Sports and race

By Martenzie Johnson

There are many examples of media organizations and advertisers presenting stereotypical images of minorities.  Popeye’s and Progressive Insurance presented black women like this and this while KFC thought it was original to portray Asian men as karate experts.

Dr. Scott Brooks explained that the best way to combat these misrepresentations in the media—specifically in the news—is to have more diversity at the decision-making tables across the nation. 

Brooks is an associate professor in the Sociology Department at the University of Missouri and specializes in the interaction between sports and race in contemporary America.

Though the above examples are extreme—and solely advertisements—they represent the problems in American newsrooms.  As Brooks pointed out when explaining “conventionalized images,” we come to expect certain images and stories when we open our newspapers and turn on our televisions:

1.       White athletes are smart and hardworking

2.       Black athletes are naturally gifted/athletic

3.       Asian athletes are timid and respectful

Race, as Brooks said, becomes—or is—monolithic when every group is presented as having specific characteristics.  This is problematic on many levels.

But it is most problematic when these media messages start to affect the athlete.  When a black kid from Philadelphia believes he is only destined to run fast and not think, because the media says so, that is what he or she will do.

As a master’s student at the University of Missouri I hope to study these possible effects.  I want to research what stereotypical images/representations can do to an athlete’s performance.

As Brooks stated in his talk, “sports tell a story.”  The key though is what story the writer can, and will, tell.

The conundrum of ethics in politics, sports and journalism

By Erica A. Hernandez

How do you set a standard for a topic that cannot be standardized? This dilemma, otherwise known has ethics, has been discussed so many times that my SJI classmates and I have lost count.

The question surrounding the topic of ethics has been: is there a place for politics in journalism and if yes, then to what extent?

Greg Bowers, sports editor of the Columbia Missourian, made the statement during his ethics discussion that sports and politics are more alike than not.

Having interned with ABC News at the 2012 Republican National Convention, I have some experience in political journalism. Politics fascinate me but I am not a politically charged person. Even before my experience at the RNC, I knew I that I had to be more of an observer of politics than a participator. No party affiliation for me when I signed up for my voter’s registration card in high school. This was the first step in separating my beliefs from my work and it’s an important step for any journalists regardless of what they cover.

The same principles that apply to journalists who cover politics, apply to journalists who cover sports. Wearing a jersey for the team you cover is like endorsing the candidate you voted for. It just shouldn’t be done. Food is another place where lines can be crossed. How much is common courtesy and how much is bribery? The final say on this comes down to your employer’s policy.

Bowers did a good job in leading this discussion where the lines are so blurred. There is no index card he can hand us that will serve us as an ethics rule book for every situation we may find ourselves in the rest of our careers. The resolution we did reach from our ethics discussion was that perception matters just as much as reality. Being perceived as biased by your peers, boss and especially readers, is just as much as an offense as actually reporting and writing with a bias.

Headed out West

by Caitlin Swieca

It’s been a long, immerse and mentally enriching week, but the SJI’s Class of 2013 will come to an end tonight. In a few days, we’ll be scattered around the country, hitting the ground running at our internships.

I’ll be leaving Columbia tomorrow and starting at the Denver Post on Monday morning. The reality of moving to Denver is just sinking in, and it makes me excited and nervous at the same time.

Not only will I be in an unfamiliar newsroom, I’ll be in a city I’ve never even visited in a region of the country completely unfamiliar to my family and me. Last year, I interned at the Daily Herald in suburban Chicago. Although I wasn’t familiar with all the suburban areas they covered – my GPS was working overtime all summer – I knew all the teams and had been following the storylines for years.

But SJI has given me a greater level of confidence going into this summer. My head is in a journalistic mindset and full of ideas for how to maximize my ten weeks in Denver and my last year in college. 

We heard from several SJI alumni today, and hearing their stories and views was comforting and exciting. One speaker, Shannon Owens of the Orlando Sentinel  really stressed how important it is to go out and find your own stories.

I asked her for advice on how to do this in a town we’re completely unfamiliar with, as many of us will be this summer. She suggested getting in touch with governing bodies of local leagues, learn the history of local sports so you’re not starting from scratch, and talking to other reporters to get ideas.

Most of all, she said, it’s important to settle in and be happy in your personal life, because personal life does affect your work. I think that’s a good piece of advice for all of us going forward.

While the industry can be cutthroat and there’s an emphasis on competing with others and constantly moving up the ladder, it’s important to find a balance where you both enjoy your personal life and create a healthy environment to get the most out of your time at work.

I’m very thankful for the opportunities SJI has given me in terms of expertise and networking, both with some of my very talented peers and some experienced professionals. The first opportunity will start in a few days, and I’m ready to take full advantage of it.  

Lee always in motion

By Al Montano

From time to time I tend to see a blur; I'm not really sure what it is, it just passes by every once in a while. 

Is their a ghost at SJI?

Both Leon Carter and Sandra Rosenbush have been in the room with us in our boot camp from the get-go teaching us about what is takes to make it in the sports business.

Even David Squires, assistant managing editor at the Sporting News, and Malcolm Moran, director of the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University, spent a few days with us and lecturing us. 

Today is the last day of SJI and I think I've discovered who the ghost of SJI is. 

