Covering the same game for two papers

The very first high school football game I covered - a long time ago - I got paid by the Waco Tribune-Herald, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Dallas Times Herald. That was a good night.

 

I used to do this all the time, and I had some very good editors who'd let me coordinate such events. Helped that the second story often was for an afternoon paper, giving me plenty of deadline leeway.

As long as you're not working for direct competitors, I don't see the issue.

I am surprised the Inquirer and Daily News would use the same guy, though. They're still trying to sell separate products, and it'd be nice if they had some variation in their coverage. (Writer of both pieces will have same perspective, etc.)

 

I do it all the time for my college football beat in the fall, minor league baseball in the summer and cover racing for my paper and a couple of websites. Any time I can double dip, heck yeah. For the football and baseball, I always writer two stories with different angles. For the racing stories, the website stuff is usually more detailed specifically for knowledgeable readers, so they turn out different, too.

I still laugh at the conversation I had the first time I did this. The sports editor from the visiting team's paper calls and asks if I can send them a story with an angle for their team. I said, "I don't know. I want to go out after the game or my dog's sick or whatever, blah, blah, blah..."
"We need eight inches and pay $75."
"What time would you like it filed?"

 

If both papers are aware and both are on board, cool.

If you're doing a story for a paper that's essentially your competitor, not cool.

I used to do gamers for the local summer baseball team in Godless County*, and sometimes would rework the stories for our sister paper in Monkey County*. They'd both have my byline on them, but they'd be different stories with different focuses.

*Obviously, the names of the real counties have been changed to protect the not-so innocent.

 

only two? ... slacker ;D

 

Did this just last night. Filed for a sister paper in our chain, whose team was playing here. Because the game ended so late, I didn't have time to write a second version, which I normally would do. But I did make an effort to get post-game quotes from both sides.

 

I have a similiar situation as MTM, only switched -- my full-time job is a weekly and my part-time is a daily.
Six of the eight schools I cover for the weekly (I'm a one-man shop) are also covered by the daily (14 high schools, two small colleges), which is in another town.
I often cover the same event for both, but write separate stories. Sometimes both have the same quotes, sometimes different ones are used.
Both papers are fine with the arrangement and I get to keep a roof over my head and food on the table.
Heck, most of the double-covered coaches know about it and like it because it means one less person they have to talk to for season previews or post-game interviews than if each paper sent someone.

 

What about doing a feature using some of the same material for two places?

 

If you work for Paper A and freelance for Paper B and you give Paper B the story after Paper A publishes your story, that's fine.

If you freelance for both papers and give them stories on the same subject with some of the same material/quotes, I would make sure both papers know and are cool with it.

 

Ah, memories. People still use stringers?

 

At some places, about all that are left are stringers.

 

I got busted being a homer once.

Covered a college baseball game for my paper and the visiting team's paper. Visiting team won 3-1 on a 3-run home run that was basically a fly ball that the wind got a hold of.

I called it a wind-aided home run for the losing team story. I didn't mention the wind in the winning team story.

An alert reader saw both stories and called me out on it. I probably deserved it.