Sports Journalism

1. Sports Journalism Ron Bishop, Department of Culture and Communication, Drexel University

2. From the Course’s Actual Title… Mythmakers Storytellers Wannabes Groupies

3. Mike Lupica claims… “Sometimes the only thing that matters to sportswriters is looking tough in front of other sportswriters.”

4. More Than a Triviality Quite the challenge: your audience often knows the outcome before it reads your piece. The true art is in writing a story so artful and descriptive that they forget everything and wish they’d been there. Sports is its own little world, full of conflict and competition, compelling characters, interesting details. You are responsible to the athletes you write about. Remember why you found them interesting.

5. More Than a Triviality The best sports writers convey the essence of their craft: empathy. Sports writing is grounded in curiosity and revelation. Mine reality for deeper human qualities. You are in the business of revealing human nature, not just passing along results. It’s the stories and the people that count, not the scores.

6. The Environment… More sports content than ever before. Possible to immerse yourself in it 24/7. No such thing as “between games” anymore. It’s zealous or nothing for the fan. It’s expected that fans be informed. More coverage of the “packaging.” Sports journalists now are celebs.

7. The Environment… Less distance – theoretically – between fans and players. More speculation than reporting. More process than product. Sports journalists sometimes achieve as much popularity as the players.

8. The Cast Players Coaches and Managers Owners Fans Officials (Refs, umpires) Agents and Lawyers Parents

9. The Cast, Continued League/University/HS Officials Governing bodies (NCAA, NJSIAA) Communities/Residents Merchandise and Equipment Makers The Media

10. Look for… The Losers The Benchwarmers The Union Label Life Beyond the Crowds The So-Called “Minor” Sports

11. Types of Stories Game Story Precede – story about an upcoming game or event. Follow – story in which you dissect and analyze a game. Look-Ahead – story in which you prognosticate about a team’s chances. Notes or Notebook – at end of a piece, includes items that didn’t make the cut.

12. The Game Story Beat writers v. one-time writers. Can’t tell the players without a scorecard. Learning about the sport v. becoming an expert. My kingdom for some press credentials! Pregame rituals: “Getting to Know You.” The game itself: follow the action! Develop a scoring system.

13. The Game Story Life in the press box. Keep a list of possible questions. Plan for the post-game interviews. Write from the end to the beginning. Summarize the slow parts; focus on the highlights. Following up; ongoing themes. You’ll be frequently interviewing the same people.

14. The Game Story Describe the scene, the weather, the crowd – if there’s a crowd. Double-check names and numbers. Watch for turning points, shifts in momentum – from these, leads are built. Who’s playing well? Who isn’t? Why? Work on your scoring system (15 to 82, 33-yd. TD). Gratefully accept the information provided by the team.

15. The Game Story Don’t ever assume the game is over (The Bill Buckner Rule). Have a “plan B” lead and theme cooked up. What’s the score?

16. Keep the Following in Mind.. It’s challenging to cover a lousy team; you can only write so many “rebuilding” stories. Observation is perhaps the key tool in your arsenal. Putting the reader there still matters, even though they can receive scores and highlights on their phones. Look hard for fresh angles. Don’t follow the pack. You can be a bit cerebral and still bang out copy several times a day.

17. Lead Approaches Star Performance Turning Point Tone (pace, feel, flavor) of the game Roundup Off-Field Events Color/Novelty

18. Your Basic Summary Lead • Ryan Miller stopped all 39 shots he faced, including a second-period penalty shot, to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 5-0 win Saturday night over the Columbus Blue Jackets. • LeSean McCoy’s 16-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter capped a 21-point Eagles rally as the Birds beat the Washington Redskins, 24-17. • Thanks to a key block by right guard Evan Mathis, McCoy was able to dart around right end and down the sideline for the score.

19. Your Basic Summary Lead • The Philadelphia Phillies scored eight runs in the first inning of last night’s game, then cruised to a 10-1win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. • Ryan Howard had three hits, including a three-run home run during the Phils’ first-inning explosion.