We've been attending classes all week long at the Columbia Missourian news room and have had the privilege of listening to a lot of inspiring stories from some of the best journalists in the country.

From Bryan Burwell, Scott Brooks and Gerry Ahern to Stephen A. Smith, Greg Bowers and Arnie Robbins. 

However, their was one person who would miss class from time to time, Greg Lee.

Lee, who besides being a part of the Sports Journalism Institute along with Mr. Carter and Ms. Rosenbush, is the president of the National Association of Black Journalists and executive sports editor at the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

This guy was busy 24/7, it was crazy how many times he would run in and out of the news room talking on the phone. 

I later realized that Lee had been juggling all three of jobs at the same time. Lee is also the only SJI graduate to be a part of the organization part of the program. 

I find it inspiring that Lee has not only done his normal job, but he also carried his job duties as president and and organizer. 

He is the future of SJI.

He knows how to have fun but takes care of business when he has too.

I will never forget the times when he would jam out to artists like Michael Jackson in the red Dodge and dance to the music. 

Discovering the impact of voice

By Alex Riggins

Before I came to Missouri for the start of my time with the Sports Journalism Institute, co-founder and co-director Sandy Rosenbush told me in an email that since Day One, the program has been about “getting women and minority students ready to contribute their voices to our industry, and in turn helping the industry through the diversity of their thoughts and ideas.”

It required the visit of a sociologist to our class for me to better understand the meaning of her statement.

On Thursday, we had the privilege of hearing from Scott Brooks, an associate professor of sociology at University of Missouri. Brooks studies the sociology of sports, with a special emphasis on race and ethnicity in sports. He is the author of a book titled ‘Black Men Can’t Shoot.’

The book in part addresses the issue of black athletes and the way they are perceived as compared to their white counterparts. During his visit to our class, he spoke about similar issues regarding sports journalism, and the way that minority journalists are perceived compared to the white males that currently dominate the industry.   

But more importantly, he talked about the need for minority journalists to not just be in the newsroom, but to actually add our voices to the newsroom. He told us about the conventions of sports media, and that instead of running from them or avoiding them, we as minorities need to expose them, highlight them and ask questions so that we can add our voice and change the perceptions and change the conventions.  

What he told the class was almost word for word what Rosenbush had told me in that email. He added this point – if minorities are just contributing to the conventions, then what’s the point of having minorities in the newsroom?

What we can bring is a different viewpoint. Sports writing is a form of cultural writing, and Brooks said that marginalized people often make for the best cultural writers because of their unique perspective from the outside looking in.

There is so much more that can be said on the topic, such as the need for people like Leon Carter and Greg Lee, who are not just contributing their voices but are making decisions in the industry.

I’m grateful to Scott Brooks for speaking to our class and finally helping me realize what it was that Sandy has been telling me since before SJI began. This program is not just about adding minorities to the newsroom; this program is about adding minority voices to the newsroom.   

I go forward now with a new purpose and a clear objective: to add my unique voice to the sports journalism industry

An Ethical Dilemma

By Chris Trevino

I wouldn’t take the sandwich.

Sports editor Greg Bowers posed us this question: “If my mom (a source) offered you a sandwich, would you take it?”

I said no.

As a journalism graduate, I have been involved in many discussions on journalism ethics, both formal and informal, with teachers and fellow journalists. And Thursday’s lecture on ethical dilemmas was easily my favorite one.

The lecture revolved around the example of accepting things, namely food from a source or from a team we are covering in the press box. Now it seems silly to believe accepting a slice of pizza or a few cookies could persuade someone to write favorably for a team.

And of course we would all say that these generous acts would not sway our coverage of a team or person, but Bowers made an all important retort to that: “Do people think that?”

The perception that our audience has on us is all-important. Our stories could be 100 percent correct, but if my audience perceives me not to be credible because they think I’m influenced then my accuracy is pointless.

Now why did I say no. Well I will admit I have accepted food that was provided to by a team I was covering and it was only once. While I didn’t think of it much a few days after it, I still had it in the back of my mind. I just didn’t feel right.

But I’m still young and I know as I grow older I will be tested more by obstacles out there, which will give me an opportunity to develop a more comprehensive view of ethics. 

Pass the spaghetti—and let the debate begin

By Rhiannon Walker

The problem with ethics is that there is no black and white answer. The good thing about journalism ethics is that, well, there are no black and white answers.

While it is wildly frustrating to not have a set way to handle every situation that is thrown my way, I’m also happy that I don’t have to be robotic and only have one way of handling an issue.

Greg Bowers asked us if we would accept a glass of lemonade from his mother if we were sitting down to interview her. Most of my classmates said they had no issue with this.

He then asked us if we would accept a sandwich from her. Fewer people raised their hands for that.

Would we accept a plate of spaghetti? Even fewer hands went up.

The problem is that while none of us wanted to be rude to his mother or disregard her hospitality, we also didn’t want to compromise our ethics. After all, it’s not the intention of the person taking the food, but the perception of people watching the interaction.

Accepting the food won’t change how I cover Bowers’ mother. But whether I’m a fair reporter or not isn’t decided by me. It’s decided by those reading my work, and maybe watching me accept that plate of food.

