Even though I have essentially said this each of the past six weeks, the men's basketball season really, legitimately got underway this week. On Saturday was the first exhibition, on Thursday was the second and on Monday the team plays its first game. I wrote a couple basic stories this week and anticipating writing at least three for next week, so I am starting to get into the groove.
One thing that kind of concerned me, and John and I discussed this a bit on Thursday, is story ideas. I am glad that we are being pushed beyond writing the typical game stories that the other papers are writing, but at the same time I don't want to use all of the good ideas early. For my recap of the exhibition game on Saturday, I basically wrote a profile on guard JT. It was the pretty obvious angle, and I included most of the stuff available, so now I worry that it will be hard to focus on this player again. When John was looking for ideas for his story on Thursday's exhibition, we decided that it would be better not to do a profile-type game story. If we go down that road for every game, we won't have anything left by game 12.
So that is something that we have been talking about. That's not to say that the profile-angled game story is never going to happen again, but when they do they probably will be a little different than the story I wrote on JT. If we are going to focus on a player for the game story, I think it is more relevant and better to write the story with an overall focus on what he did in the game. A lot of these players have interesting backgrounds etc., but I think if we are going to do more personalized features we should do them right, which for the most part means running them separate from game recaps.
That is one thing that we are going to have to talk about now that the season is underway. It was sometimes challenging to think of good angles for these exhibition games, mainly because they are for the most part irrelivent, and that made it easy to yearn for the straightforward game story. Now that the regular season is underway and the games count and the stats are relevant, I think it will be a lot easier to find good angles and it will be acceptable to run them. This is something that John and I are going to have to look in the archives to see what they did last year, and we need to talk to Greg and see what he thinks and what some other angles are.
Speaking of which, it is probably getting close to that time to schedule a weekly meeting with Greg. Who just arrived, so I am going to stop writing now.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Friday, November 2, 2007
Week 11
Probably the two busiest weeks of my semester are now over and it is right in time for basketball season to really get started. Tuesday was the Black and Gold game and tomorrow is the first exhibition. Things have been going pretty well lately, so I hope we can keep that up.
One of the big things I have been working on this year is confidence. I realized that if I come back to the newsroom with a good idea of who I want to talk about, it is a lot easier to write a readable story. If you feel comfortable with your knowledge of the subject, then you ask better questions and the story flows out of you much easier. That is a big reason why the experienced beat writers have an advantage. They know so much about the team that they can fill in context so much better.
I think basketball will be easier to catch up to the other beat writers than football. In football, there are so many players and the whole game is so complex that just about anybody will have a fair share of catching up to do. In basketball, however, there are so few players and the game is much more straight forward. My biggest disadvantage is that I was abroad second semester of last year so I didn't get to see the team play much, but I already feel like I have a good understanding of what happened last year.
Other then that, Greg said on Thursday that we will be having at least one Tiger Tipoff special edition and the stories need to be in before the semester break. The special edition will come out in January, before the start of Big 12 season, so the stories will have to be for the most part not timely. John and I will have to sit down and figure out what we'll want to do, but I think we've already got some ideas that could work.
One of the big things I have been working on this year is confidence. I realized that if I come back to the newsroom with a good idea of who I want to talk about, it is a lot easier to write a readable story. If you feel comfortable with your knowledge of the subject, then you ask better questions and the story flows out of you much easier. That is a big reason why the experienced beat writers have an advantage. They know so much about the team that they can fill in context so much better.
I think basketball will be easier to catch up to the other beat writers than football. In football, there are so many players and the whole game is so complex that just about anybody will have a fair share of catching up to do. In basketball, however, there are so few players and the game is much more straight forward. My biggest disadvantage is that I was abroad second semester of last year so I didn't get to see the team play much, but I already feel like I have a good understanding of what happened last year.
Other then that, Greg said on Thursday that we will be having at least one Tiger Tipoff special edition and the stories need to be in before the semester break. The special edition will come out in January, before the start of Big 12 season, so the stories will have to be for the most part not timely. John and I will have to sit down and figure out what we'll want to do, but I think we've already got some ideas that could work.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Week 10
This has been a rather hectic week in terms of school and thus my time at the Missourian has been limited as well. Unfortunately that also caused me to completely forget about doing my blog.
As I said, this week was busy. I had tests and papers due in other classes and there was nothing new to report on my beat, so I haven't gotten anything in the paper yet. I should have a story in on Sunday about the attendance and scheduling for the upcoming season, but it's nothing earth shattering.
