Future Sports Journalist

Dude, if you're GOOD, even those games can be totally epic.

Obviously, if I knew how, I'd make that blue font. But I'm too lazy to figure it out, so I'm expending the same time and energy typing these two sentences instead.

Seriously though—you're totally right. I was thinking about pieces like profiles and features, not just a gamer. But even with those, you can overdo it. I've done it. Had editors fuss at me for it.

Usually they'll appreciate you swinging for the fences, though. Just know that you will miss sometimes. And that's okay.

 

I suggest reading this and noticing that nobody said they were happier as a journalist than not:

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/91394/

 

God, I used to be guilty of this all the time when I first started out. Now as an editor, that stuff drives me insane. Just tell me what happened and move on.

 

You're right. Plainly, it's not practical to uncork a 20-inch story for every event you cover. Often, the game doesn't need or isn't alloted that space. And not every anecdote is pertinent (wish I would have learned that sooner in my career).

But that doesn't mean this style has no place. When time and space allow, I think the ability to see and write a game story that reads more like a feature is valuable. That's what I would rather read.

People that are interested enough in big games are going 1) attend/watch/listen themselves or 2) find the score before they read the paper or go the website. People that aren't that interested won't read a straight game story, but you have a slightly better chance to catch their eye if you can do something more with the story.

Nicholas Dawidoff wrote this on NYTimes.com over the weekend ...

"An editor at Sports Illustrated once advised me that the art of (sportswriting) rested in telling people who already know what happened a story so compelling that they forget everything and, at the end, wish they’d been there."

That was true for SI then and now because it's a weekly. It's becoming the reality of newspapers now because of the Internet and 24-hour news cycles. And what if you have an afternoon game? Everybody knows the score, the big plays and has seen the significant quotes on the news. You've got to give the audience something unique.

If you have a press pass, you should be able to produce a story that a fan can't do just by watching the game and going online for a box score. If you can't do that, what is the justification of your being there?

If I was an editor I would rather work with a writer that took this approach rather than simply trying lay out all the facts quickly and concisely. I think, under the right circumstances, you could tone down this writer, where it would be difficult to make the more straightforward writer find and report better details and angles.

 

The cynicism here is understandable. And maybe good for him (and others like him) to hear. It's a tough business.

But it's also true that it doesn't have to be a terrible miserable life. It hasn't been that way for me. I know it's uncouth to say anything other than: This life sucks, and it will crush your dreams. But I've had a blast.

Nothing in life is easy. It's always hard to make it to the top, or even the top third, of any profession. But you certainly can't get there if you throw in the towel before you even begin. If you want to try anyway, here is my advice:

1. Be brave and bold. If you're talented, don't assume you'll be discovered.

2. Be mobile. Be willing to live anywhere when you're young.

3. Read obsessively. Especially people more talented than you.

4. Seek out mentors.

5. Don't be an asshole. Even on SJ. You'd be stunned where one connection can take you.

 

To kind of follow this up a little bit:

I would tell anyone to give it five years. Be all-in for five years, and have a back-up plan that you can act on after that. And once you put your back-up plan into motion, keep plugging away at this, too. L. Jon Wertheim has an Ivy League law degree, I believe. So does Geoff Calkins. From Harvard. The landscape is littered with men and women with unconventional sports writing backgrounds.

 

This is also good advice. Especially the asshole part.

No, but seriously, DD knows more stuff than I do, so between his smart and concise five-point presentation and my ridiculous, profanity-laced whatever-that-was*, pay more attention to this.

* I plead temporary partial insanity, caused by fatigue and ... well, you'll understand more whenever/if-ever that story runs.

 

Thanks for the lecture. My point was writers, particularly young writers, should be mindful of their audience, space and purpose. Writers who shoot for awards and clips with every story rarely are serving their readerships properly.

Oh, and everything Double Down said was right. (When is it not?) I love this business. I have had a lot of success over the past five or so years, even as colleagues are laid off left and right. But, as I said in my first post in this thread, the key is being good, continuing to get better and working your ass off at tasks that may not showcase your full talent.

 

Didn't intend that to come off as a lecture. We seem to be endorsing the same idea — that writers should be, as you said, mindful of audience, space and purpose.

If chasing awards brings out your best, then do it. But if it influences you otherwise, don't. I do think some people are too caught up with awards. They are nice on a résumé but you'll probably include those stories as clips anyway, so the hiring editor can judge it on his own.

 

Not even necessarily losing money, although nowadays, it's more likely. Papers were shedding jobs even when they were profitable. And many still are, but they're saddled with debt from stupid purchasing decisions by corporate.

 

Nothing wrong with swinging for the fences, but there's a time and place. If the boss asks you to hit the ball to the right side to make sure the runner moves over, then you do it. If you can hit for power to the opposite field, then so much the better. But don't pop out to second trying to be a hero.

Also, for the OP? Don't torture metaphors. No one likes that guy.

 

Ha, everything about this was great to me. Nice post.