I don’t care about whether people like what I have to say, but I do care about whether my work and my actions are regarded as ethical.  

So what’s the answer here? It’s difficult to say with certainty. But I do know that I learn something new whenever I find myself in a debate about ethics.

The natural? Or just another stereotype?

By Caitlin Swieca

Even though Scott Brooks is a sociologist by trade, his research and views on race, gender and sports were extremely relevant to what we’re doing this week at SJI.

Brooks is a Missouri professor and the author of “Black Men Can’t Shoot,” a book about the myth of the natural black athlete and how that is manifested in a summer basketball league in Philadelphia.

Although he has never worked as a reporter, Brooks had great insights on how race is portrayed in the media. He encouraged us to not only steer clear of, but also question, the archetypal portrayals of athletes of color and their stories.

One of my articles for the SJI Bulletin was about the APSE diversity report card that was released earlier in the year. The report shows dismal progress and very low percentages of women and minorities in positions of power in sports departments.

For my story, I started talking to some prominent minority sports editors in the country, including Jorge Rojas of the Miami Herald, the current APSE Diversity chair; Michael Anastasi, founder of the APSE Diversity Program; and Kathy Kudravi, chair of the board for the Association for Women in Sports Media.

Although it’s easy to look at the report and say that newspapers aren’t doing enough to diversify, the people I spoke to seemed optimistic. They pointed out how difficult it is to bring women and minorities up through the system – while programs like SJI help start journalists in the industry, they can’t make them managers right away.

Brooks spoke about the importance of taking statistics like those in the Lapchick report and putting stories behind them. We need to address the struggle and come up with meaningful ways to change things. There are no easy solutions, but it’s an important discussion for us, as an industry, to have.

Beyond the conventional stories

By Rebecca Fitzgerald

Sports Journalism Institute students explored Sportsland Thursday afternoon with University of Missouri associate professor of sociology Scott Brooks. 

Although Sportsland may seem unfamiliar, I think it’s a common world to journalists - perhaps too familiar. 

Brooks introduced the work of Dianne Hagaman, who coined the term Sportsland, as a “highly selective view of the actual world of sports, stories about a make-believe world in which certain aspects of our society are emphasized and made the basis for the entire description of a world … In this simplified world, only a few important things go on, there are only a few issues, only a few commonly held values.” 

Simply, Sportsland is ideologically driven, conforming to the ideas we value as a society and culture. 

Hagaman provided examples of these conventional stories through photographs. Some demonstrated victory with groups celebrating together. Others portrayed defeat with individuals alone with their heads bowed. 

But what’s most interesting – at least to me – is that Sportsland also reflects the lack of diversity among sports writers.  

Conventional stories arise from a lack of diverse viewpoints of both the writers and the subjects. Everyone has a different voice, yet not all of them are heard.

Brooks explained how our SJI class is breaking down the barriers by representing the next generation of journalists with strong diversity. Unlike the predominantly white-dominated field of sports writers, Brooks pointed out that we are used to seeing things from the outside due to our marginalized status. 

He encouraged us to write with our different experiences in mind, ask the different questions to unique individuals and create a new storyline. And although we are underrepresented among sports writers, we always have the opportunity to create distinct pieces.

I’d say we have an advantage now. 

What does it take to be a columnist

By Al Montano

I’ve been sitting in a chair inside the Colombia Missourian news room for four days now and had no idea the art of column writing was all around me. 

Brian Burwell, columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, could have talked to us from sunset to sundown.

But after the two and a half hours that he did speak to us, I had information overload. Becoming a columnist takes, as Burwell says, “perspective, opinion, and observation.” 

Everyone has a different angle, depending on where you’re standing. You might be seeing something from an angle that another person can’t see from their point of view. 

Burwell gave us numerous tips about what we need to do in order to become successful columnists in any industry, but most importantly, sports.

He threw out phrases like “great power of observation,” “informed opinion,” “be right, not fair,” “have a conversation,” “intimidation factor” and “fair and balance is BS.”

I personally connected a lot with this lecture because I felt that it was personalized to me, and I’m going to remember a lot of his examples that I think will help me in my journalism career.

According to Burwell, it takes an informed opinion to be a successful columnist; you don’t come out of journalist school with an informed opinion. It takes craft building and long years of practice. 

He recommended us to start off as beat reporters and really learn the art of journalism more than anything before we take on the art of column writing.

He also added that you want to know what you’re talking about. And it makes sense because there isn’t any point to me covering a sport like water polo if I don’t know anything about the sport.

One of the most important things that I learned is that you got to have courage in order to make it into the columnist business, because people are always going to have something to say and they are going to try to intimidate you. 

The intimidation factor is strong, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and the readers won’t hold back. You can’t worry about what they say or let them form an opinion for you. 

Then you wouldn’t be protecting the most important part of your job, your craft and informed opinion. 

You can’t we a wuss, “have a straight and strong spine,” as Burwell said. Be right, not fair. 

Ethics: Food for thought

By Isabelle Khurshudyan

If you are reporting on a game, is it ethical to eat the free food provided in the press box?

The question led to a heated discussion in this morning’s Sports Journalism Institute class because one of the worst things in journalism — and life — is to be called unethical.

