DR. LISA WIELAND SPORTSWRITING NOTES

WHY AND HOW THE MEDIA COVER S SPORTS  Radio and TV give the immediate news, such as the scores.  Newspapers determine which plays and actions had the biggest influence on the outcome.  Newspapers give an in-depth analysis.

TYPES OF SPORTS S TORIES :  Advance—What can be expected from both teams, compare/contrast, record analysis, game plan. 5 W’s and H  Post-game—historical document ; needs outstanding characteristic (angle/feature) [For example, no-hitter; ended long winning streak.], names of teams, score, and date.

TYPES, CONTINUED  Individual sports—individual contests that add up to the team’s score (golf, swimming, tennis), puts individuals’ performance into perspective (did they hurt or help the team? Why?)  Sports briefs—three to four crisp and concise stories about games or sports figures packed with as much info as possible.  Scoreboard—results of games played during that publication period. Boxed.

MORE TYPES...  Sports features—personality profile (coach, trainer, bench-warmer, etc.)  In-depth Story—analyzes “trends” and “developments” behind the scenes (policies, lawsuits—off-court stories) in an effort to inform.  Sports column—to praise, criticize, or interpret; all opinion should be supported by fact. (Rick Bozich is an example of a columnist)

WHO IS THE AUDIENCE FOR SPORTS STORIES?  Coach  Squad members  Sports nuts  Casual fans  Players  Parents of players  The student body

KEEP IN MIND:  You need to draw a distinct line between the athletes and the event they are competing in.  The people make the story, the games provide the setting.  Don’t write about who won, but HOW it was won!  Don’t Cheerlead—its ok to have a word or two about the “enemy”, but don’t go overboard

M ORE TO KEEP IN MIND...  Use sport terms, but avoid jargon  Avoid cliché’s (“a great win”); be original  use action verbs, not state of being verbs  edit ruthlessly—space is precious  avoid nicknames

A ND FINALLY...  don’t overload identification  attribute  never allow the players or the coach to write the story  avoid hyperbole and overly-violent imagery

ADVANCES VS. FOLLOW-UPS:  IN ADVANCES  Event information is the first part of the story  IN FOLLOW-UPS  Event information is the last part of the story

 IN ADVANCES:  More space—future news more important than past  IN FOLLOW-UPS:  Less space

 IN ADVANCES:  Include the following NECESSARY info: probable lineups; records of the competitors; tradition or rivalry; squad’s conditions; individual angles (star players); statements by coaches; any feature angle (crowd, cheering-section angle, new uniforms, etc)  IN FOLLOW-UPS:  Include the following NECESSARY info: the score or outcome; significance of the outcome (was a championship at stake, rivalry won, etc); spectacular plays (3-pointer that won the game, etc); individual stars, crowd reactions

 IN ADVANCES:  Use a scoreboard as a sidebar to get the scores of all past games in without putting them in the article  IN FOLLOW-UPS:  Condense into the space available as many of the highlights from the event as you can

IN A FOLLOW-UP : NEVER SECOND-GUESS THE COACH, DEGRADE THE PLAYERS OR EITHER TEAM, OR GIVE A PLAY-BY- PLAY OF AN OLD GAME

IF YOU FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES,  YOU’LL HIT A HOME RUN WITH YOUR SPORTS STORIES!