Sports Team

Don’t despair when you read that newspapers are losing readers or that news organizations are laying off workers. Seriously. That people are losing jobs is sad news, to be sure, but this is no reason to abandon hope in journalism. Newspaper websites are gaining readers online , specifically younger readers who are engaged in today's news and issues, according to several surveys. And online advertising is solidly growing , accounting for about $2.3 billion of total newspaper revenue last year -- more than twice the total from 2003. These changes have also created more opportunities, says Chicago Tribune sports editor Dan McGrath. "We know the audience is out there," McGrath said during a panel at the Illinois College Press Association last week. "We just need to find a way to reach them." Phil Hersh , who has covered international sports since 1987, says he can now reach a much wider audience at all times of the day. No longer do newspapers rely upon a 24-hour...

It's nearly tournament time in college basketball. At this point of the season, individual accolades are not nearly as important as postseason opportunities. Fans want to know whether their team will qualify for their league tournaments. In college men's basketball, teams like Florida, Oregon, Massachusetts and St. Joseph's are on the proverbial bubble, unsure whether they will reach the NCAA Tournament. Women's teams like Houston, Southern Alabama and Illinois State are also concerned. These teams may have to win their respective college tournaments to reach the NCAA Tournament. (Please, please, please: Do not call this the Big Dance unless you are also going to ruin your copy with terms like charity stripe, dishing the rock, and treys.) So, focus on your school's postseason chances. Will your school's team even reach the league tournament? Perhaps, the team is in 10th place and only eight teams go, which is the case for our school in the Ohio Valley Conferenc...

A Florida sports editor says nothing is more important than developing news instincts on a beat. A North Carolina sports editor says he looks for personality, enthusiasm and multimedia experience. A senior editor in Illinois says sports journalists ought to know – and use – language well. And a sports editor in Kansas says college students ought to get editing and reporting experience. Above else, job applicants should know how to develop and insert a wide variety of sources – something some editors look at first. As a matter of fact, many sports editors only briefly review an applicant’s resume before going to the clips. If the clips impress, then the resume and cover letter may get a second look. Beat reporting is essential to attracting some of this attention. Beat experience is essential to honing reporting skills, forcing sports journalist to cultivate sources, develop story ideas, and learn news values. “I don’t care about the beat they covered,” says the North Carolina sports e...

Check out a new feature on the sister site to this blog, at onsports. wordpress.com, that lists job opportunities. News organizations regularly update these job openings. This feature is listed down the right side of the rail, under PAGES. Click here to go to this site. -30-

You may want to check out the Sports Institute at Boston College, where you can spend four weeks learning and practicing sports journalism. The literature says this course offers practical hands-on training in print, broadcast and multimedia reporting. The faculty are experienced as well. You can learn more by going to their website. The Poynter Institute offers a more abbreviated immersion into sports journalism that features journalists from Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today and the Sporting News, among others. The Sports Journalism Summit attracts professional and academic applicants. But this summit also accepts college students so check out the site for this three-day session to be held in St. Petersburg. Application deadline is in a few weeks. Good luck. -30-

photo/Brad Vest (Daily Illini) Indiana won an exciting double overtime basketball game last week, beating Illinois thanks to some missed free throws. It is unfair to say Shaun Pruitt lost the game for the Illini, even if his actions were crucial. Still, most fans will focus on the final plays – and so will sportswriters in most cases, which is fine in games like this. But we also need to offer analysis of other key points in the game to reveal how others also affected the outcome. In the Super Bowl last week, it would have been equally easy to say Eli Manning won the game for the Giants or that the Patriots defensive line lost it. We need to look beyond the easy to discover other reasons for results. That means learning as much as possible about game strategy. That means talking with those immersed in the game. I cannot emphasize this aspect enough. Sport writers need to speak with coaches and players before and after games to understand what happens in the games – even if you are on a...

The Charleston Times-Courier is seeking an editor/designer for its sports desk. This paper, which does a good job covering prep and college sports, is looking to improve its packaging and presentation. I know the managing editor, who is a great guy. I'll post more on getting jobs in the next few days. You can find other jobs at Journalism Jobs , and at the Associated Press Sports Editor's website. Sports Copy Editor/Designer We're looking for someone who knows sports and loves design to join our copy desk team. We seek someone to help us attract a wider audience through lively visual presentation in print and on our Web site. The preferred candidate will have college newspaper or professional copy editing/design experience. Minimum requirements include an eye for accuracy, a flair for headlines and design and knowledge of both Quark and Photoshop. The Mattoon Journal Gazette and Charleston Times-Courier are part of Lee Enterprises, the fourth-largest newspaper group in th...

I'm getting chills listening to NFL players read the Declaration of Independence, the greatest document ever written -- a document that gives us the freedoms we take for granted. Poll after poll shows that most people know little about this amazing document and that fewer than 20 percent can name more than two of the five freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution's Bill of Rights -- speech, press, religion, and the rights to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Let's remember these inalienable rights past today's Super Bowl. Get out and vote in Tuesday's primaries. Show that you care about this great country. God Bless America, baby! When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent ...

Andy Landers won his 700th basketball game as coach of Georgia’s women’s team, making him the fourth coach to reach this plateau. That’s no small feat given the highly competitive nature of the Southeastern Conference. Surely, Georgia fans were doubly excited that this milestone victory came against rival Florida. The No. 17 Bulldogs routed the Gators, 82-55. Off the court, the college journalists covering these games were faced with a different task – revealing the importance of the game to its distinct readers, something these reporters did pretty well. They did an especially fine job of illustrating key moments and offering context. Let’s see how these stories compare in this week’s sports writing showdown. I want to again acknowledge that this assessment is intended for education and fun – NOT to demean the work of college journalists who work hard learning their profession. Unlike other college students, journalists have their homework graded by the public. As a newspaper adviser,...