Covering a hometown Olympian from afar

[HanSenSE]

Figured quite a few might be in this predicament, so I turn to the collective wisdom (and collective wiseguys, of course) of SportsJournalists.com:

We've got one boxer going to London. Of course, we can't staff that (not when there's youth baseball team pictures to run and swimming agate to hack to pieces), but I'm trying to figure out a way to make this as personal as possible for our readers beyond what we'll get from the wire: "America's Joe Jab, from Podunk, stopped Cuba's Fidel Guillen in the third round."

Already got an email into his agent representative to do a sendoff feature, but what to do from there? I'm hoping to collect as many cell numbers as possible on folks who may be going. But should I be doing more? Are the national associations any help?

 

[LongTimeListener]

The agent is all you need. The national association won't do **** especially for a sport like boxing, which isn't really a team sport. Remember, this guy is going to be as motivated as you are to get something done -- he is thinking about a pro career, and the way that starts will probably be a few hometown fights where he needs to sell tickets. The marketing has already begun.

The typical outlet for this kind of stuff has been the "Daily Postcard." just a short email that you can get all dolled up as a graphic. Would adapt easily to a blog or other online outlet. Maybe work out ahead of time that you want a phoner with the guy after every fight.

 

[rmanfredi]

Instead of asking him to write for you - Lord knows what type of quality you'll get - see if he can send over some daily pictures or a video diary of what he's going through. Since he's a younger kid, he's probably more comfortable doing that and using a form of technology to document his life.

 

[Mark2010]

Great ideas. I like the diary thing, whether written or video. Done that before. Ditto for the daily 5-minute phone call.

The problem is that the Olympics are just insane as far as the atmosphere goes. If he's staying in the village, or even if not, there are a million and one distractions with security, drug testing, special press conferences, practices, etc. It's real easy to forget commitments you made earlier. So it helps to have someone else --- an agent, family, etc. -- alongside who can give them a daily reminder.

Smart idea to get on board now ahead of time. Good luck to you.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I had to do this a couple times in the days before social media or online video or quotes being posted to websites...

The more you do before the games, the better off you're going to be during the games.

Always have a backup plan. As good as the intentions may be, the chances that at least once you're not going to get what you hoped or expected back are very high.

We did a daily postcard with a local athlete when they were in Nagano. I think we scheduled 12 of them and she was ecstatic to help but there were two days where we got nothing and then the next day they just showed up again. You have to have the attitude that you'll be happy with what you get and don't obsess over what you don't.

 

[Armchair_QB]

Don't contact the USOC but it would be worth your time to contact the USA Boxing PR director ahead of time and see if he/she can assist you. The NGB PR people will have better access to the athletes than their agent will. NGB reps can get into the Village & the "backstage" areas at the venues.

 

[Double Down]

The deadlines in London should work in your favor.

Definitely try to get in touch with a family before hand and see if you can check in with a mom or a brother or something each day if they're traveling. They might be able to add some scene and context to anything that happens much better than the athlete could, just because their distractions will be fewer.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Don't contact the USOC but it would be worth your time to contact the USA Boxing PR director ahead of time and see if he/she can assist you. The NGB PR people will have better access to the athletes than their agent will. NGB reps can get into the Village & the "backstage" areas at the venues.

Good advice. Also, find out if any family members are traveling with them and get their email addresses and phone numbers.

 

[MonsterLobster]

Getting them to do a daily blog - hosted on your site, of course - would be a great place to start.

 

[Freuchen Icepick]

Cool opportunity to do some unique things, especially online. I would definitely reach out to USOC boxing officials - they might have a lead on photographers/cinematographers who are shooting for them but also funneling content to papers like yours. I would also think about working your ass off to establish a good rapport with the athlete and his Olympic entourage, like mom, brother, girlfriend. If you can "friend" any of them on Facebook and get advance clearance to pull images they'll presumably be posting for friends and family, that could be a golden ticket to regular stream of content. Get a sentence or two and captions from them, and then a semi-regular phone call arranged with the athlete, and you're on the way to a sweet little blog that you can roll out highlights of for the paper. One more thing: Don't shy away from leaning on the athlete for help -- he may be just as keen on cultivating a following, local or otherwise, as you are.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

The USOC media relations department actually will go out of its way to help when they hear the magic words "hometown paper." But USA Boxing will almost surely do even more.

 

[reformedhack]

Once upon a time, at least as recently as the 1998 Nagano Games, the AP would write "specials" for subscriber papers if you gave them enough notice. As I recall, there was a not-insubstantial fee involved. Check with your regional AP bureau and see if that's still in the plans, then weigh the cost vs. benefit.