I’ve consumed a lot of food in press boxes and I’ve never regarded it as an issue, which I think is indicative of how free food in press boxes does not sway me one way or another. In my mind, it’s a courtesy by the team’s staff to create a better work environment when journalists often have to spend eight to 10 hours covering a game.

Some people in our class argued the free food can influence feelings towards a game or venue. So I solicited the opinions of some of my friends or former colleagues who are journalists — not all sportswriters — and posed the question to them that was posed to us. I think their answers show the bigger picture of ethics: there’s no concrete way to handle this issue and it’s up to each person’s judgment.

Chris Carlson, covers Syracuse football and basketball for the Syracuse Post-Standard: “I understand and have talked to many journalists that do have an issue with it, and while I commend their recognition of the importance of ethics, if we sports reporters are of such little intellect that our coverage can be bought off with a plate of chicken then we have much larger issues to deal with as a profession. I view it as the same as buying a source a cup of coffee or taking them out to lunch. We don’t view it as a bribe and probably don’t expect it to change anything. … We do it as a courtesy, to thank them for their time, to make their lives a little easier and to show them a little respect.”

Joshua Dawsey, Wall Street Journal reporter on the Greater New York team: “As a journalist, you never want to be beholden to anyone. So if I take a source out to lunch, I always pay. If I'm at a party, I rarely take a drink -- unless someone offers and it'd be rude to turn them down. I try to never take anything for free. If I'm somewhere it's impossible to pay, I at least insist on several occasions to the host that I want to pay. That said, I don't find it wholly unethical to dine in the press box. The food you're taking is of minimal value, and any journalist who can be bought off with a $10 meal probably has no integrity to begin with.”

David Teel, senior sports columnist with The Daily Press: “If our bosses or the franchises/schools we cover believe our reporting will, or can, be influenced by what is often cafeteria-caliber slop, then our problem is credibility, not ethics. Besides, how many stadium/arena security types search our bags and get their knickers in a wad when they discover contraband such as bagels, power bars or, God forbid, an apple? Don’t know about you, but during an 8-to-10-hour day in a press box, I gotta eat.”

Darryl Slater, Charleston Post and Courier’s South Carolina Gamecocks beat reporter: “Maybe in the strictest sense you are taking a benefit from the people you’re covering. I feel like there are bigger and more impactful issues in journalism that that.”

Josh Kendall, South Carolina football reporter for The (Columbia, S.C.) State: I certainly don't think it's unethical to eat a free press box meal as I've had a ton of them. … I don't think sharing a meal does anything to blur the professional lines of what we are all there to do.

Finding the Perspective

By Chris Trevino

Never in my four years studying journalism have I ever given any thought to becoming a columnist. I feel the demands and expectations put on columnist and their style of opinioned writing does not suit me.

 

Despite this lack of interest in becoming a columnist, I was still able to learn a lot from today’s guest speaker, well renowned St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bryan Burwell and not just advice about being a successful columnist, but a successful journalist.  

 

What stuck out to me most was perspective. This to me was the most interesting point Burwell made. In all my journalism experience, I don’t recall being lectured on this concept. His point on the two ways of viewing the hug gave at the beginning of class was simple, but eye opening.

 

When I’m stuck or tired of viewing a story from the same view over and over, I will remember this hug and look for the other side, to look where no one is.

 

Burwell also made a point of encouraging us to read, to read as much as we could and to read the best writings out there. I found this funny because I had received this advice two years earlier as a junior in college. Scott—or S.L.— Price had told me this during a lecture at the University of Maryland. And it seemed fitting Burwell brought up Price when discussing this point.

 

Since Price’s lecture two years ago, I have followed this advice very closely. It was nice to hear Burwell make this exact same point and remind me two years later to keep reading and keep growing because we are never done improving, no matter how close we think we are to being perfect. There is always something else to learn.

SJI Defines A Journalist’s Job

By Erica A. Hernandez 

Stephen A. Smith shared many anecdotes from his colorful career with the SJI class on Wednesday.

“It’s not my job to know, it’s my job to ask those who know,” Smith said. 

This week, more than ever, my job has been to know. During the institute, we have been asked to know everything about anything and at any time of day. Sports checks test our obscure sporting knowledge. Leon Carter tests our knowledge of “Invictus.” Our speakers test our knowledge on the current state of the business. 

This all has been quiet a high demand on my small two decades of knowledge. My mornings are now spent studying the French Open standings and consuming any news I can get my hands on. Luckily this has increased my knowledge. 

The constant expectations and the qualified speakers has given me more knowledge but not enough to ever think I should stop asking those who know. As Smith said, that’s our job and it will always be, because if we get to the point where we as a society have no questions and stop seeking out knowledge, then we would see the death of journalism. 

David Squires, night editor at the Sporting News, also imparted some wise words of wisdom on the practice of journalism. 

“If life ever knocks you down, fall on your back. If you can look up then you can get up,” Squires said. 

These are words I know will ring true at some point in my future. I’m not naive enough to believe any of this will be easy. This week has only proved this belief even more, but it has also given me a new set of beliefs. 

I am confident now that if at some point in my career I should fall, I’ll be able to fall on my back and look up at where I’m striving to be because of what Squires and the rest of the speakers have taught me. 

