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"I" in game reports

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by ripthejacker, Mar 12, 2007.

  1. ripthejacker

    ripthejacker New Member

    Wow. All these critical thinking, cutting-edge sports writers and noone can come up with a case or method that might make it OK to use "I" in a game report. Why, again are newspapers in trouble?

    The ones prospering are Web sites that are chock-full of columns about newsworthy items.

    Hey, didn't Thompson write his first Gonzo story about the Kentucky Derby? It's a great read, until it gets nearly incoherent toward the end, but that's beside the point.

    And I knew I shouldn't have mentioned that I was a young writer (25 in my second year at a daily, since you're wondering). That's when the old vets think it's time to tee off on you. I knew it was going to get hot. Fast.

    I'd like to reiterate that we don't use this style, our competitor does - and badly I might add, again.

    I know AP style is something that takes practice to master and, rightfully it's a technique in which we should take pride. That does not mean, however, that it is the only way to tell a story. Nor does it mean that a pasteurized story is what a reader wants to read.

    How many good books have you read that were written in the first person? Even stories where the author describes watching an event. Sure, we're not writing books, but is it so crazy to think a reader would not be bogged down or distracted by writing a story from your perspective?

    Yikes. Let's see how many times the following examples get quoted in your fiery, oh-so-witty responses.

    Just think..instead of saying
    "Juan Mendoza couldn't find his footing near the goal box and slipped on his back sprinting for the free ball, which proved to be the last time the Scorpions moved the ball in scoring range."

    Something like...

    "Juan Mendoza slipped on his back sprinting for a free ball, which proved to be the last time the Scorpions moved the ball in scoring range.
    Sunday's storm took an incredible toll on the field and affected everyone's footing as a result. It took just a few minutes on the sidelines before the water from the soggy turf soaked into my socks through my tennis shoes, which created small craters in the mud with every step."

    Sure it's longer, but you'd have to get quotes for observations like that. And sure you can do that, and in a game like this the logical question is to ask how the footing affected performance, but it could free up room in a story for other quotes or add to a player's feeling about the field.

    Maybe?
     
  2. Chi City 81

    Chi City 81 Guest

    No. In fact, both of your examples are pretty poorly written. You have no place in a gamer, unless you were playing (which then would mean you shouldn't be writing it due to conflict of interest). For the most part, you also have no place in a column. Unless you're Jay Mariotti.

    But yeah, not wanting to copy HST, or thrust ourselves into a story in which we have no place, makes us the reason newspapers are failing. ::)

    Do you honestly think most of us don't realize HST covered sports from time to time? I've read everything the man has ever written. I also know that I don't have a shot in hell of pulling off his voice. I'm guessing you don't, either. Thanks for the history lesson, though.

    p.s. No one gives a shit about your age. Except sportschick.
     
  3. Piotr Rasputin

    Piotr Rasputin New Member

    Because they often hire dunces who come cheap and have little knowledge or respect of the craft or history of journalism, and little actual appreciation of the great writers who came before them.

    Instead, they waltz around actively TRYING to write like Hunter S. Thompson (REAL non-trendy choice you made there, slick) or Gary Smith, or Bill Plaschke, or (attention: quality drop approaching) Bill Simmons, or Scoop Jackson, or any other writer their buddies say is cool. They spend more time thinking that imitating these people is a good idea than they do trying to create their own voice within the context of trying to be a journalist/storyteller, not a story.

    You asked a question, it was answered. Unanimously. Don't get bitter when the answer displeases you.
     
  4. ballparkman

    ballparkman New Member

    Juan Mendoza slipped on his back sprinting for a free ball, which proved to be the last time the Scorpions moved the ball in scoring range.
    Sunday's storm took an incredible toll on the field and affected everyone's footing as a result. It took just a few minutes on the sidelines before the water from the soggy turf soaked into my socks through my tennis shoes, which created small craters in the mud with every step."


    So what you're telling us is that there was not one person (left guard Allen Buttsmack was covered in so much mud that you could not read his uniform number), not one play that you could describe (as Benny Shipshod dove for the fumble, he slid through the mud for 5 yards and still could not hold on to the ball as Team Bumfuct retained possession) amd not one stat (the game, played in a downpour on a muddy field, had 11 fumbles, of which eight resulted in a loss of possession) that gives the reader a better feel for the elements than your tennis shoes?

    I cannot remember any instance when it ever occurred to me to inject myself into a game story. I've just never been that important to something I've covered.

    You seem more concerned about being a part of the story than covering it, and as far as I'm concerned, if my major competitor is writing those types of game stories, I'm feeling pretty comfortable.
     
  5. Smasher_Sloan

    Smasher_Sloan Active Member

    Tell me all the people who have succeeded using the Hunter S. Thompson approach in the last 40 years.

    There you go.
     
  6. txsportsscribe

    txsportsscribe Active Member

    >>>Sunday's storm took an incredible toll on the field and affected everyone's footing as a result. It took just a few minutes on the sidelines before the water from the soggy turf soaked into my socks through my tennis shoes, which created small craters in the mud with every step.<<<

    i'm underwhelmed.
     
  7. LiveStrong

    LiveStrong Active Member

    Another instance of someone sounding like they got into this profession so THEY could be the star, the story and the pseudo-celebrity.
     
  8. Dude, if you want to write columns, write columns ... just know it's a harder gig to get because "everyone" wants to do it but very few are good at it.

    But don't let that crap seep into a straight news story. If you're determined to write about soggy socks you can write that same sentence ... just take the damn "my" out of it (and the editor will take the rest out later) ...
     
  9. andyouare?

    andyouare? Guest

    I blame ESPN. ;D
     
  10. alleyallen

    alleyallen Guest

    Rip...couldn't you have explained the same crappy field conditions by talking about the shoes of the PLAYERS instead of your own shoes? You're taking a legit journalistic response and come up with the idea that because we don't use the word I, our stories are weak and lifeless.

    Uhm, it's clear then that you haven't been writing for very long, nor have you read very much. Real story tellers let what happened and their ability to use rich, full and complete (as well as accurate) words and phrases, not by using themselves as a point of perspective.

    Want to put the reader on the sideline with you? Describe the sideline, not yourself.
     
  11. Mystery_Meat

    Mystery_Meat Guest

  12. RedCanuck

    RedCanuck Active Member

    Simple, learn other ways to tell a story than the inverted triangle/pyramid/whatever, and use them without adding yourself. Check out some of the postings elsewhere here about things like narrative. Pick up some of the elements of storytelling you learned in literature classes dealing with fiction — irony, foreshadowing, juxtaposition, dialogue (if possible) etc. and experiment with them first.
     
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