 

[ringer]

The PR person at USA Boxing is fantastic. Her name is Julie, and I'm sure she'll work something out with you.

Also, try to make inroads at the boxer's local gym ASAP. I'm sure they'll be watching closely and enthusiastically.

Lastly, a caveat: athlete blogs can be risky. Find out beforehand if they can write decently and can express themselves on paper. Then, if so, try to pay as handsomely as possible. Amateur boxers in the US don't make crap and a little $ would go a long way.

Good luck!

 

[lone star scribe]

Papers I have worked for have done this before, before Internet and after Internet. Nothing beats boots on the ground, so have a contact in place in London, whether it's a PR person, family member, etc., that you can call or text just in case. And good luck. Sounds like you have some good ideas brewing.

 

[ColdCat]

on the local front, see if anyone is hosting a watch party during his fights. Also see if he can tweet pics from the opening ceremony that you can then re-tweet

 

[reformedhack]

Then, if so, try to pay as handsomely as possible. Amateur boxers in the US don't make crap and a little $ would go a long way.

At one time -- and I believe this is still the case -- Olympic athletes were not permitted to write (in the truest sense of the word, as opposed to calling in or e-mailing "diaries") for publications, with or without pay. Paying them for their writing services would almost certainly disqualify them from the Games and/or the next sanctioned competition if they're caught. This may no longer be the case, but considering the draconian rules being placed on Olympic workers and even fans for the London Games, it would be surprising if it weren't.

Your first step, as has been noted, would be to make contact -- if not fast friends -- with the press people at USA Boxing.

 

[bigpern23]

If you can wrangle any money for a stringer and you can hook up with someone over there, that would be a solid move. I have found the USOC to be worthless.

A local athlete I had covered since she was age 10 made the U.S. team one year. I got a nice sendoff piece on her and a promise from her and her mother (who was the only family member traveling with her) that she would do an email or skype interview with me in the aftermath of her events and that we would get together when she returned.

I wasn't able to get in touch with them while they were abroad, but I understood that. I was invited to attend a viewing party with her family and friends and got a story out of that.

When she returned? Apparently, she was too big for the local rag. My calls and emails all went unreturned. Meanwhile, she did interviews for every local TV station and the metro paper in the area.

It was pretty irritating since I had been covering her for about six years (she was that good that at age 10 or 11, it was already clear she would become an Olympian) and, to that point, had a very good rapport with the girl and her family, or at least so I thought.

I occasionally see her father out and he does not acknowledge me. Very odd. And, yes, I'm bitter. :D

 

[HanSenSE]

Excellent suggestions, some I had thought of on my own, and a few I hadn't. So far, been playing phone tag with the rep, but do have another route toward getting the story. Also plan on dropping a note to our AP bureau chief as well.

 

[PaperDoll]

I second all the recommendations to do as much homework beforehand as you can, whether it's the athlete, family members, agent, national governing body, etc.

on the local front, see if anyone is hosting a watch party during his fights. Also see if he can tweet pics from the opening ceremony that you can then re-tweet

Been there, done that -- and it was a lot more fun than you'd think! With all the live coverage planned on various TV networks and online, you might be able to watch the local guy fight at home and at least break that down.

If your paper is part of a bigger group, like Gannett or McClatchy, you might be able to get something special via the parent company. Gannett News Service (RIP) would take requests at past Olympics and other international events.

 

[HanSenSE]

I second all the recommendations to do as much homework beforehand as you can, whether it's the athlete, family members, agent, national governing body, etc.

on the local front, see if anyone is hosting a watch party during his fights. Also see if he can tweet pics from the opening ceremony that you can then re-tweet

Been there, done that -- and it was a lot more fun than you'd think! With all the live coverage planned on various TV networks and online, you might be able to watch the local guy fight at home and at least break that down.

If your paper is part of a bigger group, like Gannett or McClatchy, you might be able to get something special via the parent company. Gannett News Service (RIP) would take requests at past Olympics and other international events.

Well, we're Lee, so ... but looking for a viewing party is how I stumbled into a huge break in 2008. I'd only been on the job a couple of weeks and not only had my predecessor done much pre-Olympic work in advance, but the other half of the department was on vacation. But there was a flyer for a meet-and-greet thing they'd held before I moved back into sports, so, just as a shot in the dark, I call the number listed and end up waking up the guy's aunt the next morning in Beijing! No, nothing locally ... but she was going to see him later that day and did I want an interview? Hell yeah! Didn't get it until 1:30 the next morning (yes, we're a pm), but I got it!