With the support of the SJI extended family I’ll continue to ask questions to those who know and keep looking up. 

SUNY Geneseo to Mizzou J-school: Sizing them up

By Rebecca Fitzgerald

I’m always up for a new journalistic challenge.

While touring the Mizzou campus with Columbia Missourian sports editor Greg Bowers on Monday, I was reminded of one.

The facilities, renowned professors and state-of-the-art technology (seriously, how can Mizzou have so many iMacs?) significantly differed from where I’m coming from at SUNY Geneseo.

Unlike most of my Sports Journalism Institute classmates, I’m not enrolled in a J-school. At SUNY Geneseo, a public liberal arts college in Western New York, I am a communication major. We have three tracks, similar to Mizzou’s five sequences, in journalism/media, personal and professional and intercultural communication.

I’ve taken a variety of courses that focused on sports broadcasting, management, issues surrounding journalism and public relations. Hands-on experience isn’t at a faculty-led and student-produced newspaper, like the Columbia Missourian. Rather, I participate in SUNY Geneseo’s independent student newspaper, The Lamron. Student editors assign, report, write, edit, design and produce the weekly publication. 

Some may not take my experiences too seriously, but I wouldn’t trade them for any J-school.

Mizzou’s resources are impressive, but I’d rather attend SUNY Geneseo where I can dive right into print journalism and broadcasting. I’d rather make tough decisions about media and management alongside my peers. I’d rather be an editor and learn invaluable lessons on leadership.

Going into SJI, I was aware that my journalism experiences are far different than those of J-school students. One isn’t necessarily better or worse. They’re just different.

Burwell’s insights applicable to all facets of journalism

By Caitlin Swieca

In an industry where professors preach the value of objectivity and neutral reporting, it was refreshing to hear Bryan Burwell, sports columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, speak about the misguided value of “fairness.”

Burwell came to teach us the art of column writing, but ended up speaking about a number of topics. After telling us how important a conversational interview style was, he showed his gift for conversation by answering our questions for almost two hours.

One of the most striking things he said was that he doesn’t want to be fair, he wants to be right. Although beat writers have to remain objective, I think this is a great lesson for all journalists to keep in mind, especially in the face of criticism from readers, who often call stories unfair.

In an era where ESPN urges its viewers to “Embrace Debate,” it was also refreshing to hear Burwell say that not everything has to be a debate. Beliefs, which are the basis of columns, are not meant to be debated.

Burwell reinforced a lot of what I’ve learned at the Missourian about the value of finding a story others don’t consider. For an example, he talked about his column from the 2011 World Series that focused on the fan experience rather than the game itself.

This approach is probably most valuable to column writers, but it’s also important for beat writers to occasionally think outside the lines. This can set their stories apart from the pack.

I also asked Burwell about his recent book about John Madden. He said that when writing a profile, he did tons of research beforehand, sorted it into categories, and did several interviews of others before even approaching his subject.  Even though I don’t plan on writing any books in the near future, I think I’ll use this method when I write profiles in the future. Lessons from Burwell – about finding voice, hunting unique stories and doing your research first – will definitely come in handy no matter what jobs we end up with.

APSE: Is for students too

By Kelly Parsons

Last summer I attended the Associated Press Sports Editors convention when that group teamed up with the Association for Women in Sports Media, and it was a wonderful learning and networking experience. APSE members were helpful and had lots of good advice for a young person like myself entering the business. It didn't take me long, however, to notice the lack of up-and-comers in attendance.

Most of the attendees were middle-aged men who had been in the business for at least a decade. While I had a great experience in Chicago, I would have enjoyed being surrounded by others from my generation. 

APSE president Gerry Ahern, who’s also director, news content, USA TODAY sports media group, spoke with our class Wednesday about how APSE has helped journalists find community with, and learn from, one another. But Ahern said he wishes more young people were involved in the group. Because of that, he made it a goal of his presidency to recruit more young journalists to APSE and its convention.

"It's really an organization that sometimes takes a bad rap for being stuck in the mud," Ahern said. "But really what I've found is it's a group that tries to make its members better at the craft."

Ahern wants to make sure people of all ages reap those benefits. During his presidency, he encouraged APSE members to sponsor students in the group. He also introduced a special student rate of $100 for the convention in Detroit. 

Having more young journalists in the group would add a new generation of minds to discussions. It would also encourage more students to benefit from the experience of the APSE convention, as I did last summer.

"It's a great opportunity for the organization to make its future strong," Ahern said.

Be informed before writing commentary

by Martenzie Johnson

When writing a news column or story a journalist’s number one goal should be to tell the audience something that the television could not.  Bryan Burwell’s talk on the “Art of the Column” centered on the theme of looking and searching for innovative angles in journalism.

Burwell, a columnist at the St. Louis Dispatch, listed the four keys to column writing (which can also be applied to news writing):

• Perspective
• Opinion
• Observation
• Informed Opinion

The most important of these keys, in my opinion, is presenting an informed opinion.  Any “Joe Schmo” could sit in his or her living room and spew opinion to an audience.  A writer needs to add factual evidence to their opinion to present an effective, informed opinion.