Next Tuesday is the Black and Gold Game and then the exhibition games start on the weekend. When those start we can start getting more regular stories in. For now, I don't think it is neccessary to use the really good feature ideas this far in advance of the season. And even with the limited coverage we have done, it has exceeded any of the rival newspapers.
So unfortunately this is another relatively boring week for my fans to read about but hopefully next week, after Black and Gold and with exhibition season on the horizon, it will be all smooth sailing!
As I said, this week was busy. I had tests and papers due in other classes and there was nothing new to report on my beat, so I haven't gotten anything in the paper yet. I should have a story in on Sunday about the attendance and scheduling for the upcoming season, but it's nothing earth shattering.
Next Tuesday is the Black and Gold Game and then the exhibition games start on the weekend. When those start we can start getting more regular stories in. For now, I don't think it is neccessary to use the really good feature ideas this far in advance of the season. And even with the limited coverage we have done, it has exceeded any of the rival newspapers.
So unfortunately this is another relatively boring week for my fans to read about but hopefully next week, after Black and Gold and with exhibition season on the horizon, it will be all smooth sailing!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Week 9
Doesn't it seem like a long time ago when every one of my blogs was saying, "I can't wait to get started?" It seems like it.
I think it was only two weeks ago that my advanced reporting duties at the Missourian were still on queue as I waited for the men's basketball team to start up for the season. Now, all of a sudden it is in full force and things are exciting again!
On Wednesday, John and I woke up and were on the road by 5:30 a.m. to get to Big 12 men's basketball media day in Kansas City. The date loomed on our calendars for a while; wake up, drive far, listen to people spew cliches, drive far, write much. Instead, it turned out to be a really fulfilling trip and, in my opinion, a successful one as well.
John and I have talked a lot about what we want to do with this beat already, but being locked in a car for four hours together we really got to pound a lot of stuff out. I think that showed in our stories from media day. Combined, I think we put about 60 inches on content into the paper on Thursday, and I thought our coverage was more complete than some of the other newspapers. Of course it wasn't perfect, but I felt good about what we did and know we can continue to build upon that.
Besides media day being in a posh hotel with catered food and lots of big-name basketball people walking around, it was also a really good way to introduce John and I into the league this year. I am at a slight disadvantage because I was abroad second semester of last year, so besides listening to the Kansas game on the radio and reading newspaper Web sites I was kind of out of the loop. I felt like I had a good understanding of Missouri's team coming into the year, but after listening to each Big 12 coach stump for 10-15 minutes about their teams, I feel like my understanding of everything increased dramatically. Now, I feel like I know who the big players are going to be, which teams to really look out for and all the major storylines to follow throughout the season.
What I have started to learn about writing lately is that it really shows if you have a good understanding about your subject. I wasn't too pleased with my first couple articles this year because I felt like I didn't do a good enough job reporting, so in the end it became more of a "Here are the quotes, now I find stuff to put around them." But after media day, I was able to write both of my stories with relative ease and felt like I had a real good understanding about the content. I think that was a really big boost in terms of my general knowledge of everything that is going on, and I see myself improving significantly now.
It is a shame that the Big 12 media day is not always in Kansas City. It is not a big or important enough event to send Missourian reporters when it is in Texas or Oklahoma, but when in close proximity I think it was a very beneficial event.
I think it was only two weeks ago that my advanced reporting duties at the Missourian were still on queue as I waited for the men's basketball team to start up for the season. Now, all of a sudden it is in full force and things are exciting again!
On Wednesday, John and I woke up and were on the road by 5:30 a.m. to get to Big 12 men's basketball media day in Kansas City. The date loomed on our calendars for a while; wake up, drive far, listen to people spew cliches, drive far, write much. Instead, it turned out to be a really fulfilling trip and, in my opinion, a successful one as well.
John and I have talked a lot about what we want to do with this beat already, but being locked in a car for four hours together we really got to pound a lot of stuff out. I think that showed in our stories from media day. Combined, I think we put about 60 inches on content into the paper on Thursday, and I thought our coverage was more complete than some of the other newspapers. Of course it wasn't perfect, but I felt good about what we did and know we can continue to build upon that.
Besides media day being in a posh hotel with catered food and lots of big-name basketball people walking around, it was also a really good way to introduce John and I into the league this year. I am at a slight disadvantage because I was abroad second semester of last year, so besides listening to the Kansas game on the radio and reading newspaper Web sites I was kind of out of the loop. I felt like I had a good understanding of Missouri's team coming into the year, but after listening to each Big 12 coach stump for 10-15 minutes about their teams, I feel like my understanding of everything increased dramatically. Now, I feel like I know who the big players are going to be, which teams to really look out for and all the major storylines to follow throughout the season.
