[First Essay] Atlanta Hawks beat out the Golden State Warriors

Just go to one of your high school games and write a 400 word story. It doesn't matter if its basketball, softball, baseball, table tennis or chess. Show that you can cover something locally.

Also, you don't have to be in a rush to write for a local paper. Write for the high school paper and do your best. Write in college for a year as well. Then you have three years to build clips as a stringer or in an internship.

 

Matt, I read the previous thread and am glad to see you're still plugging away at writing opportunites. To add to the advice above (which, I stress, should be heeded):

The difference between a sports reporter and any Johnny Blog Lately is that the reporter is there, at the game and talking to the coaches and players afterward.

Watching the Hawks on TV and compiling a game story is a good exercise in writing, researching and building a narrative, but it's not something that should be sent to a newspaper editor as a story.

Best of luck.

 

It helps to have a handful of clips that have quotes. As a beginner, you won't write many things, if anything without quotes. It will help your editor gauge how well you ask questions, and how you can make them flow within your story.