I wrote a column in 2011 that was ran in the Badger Herald in Madison, Wisc.  The topic was on the budget deficit in the state after the recent (controversial) budget proposal of Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

Without stating my political allegiance, I could have simply bad-mouthed the governor but I looked up valid and factual evidence to back up my claims.  I searched the prices of tobacco in America, the total deficit/debt of the state of Wisconsin, and how much the state could/would stand to make if it increased the tobacco tax.

Most Wisconsinites and Americans hate the idea of raising taxes but I presented a perspective that most did not have at the time of the state deficit.  At the same time, many Americans hate tobacco and its harmful effects.

My column is not a perfect example o

f Burwell’s strategy (perspective, opinion, observation, informed opinion) but I do believe that the angle I took was very important.  I started a conversation, which is what journalism is about.

Right trumps fair

By Isabelle Khurshudyan

I don’t want to be fair. I want to be right.

That was the crux of St Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bryan Burwell’s message to the Sports Journalism Institute this morning. Though I don’t currently have any interest in column writing, Burwell’s words apply to all journalists. We’re in the business of accuracy.

“People can have an opinion all day long,” Burwell said, “but if you don’t know what you’re talking about, what separates you from the guy writing in his basement and living with his mom?”

Covering South Carolina football for the last two years, I learned being right is not always easy. Head coach Steve Spurrier disagreed with a local columnist then refused to answer questions from all reporters when that columnist was present. Ultimately, the columnist stopped attending Spurrier’s interview sessions but covered the team anyway. I don’t know whose decision that was, but it never sat well with me.

I asked Burwell about that instance and he gave an example of when he was covering high schools earlier in his career. A high school coach said he wouldn’t talk to Burwell after he didn’t like something about Burwell’s coverage. Burwell didn’t write about the team for months, but when he eventually went to one of its games, the assistant coach came over to Burwell and said the head coach told him to tell Burwell that the head coach and the team’s players would talk to Burwell again.
Burwell said he didn’t want to talk to the head coach, but he’d talk to the players.
“You can’t be a wuss in this business,” Burwell said.
Whether you’re a columnist, beat reporter or food critic, Burwell said, “Your job is not to pander. Your job is to do your job.” Following that rule, everyone will write something that someone else — probably the subject of the writing — doesn’t like.

If you only write positive things, how do you know when someone is actually doing something good? It won’t stand out among all of the other glowing stories. It’s not about being fair. It’s about being right.

"Who To Follow"

By Chris Trevino

I never gave much thought to the people that I follow on Twitter. To be quite honest I was always more concerned about who was following me. But Tuesday’s guest speaker, Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated, convinced me otherwise.

“You will be a well-rounded thinker and reporter if you follow the people who are at the highest at their profession,” Deitsch said. The editor/writer went on to add that the people you follow should “reflect the people you want to be like” within the field of journalism.

He called Twitter the “looking glass.”

This nugget of information struck me the most out of the lecture. Not because it was a groundbreaking idea but simply because I had not thought of it before. While I do follow some great writers and journalists already on Twitter, they are greatly outweighed by what I will call Twitter “white noise”: the random, useless jargon on the news feed.

Since I’ve made that jump from student to graduate, I’ve realized things are changing within my life and my social media practices are certainly not exempt. Deitsch’s words helped me see that I need to cut out all that white noise from my feed and begin to find the journalists that I want to emulate. It is a change that I’m confident will not only make me a better journalist but better at social media as well.

Over the years I have made it a habit to read and digest only the best writers and their great works week in and week out.

So why shouldn’t I follow them?

A different perspective

By Caitlin Swieca

Having worked at the Columbia Missourian for a year and a half, I’ve been indirectly exposed to the philosophy and work of Joy Mayer, our community outreach team leader. 

Although I had taken a version of Joy’s course (with a different professor), I had never heard her full spiel on social media until Tuesday, when she came to speak to SJI.

In the past, I had been skeptical of some of the Missourian’s social media efforts. I agree that serving readers should be the basis of any news organization’s mission, but I thought some things, like the “From Readers” submissions, crossed the line and didn’t always qualify as news. But hearing Joy get to talk about the different aspects of social media, based on the research she did as an RJI fellow at Missouri, was enlightening as to why the Missourian has taken to running readers’ submissions. 

Especially in a mid-sized, two-newspaper town like Columbia, reaching out to readers can help make the difference in where they turn for news. Based on the Missourian’s Facebook page, I’m not sure how effective it is or how many responses they get to the average item, but I think that making the effort consistently will help readers eventually appreciate the effort to connect. 

It’s hard to wrap my mind completely around this philosophy, because it’s not something you can do halfway. To make it work, you need to buy in and be sure everyone in the newsroom does the same. You have to apply that philosophy to every piece of work.

What does it mean for me? When I return to the Missourian and work for the copy desk (and possibly for Joy’s outreach team), I’ll see it in action and can try to take a more active role. But for the summer, it’s something I can apply to each story. When I write something, I can think about where I might be able to share it online to generate the most feedback. Even if I might not be able to enact any long-term plans, I think it would be good practice to begin with readers in mind each time I write a story.

Stay in your lane

By Brandon Theo Dorsey

We visited KOMU as a class
 and the lesson we learned is one many local stations need to hear. “If you’re going to compete in this day and age, everything needs to be local,” Jim Riek, senior anchor, told us.