What I have started to learn about writing lately is that it really shows if you have a good understanding about your subject. I wasn't too pleased with my first couple articles this year because I felt like I didn't do a good enough job reporting, so in the end it became more of a "Here are the quotes, now I find stuff to put around them." But after media day, I was able to write both of my stories with relative ease and felt like I had a real good understanding about the content. I think that was a really big boost in terms of my general knowledge of everything that is going on, and I see myself improving significantly now.
It is a shame that the Big 12 media day is not always in Kansas City. It is not a big or important enough event to send Missourian reporters when it is in Texas or Oklahoma, but when in close proximity I think it was a very beneficial event.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Week 8
After eight weeks, I am finally a bona fida Missourian reporter now. I had my first story run last Sunday and my second today and I will be reporting on an event tonight that will eventually produce my third story next week. It feels good to be back.
Saturday was another open gym session at Mizzou Arena. The team basically just plays pickup games for an hour or so and the football tailgaters are invited in to watch. At first I was kind of skeptical as to whether this warranted a story. John and I went to the last one and we barely stumbled upon a story about a basketball alumni being there. I was pretty confident it would be pretty low key again this week and the team had it's media day on Wednesday, so that is when the real stories would come out, I thought. Greg disagreed though, and I am glad that I did go. He said that even if I can't find anything specifically noteworthy, the whole concept of open gym on football gameday is kind of interesting. That is what I ended up pursuing.
First, I think it ended up being a relevant enough story that it was a good thing that I went. Second, I think it was a good story to get me started back up for the year. It required me to walk around the crowd and talk to people and to talk to the team and make observations. It was kind of a hybrid of man on the street and covering a team, so I kind of jumped right back into reporting. The other big thing I got out of it is that since there wasn't a big media presence there I chatted up the sports information director for a good portion of my time there. I got answers to all of those basic questions, ones like "Why isn't Mizzou Madness at Midnight?" and "Explain the recruiting process." I felt like I left the arean that day with a really good understandin of the team I am getting involved with. That, in my opinion, is the most important aspect of being a good beat reporter. The story itself was nothing groundbreaking, but I felt like I got my point across in an efficient manner and I was pleased with it as a first clip of the new year.
Wednesday was the team's media day - meaning the whole team and the coach were just hanging out on the court for an hour and you could talk to whoever you wanted to for however long. More than anything this was a good opportunity for John and I to introduce ourselves to the players and let them get to know us so that they are more comfortable once the season starts and access is more limited. So we did that. We also had to do some stories, of course. John and I were going to share the first one, the "What did coach say is key this season" story that was bound to come out. I ended up getting a lead on another story though so I worked on that all night (and unfortunately I still don't have enough information to print that, but I am working on it). John's story in Thursday's paper turned out well. Friday was my turn. I wrote a preview/profile on tonight's Mizzou Madness event with an emphasis on forward Leo Lyons, who is expected to have a big impact this season. I thought it turned out OK - admittedly I liked the story better after Greg had edited it more than after the copy editors did, but that's life as a reporter.
So as a whole I think my first week truly reporting went pretty well. I feel like I have a good understanding of this team, the personnel and how everything works - moreso then I do football - so I am confident that I can do a good job on this beat. I am really excited to continue reporting and to get deeper into this beat. It is going to be a lot of work, of course, but I am excited and ready to do it.
Saturday was another open gym session at Mizzou Arena. The team basically just plays pickup games for an hour or so and the football tailgaters are invited in to watch. At first I was kind of skeptical as to whether this warranted a story. John and I went to the last one and we barely stumbled upon a story about a basketball alumni being there. I was pretty confident it would be pretty low key again this week and the team had it's media day on Wednesday, so that is when the real stories would come out, I thought. Greg disagreed though, and I am glad that I did go. He said that even if I can't find anything specifically noteworthy, the whole concept of open gym on football gameday is kind of interesting. That is what I ended up pursuing.
