, or at least the coach, letting them know you are coming and verifying the start time and location. It takes a few seconds and not only does it help prevent embarrassing problems for you, it indicates an air of professionalism to your area's ADs.

    If it's a volleyball tournament or wrestling event, you can find out when the semifinals and finals are expected to begin so you don't have to hang out there all day. You can also remind them that you need results sent afterward, if you aren't able to stay until the end.

    There's really no excuse not to do this.
     
  3. Tarheel316

    Tarheel316 Well-Known Member

    I had some similar happen and it was at a game where I was also to send my story and photo to a paper in a neighboring county. I arrived at 6:45 for a 7 p.m. game, which is more than enough time because this conference plays JV games on opposite sites. But as I was entering the parking lot, the activity bus from the other school was leaving. Uh oh. I parked my Jeep, got out and asked one of the parents what happened. Turns out the coach moved the game up from 7 to 5 due to cold weather. Of course they didn't bother to notify the media or post it on their website.

    Then the parent said, "You didn't miss anything. We lost 10-0." Well, actually, I did. Had to redesign my section front. Then I called the SE from the neighboring county and he had to change his section front, too. He also added that their schools pull the same thing.

    This thread could go on forever with these kinds of stories, I'm sure.
     
  4. Roscablo

    Roscablo Well-Known Member

    I've been out of the covering prep events for about a decade now, but back when you needed a phone line to send a story, I always, always called ahead of time to see if I had a line or where I could get one. These was especially necessary for some of the small towns I went to or places I'd never been before. And man the places they put me to have access to a phone line. In the process, though, they always knew I was coming and could answer questions, etc. That's not something you need to do any more, so I suppose we should just make some other reason to call and make sure things are in order. Maybe actually making sure where the gym is or if there is even a game is a good start!
     
  5. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    I have found that some coaches/ADs answer emails very quickly. Others, not so much. But would not be a bad practice to send emails to both coaches/ADs saying you are planning to cover the game at 7 pm Friday at the Podunk gym. Ask if there is anything you need to know or to update you on any changes.
     
  6. SFIND

    SFIND Well-Known Member

    That is a good idea. I always do that and did that before the night I wrote about on the last page.

    However, in the case of weather, just because the AD answers in the morning and says everything is fine doesn't mean he'll email or call you if the game eventually gets postponed. There have been times when bad weather's in the forecast that I've specifically asked to be notified if the game is canceled. Half the time they don't bother to email us when a game is canceled. Luckily, most schools update their schedules online or put a notice on the school's website.

    The way to do it now Roscablo is to ask if they have wired internet or wireless.
     
  7. MNgremlin

    MNgremlin Active Member

    How do you guys keep track of weather cancellations or other schedule changes if they don't call/email them in?

    As the guy who usually ends up typing up things like our season schedule before the year, I always wonder if the schedule posted at the beginning of the year will stay correct all the way through. I don't want to be the guy who gets in trouble for not knowing about a cancelled game before we send someone out to cover it. It's already happened a couple of times that a soccer game on the schedule was actually just a JV game. Then I'm the one who hears about it, even though I was just typing what was on the schedule.
     
  8. Steak Snabler

    Steak Snabler Well-Known Member

    It certainly got easier the last couple of years I was in preps, as so many coaches, administrators and parents got active on Twitter. Lots of high schools now have official athletics Twitter feeds, which is a great place for those kinds of updates.
     
  9. Doc Holliday

    Doc Holliday Well-Known Member

    Can't say I've ever shown up for an event that didn't happen. Had a few get rained out or cancelled while I was there but nothing like these stories. Guess I've been lucky, although covering college sports the last 20 years probably has something to do with no scheduling issues like you guys.
     
  10. X-Acto

    X-Acto Guest

    That is such a fascinating post.

    So let's get this straight: You had some events get rained out during your tenure as a sports writer! Wow! You've added so much to this conversation.

    Can't wait for your next insightful post!
     
  11. Doc Holliday

    Doc Holliday Well-Known Member

    Once I was at a game that was cancelled because of lightning.
     
  12. Riptide

    Riptide Well-Known Member

    Don't forget that time you bailed because your tummy hurt.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page