I love reporters’ notebooks. They make me feel like a real journalist. I like the way they fit in my back pocket and seem just big enough to keep a basketball running score. I normally keep all my notebooks so that, one day far in the future, I can look back and reminisce about everyone I’ve interviewed. I came to SJI with a brand-new red pocket notebook. At Detroit Mercy, I usually go through one per semester. I’ve only been at SJI for a week, and my red notebook is nearly full. I’ve written about every bit of advice I’ve received from all of our speakers and instructors. To be honest, this week has gone by in a blur. I don’t remember details from a lot of things, but I have those details in my notebook. I know this is one of the most important weeks of my journalism career, but I don’t think the full impact of what I learned will hit me until I go through my notebook. Its contents will help shape and guide my career for the foreseeable future. I love my reporters’ notebooks, but I don’ think I’ve ever had one so important.
Not to say that I’ve never been challenged, but this week has been the most stressful and most intense week I think I’ve ever experienced. I know it’s only been a week, but I feel like I’ve really learned a lot here and have a better sense of the answer to my question. I came here trying to figure out if sports journalism was for me. I can’t give a direct answer as to exactly what I want to do or what sport I want to cover, but I can say that I am still confident that I can be an exceptional journalist. This program has made me question my abilities, has shaken up my confidence and has given me a sturdy backbone and the tools to becoming a better writer and researcher, and simply a much more well-rounded professional. I still have a lot to learn and need a lot more practice, but I know that leaving this program, I have the right mindset to be successful. I’ve learned that there are people like me, who are different, who are ambitious, who do struggle, and yet, can still be successful. The speakers and students have been so influential in their discussions about minorities in journalism, journalism being a business, paving your path into a job, technological advances, what to expect from your editors, etc. But we're not done yet.
We had a little free time today and had a chance to pick David Squires’ brain. We discussed scoring different sports events, talking to important people when covering high school sports, and I even got a story idea for when I start my internship. It was a good impromptu lesson in how to be a man or woman on the street. Sometimes just shooting the breeze with someone can get you more information than you could’ve imagined. It went along with Stephen Buckley’s session earlier today on preparing for the real world. Buckley, dean of the faculty at Poynter, told us we should not just wait until we need a story to contact people--we should build relationships. He also said it’s imperative we tell people things they don’t already know. Talking to as many people as you can will get you many different angles and help you tell a complete story.
In basketball, it’s often said that if a player’s shot isn’t falling, the player needs to “just keep shooting.” I’ll never play a second of professional basketball, but this week at SJI has taught me the meaning of that phrase more than any NBA Finals game could. As an aspiring journalist, I want every piece of my work to be worthy of a Pulitzer. When I look at an article printed with a mistake or omission, I become angry with myself. David Squires, urban affairs columnist for the Daily Press, told our class today that we shouldn’t do that. Instead of basketball, Squires used a baseball analogy, saying that “sometimes you have hits and misses but you have to keep swinging through the slumps.” I’d love to work for a daily newspaper someday. That would mean that, even if I have a not-so-great article, I could redeem myself the very next day. That thought makes the pressures of deadline writing less scary.
Richard Deitsch said it best: Twitter is a loaded gun. The social networking phenomenon is fun, informative, instantaneous and easily accessible. But its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. Many use Twitter socially, to stay up to date with the news happening around the world, or because their employers require them to Tweet. Others use Twitter to express their strong opinions about sports, politics and even religion. Those opinionated people can find themselves in trouble if they lack a filter, especially professional athletes. Athletes are placed on a pedestal and with that type of fame comes scrutiny, and sometimes trouble. Everything an athlete says is read, analyzed and talked about. So when reckless professionals Tweet something irresponsible, in seconds, the world knows about it. During the NFL draft, when the Saints chose Alabama RB Mark Ingram, Bush took to Twitter to say: "It's been fun, New Orleans." The result? Instant controversy. So before you decide to "pull the trigger" on Twitter, think. You won't be "wounding" anyone but yourself.