First, I think it ended up being a relevant enough story that it was a good thing that I went. Second, I think it was a good story to get me started back up for the year. It required me to walk around the crowd and talk to people and to talk to the team and make observations. It was kind of a hybrid of man on the street and covering a team, so I kind of jumped right back into reporting. The other big thing I got out of it is that since there wasn't a big media presence there I chatted up the sports information director for a good portion of my time there. I got answers to all of those basic questions, ones like "Why isn't Mizzou Madness at Midnight?" and "Explain the recruiting process." I felt like I left the arean that day with a really good understandin of the team I am getting involved with. That, in my opinion, is the most important aspect of being a good beat reporter. The story itself was nothing groundbreaking, but I felt like I got my point across in an efficient manner and I was pleased with it as a first clip of the new year.
Wednesday was the team's media day - meaning the whole team and the coach were just hanging out on the court for an hour and you could talk to whoever you wanted to for however long. More than anything this was a good opportunity for John and I to introduce ourselves to the players and let them get to know us so that they are more comfortable once the season starts and access is more limited. So we did that. We also had to do some stories, of course. John and I were going to share the first one, the "What did coach say is key this season" story that was bound to come out. I ended up getting a lead on another story though so I worked on that all night (and unfortunately I still don't have enough information to print that, but I am working on it). John's story in Thursday's paper turned out well. Friday was my turn. I wrote a preview/profile on tonight's Mizzou Madness event with an emphasis on forward Leo Lyons, who is expected to have a big impact this season. I thought it turned out OK - admittedly I liked the story better after Greg had edited it more than after the copy editors did, but that's life as a reporter.
So as a whole I think my first week truly reporting went pretty well. I feel like I have a good understanding of this team, the personnel and how everything works - moreso then I do football - so I am confident that I can do a good job on this beat. I am really excited to continue reporting and to get deeper into this beat. It is going to be a lot of work, of course, but I am excited and ready to do it.
Week 8
After eight weeks, I am finally a bona fida Missourian reporter now. I had my first story run last Sunday and my second today and I will be reporting on an event tonight that will eventually produce my third story next week. It feels good to be back.
Saturday was another open gym session at Mizzou Arena. The team basically just plays pickup games for an hour or so and the football tailgaters are invited in to watch. At first I was kind of skeptical as to whether this warranted a story. John and I went to the last one and we barely stumbled upon a story about a basketball alumni being there. I was pretty confident it would be pretty low key again this week and the team had it's media day on Wednesday, so that is when the real stories would come out, I thought. Greg disagreed though, and I am glad that I did go. He said that even if I can't find anything specifically noteworthy, the whole concept of open gym on football gameday is kind of interesting. That is what I ended up pursuing.
First, I think it ended up being a relevant enough story that it was a good thing that I went. Second, I think it was a good story to get me started back up for the year. It required me to walk around the crowd and talk to people and to talk to the team and make observations. It was kind of a hybrid of man on the street and covering a team, so I kind of jumped right back into reporting. The other big thing I got out of it is that since there wasn't a big media presence there I chatted up the sports information director for a good portion of my time there. I got answers to all of those basic questions, ones like "Why isn't Mizzou Madness at Midnight?" and "Explain the recruiting process." I felt like I left the arean that day with a really good understandin of the team I am getting involved with. That, in my opinion, is the most important aspect of being a good beat reporter. The story itself was nothing groundbreaking, but I felt like I got my point across in an efficient manner and I was pleased with it as a first clip of the new year.
Wednesday was the team's media day - meaning the whole team and the coach were just hanging out on the court for an hour and you could talk to whoever you wanted to for however long. More than anything this was a good opportunity for John and I to introduce ourselves to the players and let them get to know us so that they are more comfortable once the season starts and access is more limited. So we did that. We also had to do some stories, of course. John and I were going to share the first one, the "What did coach say is key this season" story that was bound to come out. I ended up getting a lead on another story though so I worked on that all night (and unfortunately I still don't have enough information to print that, but I am working on it). John's story in Thursday's paper turned out well. Friday was my turn. I wrote a preview/profile on tonight's Mizzou Madness event with an emphasis on forward Leo Lyons, who is expected to have a big impact this season. I thought it turned out OK - admittedly I liked the story better after Greg had edited it more than after the copy editors did, but that's life as a reporter.
So as a whole I think my first week truly reporting went pretty well. I feel like I have a good understanding of this team, the personnel and how everything works - moreso then I do football - so I am confident that I can do a good job on this beat. I am really excited to continue reporting and to get deeper into this beat. It is going to be a lot of work, of course, but I am excited and ready to do it.
