Jenkins to headline Sports Journalism Summit

I'm leaving for the airport in two hours.

If anybody's already in town tonight, PM me.

Also, Vazquez at Niemann is a pretty damn intriguing probable matchup Friday at the Trop.

 

John Sawatsky just finished with basics of interviewing; pretty interesting stuff. I liked his description of spheres and how we should try to put our subject in the sphere of not just where the interview is taking place, but also where he can describe/explain whatever it is you're talking about.

Coming up: The AP's Amy Sancetta on multi-media.

 

Amy provided great insight on reporter-photographer collaboration and communication at events.

She even included two Plain Dealer shout-outs.

 

Anyone know if Mizzou07 is there?

 

I heard he's still in hiding.

 

so it is a he?

 

Really enjoyed the town hall meeting with pretty much everyone who's going to be presenting taking part in a talk about cheating in sports. And there were a lot of good questions asked as well, and not just in this session. I was talking to Amy at the gathering, and she was impressed by the questions asked as well after her session.

 

Don't know, but the odds are that way by default.

 

OutSTANDING second day at the summit.

 

w/apologies, Notes on Seminar: "Will I have my job tomorrow?"


Dan McGrath, ame Chicago Tribune
Dave Morgan, ee Yahoo Sports
Teri Thompson, editor NY Daily News investigative & Sunday
Ronnie Ramos, sr editor sports / features at AJC



Role of reporter is changing by the day. Reporters have more leeway in how they bring analysis and interpretation to game coverage. We should have the best infomration by being there, and

We're looking for strong reporters, who can cut through what they see and bring authority to it. What do you bring that differentiates the experience?

People are looking for information, whether it's investigative, through your personal or view of the world. Hope they are well rounded people and have a conversation about a lot of things. Have a bedside manner, and a sense to people that they are learning something from you.

Print and website: Online has figured out that personalities . what do you do with beat writers 5 years from now in print? give opinions. about half are giving their opinion on blogs. Why not in print? Blogs are the columns of the day. If a blogger like Dave O'Brien in Atlanta gets 2 million hits a year, how do we leverage that in print?

Specialists: Media outlets are bringing in a specialist (such as legal expert hired by Yahoo to cover Balco, another kid from England to help with soccer) for certain stories.

Brand yourself: Think of yourself as a reporter first. All successful writers are reporters first.

[continued]

 

[continued -- this is part II)

Multimedia duties: In early days, reporters knew how to do every job in the sports department. They copy edited, did it all. Now learning to shoot video, blogging, the multitasking -- that's the new wrinkle.
But if you are investigating someone who is skittish about you even being there, realize that multimedia has limits.
Editors and publishers are falling in love with technology .... but if the web numbers aren't there, challenge the idea that all technology is great. Why do the extra work if people aren't paying attention?
Young reporters may want to diversify also by spending time news reporting.

How is online changing how you do sports?
What is the blaance. What is best way to give the news to the readers? Newspapers have fallen behind in this. Websites do it so much better.
But be careful. The race to be first can end up in a flurry to set the record straight. At the end of the day, it's not about being first -- readers trust depends on the information being right.
A beat writer is not going to answer text messages during the game.
Aggregation is gaining steam at some places. Can we gather up all the information about a popular subject? Put it under your umbrella, succinctly and in one place, you build value.
the good thing about the web is that you can change things on the spot. No sacred cows. And you can try out things with less risk.
Your credibility is at stake when you dump on the web.
You can spend a lot of time knocking down stories instead of breaking ones that are true.
You have the opportunity to be part of the future. Sports writing is changing as we speak.


Fan blogs / community sites /user generated content

Be careful with (especially anonymous) fan blogs because they carry the imprimatur of your brand. Thus they have the ability to tarnish it.
We are not in the business to be the fan.
Online is challenging because it's two-way (not just info pushed out by print or TV).
But these can be great sources of information that can help you find what is going on behind the scenes, such as, a blog that a player or athlete's family member keeps.

 

continued -- take 3 -- this is the last one


PREPARING YOURSELF for this job market/advancment within it
-- Diversity your talents.
-- Be really passionate, curious, intelligent
-- willing to learn and collaborate.
-- be a team player not a lone ranger
-- a good ego: I better deliver if people are coming to read me.
-- become indispensable in the job you want to do. not by doing it the same as 10 different people. it's doing it better, whether by different technology or deeper knowledge of subject area.
-- understand the quid pro quo between subject and reporter. the bedside manner of making and keeping sources on difficult stories.
-- expertise in breaking news
-- being good on deadline
-- develop a voice, esp. for blogging, because that is more personalized
-- read a lot. read to learn. read outside of sports. develop yourself as a person. feed your intellect.
-- be comfortable being mobile. you should have a recorder to protect yourself from misquoting anyone.
-- write a clear sentence
-- think! worry about your story and information, not the lead.


BUT WHAT ABOUT shrinking budgets?
-- figure out your priorities. the days of us doing everything are gone.

what is a credible source? can blogs be that? do you credit a blog?
--if you publish another report, you are implying verification -- even if you didn't verify it. you are just as wrong.
-- keep in mind the information is only as good as the source.
-- 2 separate sources isn't the same as one source telling you the same thing twice
-- a beat writer in another state is not a source