The reason Riek gave for this is the domination of national sports news by entities such as ESPN. National sports coverage runs 24/7 online and on major TV networks, so this raises a major question: Why would anyone wait on local news for the information they can access anytime?

They don’t and they won’t. 

This is why it is imperative for local stations, especially campus stations and those serving small markets, to focus on the stories that major networks don’t cover. And we were advised that the best stories are the one’s focused on a person.

Not everyone is a sports fan, but audiences love human-interest stories. To take a local sports star and show the human side of his or her story is much more relevant than to give a preview to the NBA Finals.

Uncovering a story behind a story is not always the easiest task. This is why Kent Collins, chairman of radio and television at the University of Missouri, made sure to inform us all that sports journalism is not a walk in the park. “It’s not easy,” said Collins. “If you don’t have the guts for this, go do something else.”

The Missourian method

By Erica A. Hernandez

Getting to work out of the Missourian’s news room this past week has been an inspiring and motivating experience. Unique among other journalism schools in the nation, the Missouri School of Journalism, created in 1908, is the oldest in the U.S. At Mizzou, students learn by doing.
Greg Bowers, sports editor at the Columbia Missourian, has been our host and liaison. Bowers has welcomed us into the newsroom and the classroom in Missouri. Seeing the journalism school was eye opening.  The nine journalism buildings, the libraries, the labs—there is no way around it, the school is impressive.

What may be more impressive is the quality of the professors and editors. A visual storytelling session by Missourian director of photography Brian Kratzer immediately inspired me to sign up for a photo class at Florida in the fall. He went over my favorite part of journalism: the human aspect. It doesn’t matter if it's sports, news, photography, graphics or any other mediums. It's action and reaction.

Joy Mayer, Missourian director of community outreach, took this concept even further. Mayer showed the class a new facet of journalism: participatory journalism. This idea has been touched upon in most of my classes at UF. It seems that it will likely redefine journalism, but never had I seen it so seamlessly executed as in the examples Mayer showed. The most notable example was the Guardian's idea of "open journalism." The concept is introduced eloquently by this ad: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2012/feb/29/open-journalism-three-little-pigs-advert. Open journalism, which allows the community to participate and further coverage, is exciting and something I see as crucial to journalism's survival.

How to engage the social universe

By Martenzie Johnson

Joy Mayer spoke oabout community engagement and how it applies to “social media” in journalism.  What stuck out the most was her emphasis on “knowing the audience” and opening a two-way conversation between journalists and users.

The Mutualisation quadrant is a very interesting concept in social media: going beyond the reporting and consumption of the news.  I was, and still am, skeptical of its feasibility in the United States—it is used heavily by The Guardian in the United Kingdom.

The post-production phase for journalists is mostly implemented in most newsrooms, with a majority of online newspapers opening up comment sections (The Columbian Missourian even offers a “Show Me the Errors” section for users to interact).  But I sense a possible stagnation when it comes pre-production at the user level.

Mayer suggested that writers and editors could live blog/tweet their meetings to inform the public of what they are working on and possibly grow a source list.  There are many reasons why that is problematic, including:

• It notifies your competitors of what you are working on.
• It might not serve to prompt them to read the paper or view online.
• It could tip off corporations that you are looking into them.

I don’t know how to start pre-production when it comes to users.  The Associated Press has an effective method of its writers Tweeting out for help writing on particular topics, but I am not sure how media organizations can go beyond that method.  Live-blogging feels more counterintuitive than beneficial. 

The message that was drilled home all day—including lectures from Richard Deitsch and the news staff at KOMU—was knowing the audience and giving them what they want.  At the same time, the bottom line matters.  The above bullet points identify problems in attempting to reach out to users, but we have a few starting points, and need to build from there. 

Searching for direction in social media

By Al Montano

Walking somewhere with no sense of direction is practically pointless. The same can be said about social media. There has to be a sense of purpose.

In other words, what do the readers want?

Joy Mayer of the Columbia Missourian (where she is the director of community outreach and teaches classes in participatory journalism, multimedia design and print design), taught us how important it is to be interactive in the world of journalism, especially in a small town like Columbia.

Social media is a personal and conversational tool you can use to communicate, but at first I only thought it referred to Facebook and Twitter. I was wrong.

She got us thinking about what readers want besides a story and how they could be better integrated into the part of the news that gets reported in newspapers and online.

One thing I found more interesting was all the different avenues that are available for readers to use to have a better and deeper connection with reporters. For instance, audience fact checking has become an important asset to reporters because readers can save reporters from errors.

From now on, whenever I have stories published and get a chance to be a part of a community outreach project, I will make a better effort to interact more with the public, whether through Facebook, a web site or another avenue.

The social approach to journalism is crucial to succeeding in a small town because you are more likely to get a response from someone in there than in a large city. And most young journalists start out in small town newspapers, so it’s important that I include this tool in my resume. After all, it’s the readers that make up the community you work in.

In search of a larger audience

By Rhiannon Walker

I just got up, close and personal with the world of audience engagement. 

Actually, more importantly, something I learned outside of my journalism classes in school came in handy. Who knew the stuff I learned outside of those classes would be applicable to anything else I did?