Saturday was another open gym session at Mizzou Arena. The team basically just plays pickup games for an hour or so and the football tailgaters are invited in to watch. At first I was kind of skeptical as to whether this warranted a story. John and I went to the last one and we barely stumbled upon a story about a basketball alumni being there. I was pretty confident it would be pretty low key again this week and the team had it's media day on Wednesday, so that is when the real stories would come out, I thought. Greg disagreed though, and I am glad that I did go. He said that even if I can't find anything specifically noteworthy, the whole concept of open gym on football gameday is kind of interesting. That is what I ended up pursuing.
First, I think it ended up being a relevant enough story that it was a good thing that I went. Second, I think it was a good story to get me started back up for the year. It required me to walk around the crowd and talk to people and to talk to the team and make observations. It was kind of a hybrid of man on the street and covering a team, so I kind of jumped right back into reporting. The other big thing I got out of it is that since there wasn't a big media presence there I chatted up the sports information director for a good portion of my time there. I got answers to all of those basic questions, ones like "Why isn't Mizzou Madness at Midnight?" and "Explain the recruiting process." I felt like I left the arean that day with a really good understandin of the team I am getting involved with. That, in my opinion, is the most important aspect of being a good beat reporter. The story itself was nothing groundbreaking, but I felt like I got my point across in an efficient manner and I was pleased with it as a first clip of the new year.
Wednesday was the team's media day - meaning the whole team and the coach were just hanging out on the court for an hour and you could talk to whoever you wanted to for however long. More than anything this was a good opportunity for John and I to introduce ourselves to the players and let them get to know us so that they are more comfortable once the season starts and access is more limited. So we did that. We also had to do some stories, of course. John and I were going to share the first one, the "What did coach say is key this season" story that was bound to come out. I ended up getting a lead on another story though so I worked on that all night (and unfortunately I still don't have enough information to print that, but I am working on it). John's story in Thursday's paper turned out well. Friday was my turn. I wrote a preview/profile on tonight's Mizzou Madness event with an emphasis on forward Leo Lyons, who is expected to have a big impact this season. I thought it turned out OK - admittedly I liked the story better after Greg had edited it more than after the copy editors did, but that's life as a reporter.
So as a whole I think my first week truly reporting went pretty well. I feel like I have a good understanding of this team, the personnel and how everything works - moreso then I do football - so I am confident that I can do a good job on this beat. I am really excited to continue reporting and to get deeper into this beat. It is going to be a lot of work, of course, but I am excited and ready to do it.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Week 7
This week could have, well probably should have had my first bylined story in the paper. A former reporter told Greg and I that a current basektball players' brother might have been shot in his hometown (I am leaving details out just because I think this blog would show up on Google news if somebody typed his name in). A story like this is never good - reporting on death is not fun - but it is a relevant part of the job and I wanted to take it on and learn from the experience. Unfortunately I still don't have any details to follow up with so the story is not yet in the paper.
The obvious first place to check is with the athletic department. When the SID didn't answer either phone I spent the next couple hours frantically searching blogs and other newspapers for any mention of it. Then I started checking the newspapers of his hometown to see if I could find any records of a murder with a similar last name. Nothing. Eventually I got a call back from the SID who said the team was taking pictures all afternoon so he was unable to answer earler. Then I asked about the tip he acknowledged that something had happened but said he didn't know any details and hadn't talked to the player yet. A little while later he called back saying he still didn't have any information, whether it was a brother, cousin or just friend, whether it was stabbing or shooting, finally if it was even fatal. Then he said I was the only one to even call about it so he would get more information and call me right away.
Since I am new to a story like this, I was trying to ask Greg for tips on how to go about it throughout the day. After this last call, he said to call the newspapers in hi hometown. This is a very relevant practice that I had never even thought of. I had to go through a big bureucracy to find the right person (it is a big newspaper) but then the guy I talked to was very helpful considereding how little I had to offer. I told him the players name, the area he went to high school in and the alledged tip, but unfortunately he couldn't find anything matching.
The next day I had trouble reaching the SID again but eventually got in contact with him midday. He said he was home and sick but waiting on a call for more information. To me, the fact that he was sick pretty much said that he was not really trying very hard. Likewise, by the end of the day he still didn't have the information, and that's where I am right now.
Overall I am kind of disappointed that I don't have any information to report yet. Granted it's not a big story or even a super important story for our audience, but it is something that should be reported on because it affects a public figure, and I could have broken the news ahead of the Tribune, which would have been good. Technically, I still feel like I am going to be the first one to report it. I am going to work today to keep trying to find information so hopefully I finally get something and really get my semester of advanced reporting rolling!