20. Your “Basic” Summary Lead • The only place where defense will be a higher priority than in the Rams’ front office this offseason will be at the Pentagon. • Coach Jeff Fisher continues the task of improving his defense that for the fifth consecutive season gave up more points than the team’s offense scored. • “It turns out you can’t give up 35 points a game and win the Super Bowl,” Fisher jokingly told reporters after a Monday morning practice.

21. Your “Basic” Summary Lead • The Mets will try to put constant rumors of imminent trades and Bobby Valentine’s supposedly imminent firing out of their minds tonight when they face the Florida Marlins. • “Sure, it’s a distraction,” said Valentine about several published reports that suggest the Mets will fire him, perhaps as soon as this weekend.

22. Your “Basic” Summary Lead • It took more failed recipes that what you’d see in the outtake reel of “Top Chef,” but Buffalo Sabres Coach Ron Rolston said he believes he’s finally come up with the right combination of players to energize his team’s sluggish power play. • Rolston’s newest recipe yielded two power play goals by Thomas Vanek in the Sabres 7-1 drubbing Tuesday night of the New York Islanders. • “There was more speed and puck movement out there,” Rolston said. “It caused some confusion for [the Islanders].”

23. Sports as Metaphor? Think of the scale! Are we addicted to sports? Does it spill into other parts of our lives? How about the rituals? Talking about structured organizations of power. Symbiotic relationship. It ain’t just about recreational participation anymore.

24. Sports as Metaphor? Technology-driven saturation of sports. Sports as “pastiche.” Distinctions between high art and popular culture go away. How do advances change the viewing experience? Sports as spectacle – all the time.

25. Sports as Metaphor? A distinct “pro” bias in major news organizations. Coverage of “non-major” sports is limited. Ties in with marketing imperatives. Sports journalists select, order, and organize events. It’s the art of constructing reality, not just recording it.

26. Sports as Commodity? • We’re still talking about authentic acts; games are “primary texts.” • It’s all about the interplay. • Our narratives of the “romanticized ideal”: • Some values can only be taught through sports. • An activity kids and parents can do together. • Sports are an indelible part of everyday life. • Sports are the media’s bread and butter. • Sports offer drama and escape.

27. Rosentraub’s Dimensions A winner and a loser. No two games are identical. David beats Goliath every now and then. A definite outcome in a short period of time. Always hope for the losers. Injuries are a badge of courage.

28. The Evolution of Sports Journalism: A Timeline 1830s: Newspapers covered sports, but only sporadically. Cricket (yes, cricket) and horse racing covered extensively. Later, prizefighting (1850s) and baseball (1870s) become popular, and receive coverage. 1831: Spirit of the Times is launched by William T. Porter. Becomes a message center for the sportsmen of the day.

29. The Evolution of Sports Journalism: A Timeline Technology helps make “one neighborhood of the whole country” (Carey). Sending information, but also representing shared beliefs. Hyer-Sullivan fight in 1849 the first “spectacle.” Our need for immediacy was born. The “national sports society” is born.

30. From The Scene: • “The fight took place yesterday about 5 p.m. at Roach’s Point, Kent County, Maryland. • Hyer won in fifteen rounds. • Sullivan is badly punished, but not dangerously. • Time occupied, about sixteen minutes.” • - “Uncle Joe Elliott”

31. The Evolution of Sports Journalism: A Timeline

32. The Evolution of Sports Journalism: A Timeline • 1845: The National Police Gazette is launched. • Covered the seedy activities of criminals, hoping the public would read and seek retribution. • Runs bios of criminals. • Police and organized crime dislike the paper; editorial offices attacked three times.

33. The Evolution of Sports Journalism: A Timeline

34. The Evolution of Sports Journalism: A Timeline • 1853: The New York Clipper is launched by Frank Queen as a weekly trade publication for the entertainment industry. • Was the “paper of record” for the circus industry. • Played key role in popularizing baseball in the U.S. • Absorbed by Variety in the 1920s.