Joy Mayer was our speaker for the top of the evening, and she dove right into how newspapers and other news media were gaining more readers, hits, followers, etc. 

She asked about how open journalism can be a good thing, and I answered that it creates a reciprocal form of communication between media sources and their viewers, which creates a level of trust between the two. 

In all of my journalism classes I have been taught to talk conversationally and to stay away from using big words or jargon that your average, run of the mill audience member wouldn’t understand. When Mayer pointed out that in a lot of ways we were being talked at, but not to by the media, it made me pause. 

On the one hand, I thought about how, well, that’s obvious because viewers aren’t the ones being trained to disseminate information in a creative and artistic way. And while they’re screaming at us for transparency, other occupations are allowed to operate in privacy without really answering to anyone.  

On the other hand, I know what it feels like to sit through a broadcast or read an article that I felt was missing something substantial or didn’t have the information in it that I wanted to know. I have also found myself wishing that media outlets had more interactive ways for their fans to get involved with the program or reporters.

If our job as journalists is to produce everything we do in a conversational tone, then audience engagement, and open journalism, where we share ideas, is the way of the future. 

It makes sense for a couple of reasons. There is a bad reputation about journalists being isolated, territorial and sensationalists, and by opening the floor to people and allowing them to be a part of the creative process, we can better serve the community at large. 

Think of it like our government. If we want to attend Senate meetings, we have the legal right to do so. 

And why does the government allow that? Because there was a period in our nation’s history where people didn’t trust the government, and to alleviate that mistrust the government opened itself up to the people. 

And the reason I think it works so well is because the pressure is on the people to step up and say something if they’re not pleased. If you give people the option that places the ball in their court. In all truth, people more than likely won’t use it, but the option to participate is still available to them. 

Identifying with Negro leaguers

By Isabelle Khurshudyan

Just a few steps into Kansas City's Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, an exhibit comes to life.

A timeline of the history of the Negro leagues wraps around a replica of the Kansas City Monarchs baseball field. There are statues of the team's players in their positions on the field, with Satchel Paige pitching, of course. The field is dark until the outfield lights flicker on, letting the metal statues shine.
The Negro leagues' players shined during my first trip to the museum as their stories were illuminated.
Knowing little about the Negro leagues, I was fascinated by the stories outside of Jackie Robinson that made an impact on not only the game of baseball, but on society as a whole.
Living in South Carolina, where the Confederate flag hangs at the Statehouse, civil rights is an issue that's is right in front of me every time I drive past. Touring the museum, I was most moved by the stories of the Negro leagues players' challenges in traveling for games in some parts of the country.
Negro leagues players would have to stay in black homes or black hotels, and they could only eat in black restaurants. If a team was playing in New York, it was limited to staying in Harlem.
Lodging became so difficult for the Monarchs that they relied only on black boarding homes and private homes when they were on the road. If rooms were unavailable, players had to pitch tents and camp in the woods or near the ballpark. Early in the decade, the teams had to travel in segregated rail cars.
I have been fortunate to live a comfortable life in a time when America is becoming increasingly tolerant, but the stories of the Negro leagues players reminded me of the stories my Ukranian grandparents told me of having to immigrate to the United States nearly 40 years ago.
My grandmother was Jewish, and my Greek Orthodox grandfather would be passed over for promotions in favor of others without Jewish ties because of the growing anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union. My grandparents came to America for a better and more tolerant quality of life. For the Negro leagues players, where could they go?
Stepping onto the museum's "field," I had my answer.
The baseball diamond was these players' sanctuary. The color of their skin didn't help them hit home runs or turn double plays. When the lights at the field turned on, everyone beamed.

Reflections on struggles of past

By Rebecca Fitzgerald

Growing up in the 21st century, I’m used to the whirlwinds that surround me. Change occurs so quickly and frequently that they become second nature. 

Because of this, sometimes I analyze the present and anticipate the future rather than reflecting on the past.

But not Sunday.

In the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo., I learned about the legacies of several African-American baseball players.

I learned about the first Negro league and its formation in Kansas City in 1920, led by Andrew “Rube” Foster – then a player, manager and owner of the Chicago American Giants.  

I was reminded of Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to earn a spot on a Major League roster, as well as all of the other players, managers and executives who contributed.  Their legacy and efforts still resonate more than 50 years later, both on and off the field.

As one of this year’s interns of the Sports Journalism Institute, I could relate to the veterans who assisted in developing baseball into America’s national pastime. We, too, are breaking barriers.

In the field of sports media dominated by white males, each of us acts as a number – one more minority reporting sports in the nation. We’re more than a number, though.

Yes, we’re minorities, but more importantly, we’re diverse. Each of us carries a story. We have our own ideas on how we can change the state of sports media. And, like Robinson, we have the opportunity to change America’s ways.

We’re already on the right path, participating in the Sports Journalism Institute. Some of us have also joined the Association for Women in Sports Media, the National Association for Black Journalists and other organizations that embrace a similar mission: to increase diversity in media outlets across the nation.

We’re lucky, because unlike the Negro leagues players in the 20th century, we have support. There are hundreds, even thousands, who are united together and want to increase diversity in newsrooms.

But without civil rights leaders, such as Robinson, we wouldn’t be here today.