The obvious first place to check is with the athletic department. When the SID didn't answer either phone I spent the next couple hours frantically searching blogs and other newspapers for any mention of it. Then I started checking the newspapers of his hometown to see if I could find any records of a murder with a similar last name. Nothing. Eventually I got a call back from the SID who said the team was taking pictures all afternoon so he was unable to answer earler. Then I asked about the tip he acknowledged that something had happened but said he didn't know any details and hadn't talked to the player yet. A little while later he called back saying he still didn't have any information, whether it was a brother, cousin or just friend, whether it was stabbing or shooting, finally if it was even fatal. Then he said I was the only one to even call about it so he would get more information and call me right away.
Since I am new to a story like this, I was trying to ask Greg for tips on how to go about it throughout the day. After this last call, he said to call the newspapers in hi hometown. This is a very relevant practice that I had never even thought of. I had to go through a big bureucracy to find the right person (it is a big newspaper) but then the guy I talked to was very helpful considereding how little I had to offer. I told him the players name, the area he went to high school in and the alledged tip, but unfortunately he couldn't find anything matching.
The next day I had trouble reaching the SID again but eventually got in contact with him midday. He said he was home and sick but waiting on a call for more information. To me, the fact that he was sick pretty much said that he was not really trying very hard. Likewise, by the end of the day he still didn't have the information, and that's where I am right now.
Overall I am kind of disappointed that I don't have any information to report yet. Granted it's not a big story or even a super important story for our audience, but it is something that should be reported on because it affects a public figure, and I could have broken the news ahead of the Tribune, which would have been good. Technically, I still feel like I am going to be the first one to report it. I am going to work today to keep trying to find information so hopefully I finally get something and really get my semester of advanced reporting rolling!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Week 6
Finally something to report. John and I went to our first basketball practice last Saturday - an hour long open gym session before the football game - and got the first men's basketball story of the season out. John wrote the story, so he should get most of the credit, but I felt like we did a good job working together and his final product turned out quite well.
We weren't really sure of what to write about, since the season doesn't start for a long time and this was a really informal practice, but the perfect story just walked in. Former Missouri basketball player Kareem Rush - arguably the best Missouri player in decades and now playing for the NBA's Indiana Pacers - walked onto the court and started shooting on an unused basket. After a few minutes he joined in the pickup game and soon after John and I approached him for an interview.
John and I both asked questions, first about what he was doing in Columbia, then about his season in Lithuania last spring and then about the upcoming NBA season. He was a very good quote and I think John and I got all of the information that we needed to. John also talked to some other players about him and then wrote the story. I thought the story in Sunday's paper was very well written, straight to the point and interesting for the readers.
Since we have two people on the beat, I can't take much credit at all for John's article. The only thing I did was come to practice with him and ask a couple questions in the interview. Nonetheless, I think this was a good sign for the upcoming season because John and I communicated very well at the practice, found a good story idea and then John executed it very well.
I'm excited for the next open practice so I can get my first clip of the year too.
We weren't really sure of what to write about, since the season doesn't start for a long time and this was a really informal practice, but the perfect story just walked in. Former Missouri basketball player Kareem Rush - arguably the best Missouri player in decades and now playing for the NBA's Indiana Pacers - walked onto the court and started shooting on an unused basket. After a few minutes he joined in the pickup game and soon after John and I approached him for an interview.
John and I both asked questions, first about what he was doing in Columbia, then about his season in Lithuania last spring and then about the upcoming NBA season. He was a very good quote and I think John and I got all of the information that we needed to. John also talked to some other players about him and then wrote the story. I thought the story in Sunday's paper was very well written, straight to the point and interesting for the readers.
Since we have two people on the beat, I can't take much credit at all for John's article. The only thing I did was come to practice with him and ask a couple questions in the interview. Nonetheless, I think this was a good sign for the upcoming season because John and I communicated very well at the practice, found a good story idea and then John executed it very well.
I'm excited for the next open practice so I can get my first clip of the year too.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Week 5
I think I finally have some news to report! After a couple weeks waiting for my beat to start, things are finally starting to take shape. The men's basketball team is now having open practices over the weekends and the season-opening Mizzou Madness event has been officially scheduled. The open practices kind of took me by surprise, but John and I are going to meet today to get some ideas of what to do there.
At this point - more than a month before the exhibition games even start - it is hard to know exactly where to go with these stories. On one hand, I don't think we should go too in-depth on the players yet unless there is something important. Since official practice doesn't start until Oct. 12, I think it is too early to say "Player A is looking really good in practice." From my understanding, these practices are more just pick up games and conditioning.
