What are you, as journalists, looking for from a sports info department

I've always said every SID should spend at least a month at a paper just to see how the other side works and what they need. Big pet peeve of mine: If I go to cover your hoops game, make your game notes relevant. That is, include the important, timely stuff right out front. For my gamer that night, I don't give a damn who next year's recruits are, or what your coach's all-time record is. You want to stick that in the back, fine. But I've seen enough times where that stuff is right out front, smack in the middle of page 1. Sorry, I just don't give a crap about that. And keep the bio/notes concise. Don't just slap two lines about every game into a running bio. It gets too damn long after about the 12th or 15th game. Give me three or four quick-hitters. You might say it's my job to read that stuff and cull it. But I've possibly just got to your arena 20 minutes before the game because I was shooting or covering a HS event. Short, sweet, to the point.

 

Basically just a question, here, but this happens at pretty much every school I go to, and I don't know why:

During a basketball game, for example, you're getting updated stats at, like, every timeout, almost instantly. This stuff is garbage to me, for the most part. I very rarely need to see a box score at the under-eight timeout of the first half.

But, since I have to file for the Web immediately after a game, I DO need the box right after the game ends. For some reason, the final box takes freaking forever to get passed out (relatively speaking). Why is this?

 

Most of this can be boiled down to being professional. Every situation is different, but professionalism applies universally. Return phone calls as promptly as possible. Understand the issues facing the media covering your school. Be nice. He helpful. You might be doing more writing now, but the difference in your new job and your old one is you are now in what might be termed a quasi service industry. Share what you're allowed to share and be up front about what you're not allowed to share. Find solutions. If a coach partcular coach doesn't want to talk or won't be available soon enough to meet a writer's deadline, don't simply say, "Sorry, can't help you." Find an alternative. In most cases, they are there to be had.

On top of all that, the suggestion about Georgia is as good as it gets. The journos who have worked with Claude Felton have been unbelievably spoiled by how well that department is run and how helpful their staff is. If you want tips, I'd call Claude.

 

Couldn't agree more!