35. The Evolution of Sports Journalism: A Timeline • 1862: Henry Chadwick is hired by James Gordon Bennett to cover baseball for the New York Herald - he is the first full-time sports reporter. • 1873: Bennett begins handing out awards to intercollegiate track and field athletes. • Sponsors Henry Stanley’s search for David Livingstone in the African jungle.

36. The Evolution of Sports Journalism: A Timeline

37. The Evolution of Sports Journalism: A Timeline • 1874: Richard Kyle Fox journeys to U.S. from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Takes over the National Police Gazette. • Vulgar and self-aggrandizing, he exploits the rampant bigotry in the country. • Invents the sports section, the gossip column, and was among the first to use illustrations to enhance stories.

38. The Evolution of Sports Journalism: A Timeline • 1883: Joseph Pulitzer buys the New York World. Creates the first standalone sports department, headed by a “sporting editor.” • Also in 1883: Sporting Life is founded by Francis Richter. • Was a hero-maker long before Rice. • Ran box scores and game recaps. • Ran poetry and adages about baseball, its players. • Eulogized athletes in obits. • Ran photos, cartoons, features, gossip.

39. The Evolution of Sports Journalism: A Timeline • “Intuition is merely a remarkable faculty possessed by a good guesser.” • - Connie Mack

40. The Evolution of Sports Journalism: A Timeline 1886: The Sporting News arrives on the scene – the first publication devoted solely to sports. Founder Alfred Henry Spink claims he played key role in creation of A.L. First issue focuses on spring training prep, but also describes visits to its offices by English wrestling champs and activities of Gentlemen’s Driving Club of St. Louis.

41. The Evolution of Sports Journalism: A Timeline

42. The Evolution of Sports Journalism: A Timeline 1895: William Randolph Hearst buys the New York Journal. Adopts Pulitzer’s strategies, lures away many World staffers. 1920s: Large metro dailies get into the sports promotion game. Joseph Medill Patterson, co-publisher of Chicago Tribune, creates the Golden Gloves boxing tournament. 1933: Arch Ward, the Tribune’s sports editor, creates MLB’s All-Star Game; he went on to launch the All-American Football Conference.

43. The Evolution of Sports Journalism: A Timeline • By this point in time, you had three types of sports writing: • The “tall tale” • Verse • The true story

44. Along Comes Rice…

45. Along Comes Rice… Took heroism seriously. Was close to athletes, but not too close so their flaws might be revealed. Athletes seemed grander then. Professional sports was a smaller world. Ripped as a cheerleader – but was he right for his time? He believed – truly – what he wrote. Despite the criticism, he was revered by many colleagues.

46. Along Comes Rice… The eternal optimist. He did write more than just “sunny side” pieces. Bottom line: folks believed him; history has added credibility; style was right for his audience. He was the first “famous” sportswriter. He humanized athletes – but only to a point. An activist for sports. So did he help or hurt sports journalism?

47. Sports Journalism’s“Golden Age” in Context The “Jazz Age,” the “Roaring Twenties.” Color, personality, star-making in journalism. Celebrities glorified; sordid events became national sensations. We were a nation in need of heroes, something sports journalists are quite good at making. Wanted to focus on the individual for a while. The economy (for the moment) was booming. A buoyant national spirit coming out of WWI.

48. Sports Journalism’s“Golden Age” in Context Our attention turns away from world affairs. Technology shortens the work week; more leisure time. With urbanization comes the rise of the “mass.” Sports gave us an outlet for individual achievement. Society was becoming more bureaucratic.

49. Sports Journalism’s“Golden Age” in Context Sportswriters held the monopoly on sports news. Skill mattered, but not as much as “color and crowd appeal.” SJ was less about the game and more about “behind the scenes,” such as they were. Amount of coverage increases. “My intellect is offended, but my editorial judgment approves it,” says one NY Post editor.

50. Sports Journalism’s“Golden Age” in Context No longer so much about the game – background, strategy, character mattered. Some SJ’s critical, calling it a plan to boost circulation.