John and I will narrow it down at the Missourian this afternoon, but I figure the kind of stories we could work on during this pre-official practice season are angles like: feature on transfer Zaire Taylor - who is he?; coach Anderson's conditioning program in the second year; DeMarre Carroll recovering from the gunshot wound over the summer.
So overall, we'll talk to Greg and see what kind of stories usually come out of these pre-preseason practices and hopefully get off to a fast start!
At this point - more than a month before the exhibition games even start - it is hard to know exactly where to go with these stories. On one hand, I don't think we should go too in-depth on the players yet unless there is something important. Since official practice doesn't start until Oct. 12, I think it is too early to say "Player A is looking really good in practice." From my understanding, these practices are more just pick up games and conditioning.
John and I will narrow it down at the Missourian this afternoon, but I figure the kind of stories we could work on during this pre-official practice season are angles like: feature on transfer Zaire Taylor - who is he?; coach Anderson's conditioning program in the second year; DeMarre Carroll recovering from the gunshot wound over the summer.
So overall, we'll talk to Greg and see what kind of stories usually come out of these pre-preseason practices and hopefully get off to a fast start!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Week 4
Again, with the basketball team's not starting until Novemeber, I have yet to do any "advanced reporting." That means that the goals assignment is about the extent of my journalism experience for the week!
The assignment was due on Monday and I turned mine in on Sunday. Only problem: I forgot Greg doesn't work on either of those days. He doesn't come in until late on Tuesday, so the first time I got to sit down with him was on Wednesday, two days after it was due. Not only that, but I (along with I think four other people meeting with Greg that day) failed! I couldn't even come up with goals for myself! The problem with all of our goals is that they weren't specific enough. Greg wanted goals that we could look at in three months and determine if they were met. Therefore, something like "I want to write good stories" didn't cut it, it had to be something more along the lines of "I want to write a feature story on the team's strength coach."
So he sent us away to redo our goals. I thought at least two of mine were specific enough, they just weren't worded specific enough on my assignment. In the end, I basically came up with: I want to break a story, I want to write sports and sports news stories, I want to take too much play-by-play out of my deadline stories and I want to write with more of a voice in my stories (and Greg better not say that last one is too vague because somebody in class had the exact same idea and Tom liked it!)
So with my new, quantitative goals in hand, I will be meeting with Greg today for round two. Wish me luck!
The assignment was due on Monday and I turned mine in on Sunday. Only problem: I forgot Greg doesn't work on either of those days. He doesn't come in until late on Tuesday, so the first time I got to sit down with him was on Wednesday, two days after it was due. Not only that, but I (along with I think four other people meeting with Greg that day) failed! I couldn't even come up with goals for myself! The problem with all of our goals is that they weren't specific enough. Greg wanted goals that we could look at in three months and determine if they were met. Therefore, something like "I want to write good stories" didn't cut it, it had to be something more along the lines of "I want to write a feature story on the team's strength coach."
So he sent us away to redo our goals. I thought at least two of mine were specific enough, they just weren't worded specific enough on my assignment. In the end, I basically came up with: I want to break a story, I want to write sports and sports news stories, I want to take too much play-by-play out of my deadline stories and I want to write with more of a voice in my stories (and Greg better not say that last one is too vague because somebody in class had the exact same idea and Tom liked it!)
So with my new, quantitative goals in hand, I will be meeting with Greg today for round two. Wish me luck!
Friday, September 7, 2007
Week 3
Almost surprisingly this has probably been the least exciting week yet for me in terms of advanced reporting. We got our beats last week but since the men's basketball season doesn't start in earnest until November there isn't a lot we can do for that yet. I did talk to the sports information director Dave Reiter the other day though. I told him that John and I would be covering the team, talked a little bit about the upcoming season and he told me when would be good times to start coming down to practice etc. The first story idea, it looks like, will be when the team completes its schedule by announcing the regional draw for the CBE Classic. Dave said they are still waiting to confirm a fourth team, but that one of the other two teams is pretty good mid-major school and went 18-10 last year. He couldn't say who it was though.
On Wednesday after class John and I sat down and looked at the schedule and tried to figure out which mid-major team was 18-10 last year. We looked at last year's NCAA Tournament bracket and couldn't find any 18-10 teams so we assume it will be an NIT school. The NIT bracket didn't have the team's records though, and since we'll find out anyway in the next week or two we didn't put much effort into looking them all up. A few guesses though are Hofstra and Bradley.
