When a prep football game butts up against deadline

That's usually how it is, but this is about an eight hour bus ride for one team.

 

Best advice on here...don't wait around for quotes after if you're in a time crunch. Better to go quoteless than to be missing deadline. Also have a clear idea on the two or three game-changing moments. Get that in your story and you can turn it in early if need be.

The other details could follow in a notebook format the next issue if need be.

 

Readers don't care that much about quotes in gamers. Editors, alas, often do. But not as much as they care about deadlines.

 

And if you're looking at the thread now, you probably should have the first half written.

(OK, in the Eastern time zone ...)

 

Except it's a Saturday night game.

 

You all helped immensely. Did my box score as the game progressed and found it to be really easy. Wrote my story during the game so all I had to do was run down to the field, interview a few people, run back up and throw those quotes in. Churned out a decent story. Thanks everyone. This website is pretty awesome.

 

Soon to open branch campuses in Poughkeepsie, Sheboygan and Rancho Cucamonga.

 

As you are finding out, it's important to be organized and be able to work quickly. I suspect most of us could write a nicer, more poetic story in three hours than we can in 20 minutes, but there is an art form to being able to write fast to fit a hole on deadline. There are other times to get cute --- like features and enterprise stuff. But with a gamer --- especially a late gamer --- the priority is always get it right, get the most important stuff in and move quickly.

 

General tip for when you have to write on deadline and your space is significant enough (more than 12-14 inches) enough that just filling your running story with play by play is boring....

Get quotes before the game on some big picture topics.

Say you've got a HS football team and they have an awesome QB. Get some general quote or two about the kid, how his season has gone, how he's improved, etc. Then drop it into the gamer to eat up some space that would otherwise be filled by "in the second quarter, Podunk had two drives that ended in punts...."

Example.....

Joe Shmo completed 25 of 34 passes for 345 yards and two touchdowns, his third straight game of 300 yards passing.

"Joe has really learned our offense well," coach Smith said before the game. "Last year he didn't make a lot of the reads he's making now. And his girlfriend is pretty hot."

Voila

 

Find out where the closest McDonald's is.

McD's has free Wifi and I have filed many a story from one of those where the press box Wifi was either offline or nonexistent. You just never know.

A couple of weeks ago I traveled to a very rich school district's stadium and their wireless froze up, and not one IT person was there to help. I had to use my phone to tweet scoring updates. (And back when I was on the cutting edge, I filed stories on my phone. Those days are long past.)

 

I can still use my phone to file. Sometimes covering small schools in Texas it's a necessity when the nearest accessible WiFi is seven farm roads away. Fortunately those venues are becoming rare, but I had to file that way Friday night. Small town, one 24/7 gas station, no WiFi to be found in town, nearest city 11 miles away. Usually I can drive to the city and file, but the state was drenched in rain and storms this weekend, so game was delayed. To make deadline I had to transfer it to my phone.

Week before that in another town, I headed to McDonald's right after the game and apparently it was the only food joint open anywhere as you couldn't even turn into the parking lot. Instead, went to a hotel lobby.
If all I have to do is file I can usually pop into a McDonald's parking lot, connect and send (sometimes I have to go inside to get a good signal, but not usually) and be on my way. If I still have to do some work, hotels work great. Most hotel clerks are fine with you using the lobby (breakfast area table) to work and file. Many even ask me if I need internet access and tell me how to connect.

Last year during basketball playoffs I found myself at a Hampton Inn and soon a group of people came into the lobby. One came over to make sure they weren't bothering me. I was fine, and told them as much. I don't recall the entire conversation, but they were the family of someone who had gotten married earlier that evening. Next thing I know one (I assume a sister of the bride) brings me a piece of cake. Weird experience. But hey, free cake!

But I digress. Main thing is, it's always good to figure out exactly how you are filing your story before hand, and make sure that, even if you have a card, or use your phone as a hot spot, that it works.

 

Question on using phone to file: Is there a way to send a text file from a laptop to an iphone? Lets say there's no wifi connection and the phone doesn't tether....can I USB the phone to the computer and zap a text file to the notes function on iphone, and then use iphone's email to file?