We also talked about the scheduling and how things are going to work out. For the most part, the semester break committment isn't too extreme. We will have to stay a few days after finals week for some games and have to come back a week early for some games as well. We both plan on flying down to St. Louis for the Bragging Rights game against Illinois (since there isn't another game within a week either side of it). The only game that we are concerned about is Dec. 27 at home against McNeese State. Like Illinois, there isn't another game for more than a week, so that game will be kind of a pain, but that's why you do advanced reporting is to get experience so we'll be there.
Overall I am really excited for the season to start. If I wasn't doing the freelance work for St. Joseph I would probably be going crazy, because I have constantly been reporting at school since my second semester of freshman year. To not be writing, like I was the first week in Columbia, just feels wrong. This should be a good season to cover this team though because everybody is in their second year with the new coach and hopefully any kinks are worked out. John and I looked at the schedule and see three or four road games that we might be asked to travel to, which could be fun, Overall, I am babbeling but this will be a good year.
On Wednesday after class John and I sat down and looked at the schedule and tried to figure out which mid-major team was 18-10 last year. We looked at last year's NCAA Tournament bracket and couldn't find any 18-10 teams so we assume it will be an NIT school. The NIT bracket didn't have the team's records though, and since we'll find out anyway in the next week or two we didn't put much effort into looking them all up. A few guesses though are Hofstra and Bradley.
We also talked about the scheduling and how things are going to work out. For the most part, the semester break committment isn't too extreme. We will have to stay a few days after finals week for some games and have to come back a week early for some games as well. We both plan on flying down to St. Louis for the Bragging Rights game against Illinois (since there isn't another game within a week either side of it). The only game that we are concerned about is Dec. 27 at home against McNeese State. Like Illinois, there isn't another game for more than a week, so that game will be kind of a pain, but that's why you do advanced reporting is to get experience so we'll be there.
Overall I am really excited for the season to start. If I wasn't doing the freelance work for St. Joseph I would probably be going crazy, because I have constantly been reporting at school since my second semester of freshman year. To not be writing, like I was the first week in Columbia, just feels wrong. This should be a good season to cover this team though because everybody is in their second year with the new coach and hopefully any kinks are worked out. John and I looked at the schedule and see three or four road games that we might be asked to travel to, which could be fun, Overall, I am babbeling but this will be a good year.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Week 2
This was again a relatively tame week for an advanced reporter. Last Friday we had a beat meeting in which the four remaining advanced reporters stated their preference for beat, so during this week we waited to see what our beats were and worked on some general assignment reporting. I applied for credentials to the Kansas City Wizards vs. LA Galaxy game last week in which David Beckham will be playing but have been told my request is on queue. Today I saw that Beckham is injured and out for 4-6 weeks though, so he might not even be playing anyway.
The big news today is that we did get our beats; John and I will be covering the Missouri men's basketball team. I am really excited to be covering this team and to be working with John. Going into the year I always felt that this is the beat I could do my best work in and I know John and I will work well together. Of course things can change at any time, but if things remain the same I am really excited to get started on the men's beat. I have a few ideas so far, specifically talking to the new recruit Zaire Taylor, but John and I should also try to set up a meeting with Dave Reiter and possibly coach Mike Anderson as well. I'd like to get a good understanding of the team early on so we can do the best job possible in reporting.
Other then that, I have gotten started a bit on my freelance job with the St. Joseph News-Press. I went to Missouri football media day on Monday and will go to the game in St. Louis tomorrow to cover it with a focus on the players from St. Joseph. I am glad that I got this opportunity because I think I would go crazy if I wasn't reporting in some sense until basketball season starts. So things are looking pretty good right now and we'll see what happens from here.
The big news today is that we did get our beats; John and I will be covering the Missouri men's basketball team. I am really excited to be covering this team and to be working with John. Going into the year I always felt that this is the beat I could do my best work in and I know John and I will work well together. Of course things can change at any time, but if things remain the same I am really excited to get started on the men's beat. I have a few ideas so far, specifically talking to the new recruit Zaire Taylor, but John and I should also try to set up a meeting with Dave Reiter and possibly coach Mike Anderson as well. I'd like to get a good understanding of the team early on so we can do the best job possible in reporting.
Other then that, I have gotten started a bit on my freelance job with the St. Joseph News-Press. I went to Missouri football media day on Monday and will go to the game in St. Louis tomorrow to cover it with a focus on the players from St. Joseph. I am glad that I got this opportunity because I think I would go crazy if I wasn't reporting in some sense until basketball season starts. So things are looking pretty good right now and we'll see what happens from here.
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