The necessary actions that current and future sports journalist can take to keep relevant in a world that is socially distant

by Charles Nyonga

The American Press Institute defines journalism as the activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information. A journalist formats that collected information tell stories to an audience. The better storyteller a journalist can be, with future opportunities in sports journalism up in the air, has become ever more important.

The purpose of this article is to describe what actions not only an aspiring journalist entering the profession during the rise of COVID-19, but for a veteran journalist as well. Since many of them have transitioned over to mentoring and instructor part of their careers and possible career opportunities of collaboration between veterans and rookie journalist that are on the fringes of media access.

The Audience

A writer in any discipline must define their audience. There are millions of fans that are excited to consume some fresh live sports content. In an April 26, 2020, Associated Press article by Joe Reedy stated the ratings for the 2020 NFL Draft averaged 8.4 million viewers over from Thursday to Saturday, a 35.5 percent increase from the record set the previous year.

The high ratings could be a sign of people being under stay-at-home ordinances and the fact that people wanted something fresh on television. But the critical point is that there are eyes and ears consuming the product.

The NFL Releases its 2020 NFL Schedule.

The National Football League (NFL) is the most popular sport in the United States and recently released its tentative 2019-2020 playing schedule. According to the league, they are preparing to play the games as usual.

Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS), NASCAR, and other sports that generally operate from the spring into the summer are planning to begin in July. There is still discussion about the National Basketball Association (NBA), and National Hockey League (NHL) may resume heading into their playoff seasons.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the MLB and MLB Players Association are in negotiations to have baseball played in stadiums by July.

Overseas Models

North American sports leagues can look towards how the Asian sports market is handling re-opening sports.

The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) began to play on May 5 and plans to complete its 144-game schedule. The league so far has allowed gameplay and is slowly admitting fans by enforcing social distancing restrictions.

David Lennon reported in a May 8 Newsday article that Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) limited attendance to 1000 people. Each attendee must have at least three seats apart, and every second row to remain empty.

The following week, a article released by the CPBL announced May 15 that the attendance limit increases from 1000 to 2000.

Nielsen Sports: Formula 1 Leading the way as Sports turns to ESports

The Substance

As social distancing may limit direct contact, using technology might be more natural for a younger journalist. Many recent and upcoming graduates were born in the age of interconnectivity with the internet. The idea of doing something on their phone is not a foreign concept.

The following are firsthand accounts from two local sports journalists that are instructors of the discipline as well as discussing the future of the field and instructions.

How the journalism instructors will have to change their methods.

Coronavirus has changed how instructors in journalism have to construct their coursework. A lot of journalism is hands on and in-person interactions. Much of the work, especially in broadcast journalism, requires hands on training with studio equipment. The following are interviews with journalism instructors that are also active in the industry. Modern journalism is about multimedia, how many different things can the writer do and how well can they do them.

Professor Lou Holder – Prince George’s Community College.

Professor Lou Holder is a professor in practice of broadcast news at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Md. Professor Holder’s reputation over his 21 years career stands for his credibility. Holder most recently worked for NBC Sports Washington and his beat was the Washington Redskins. The curriculum Professor Holder teaches will make him learn new skill sets as well.

Professor Holder’s response is storytelling. In a May 1 phone interview with Professor Holder, he explained that journalists now must find new ways to tell the story. A journalist can find many stories about the lesser-known player or the player that grew up a fan and now plays for the home team. Professor Holder said that before, you may find them after the game in the locker room with no press around them. The stars are always available, and Professor Holder believes that limiting access to players, the lesser know player may not receive the coverage.

Professor Holder is an Emmy Award winner National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for News Feature, Same Day in 2004 with “Blizzard Blast.”

Mark Gray – Heritage Sports Network

Mark Gray is an 18-year veteran in sports journalism. He is the academic advisor for The Owl, the PGCC college paper and instructor of media arts, a play-by-play announcer for the Heritage Sports Radio Network and the Afro sports beat writer for the Washington, D.C. area and local Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Mr. Gray was recently among many journalists furloughed due to many smaller publications forced to make budget cutbacks.

In an interview by myself and Marshawn powers on our podcast Sports Served Neat, on April 12, Mr. Gray spoke that his publication was attempting to switch to become more digital. As soon as that idea came, the coronavirus forced his company into cutbacks, and now he must shuffle the game plan and focus more on individual aspirations such as his podcast.

Mr. Gray already has an established name already in the business that may be helpful for him, but for an up-and-comer, he explains that this is not an easy business, and he emphasises to his students that no matter what, writing is the still the key.

Digital Pressence

Approximately 81 percent of Americans own some form of smartphone. Of that 81 percent, the 18-29 demographic 96 percent own a smartphone and 92 percent in the 30-49 demographic, according to a a June 12, 2019 Pew Review Mobile Fact Sheet.

Print journalism has historically been slow to adapt with technology and how a journalist reaches their audience is as, if not more important than the substance of the work. The trends towards online is constantly increasing.

The Advance Media Institute at the Berkeley Graduate School Journalism study showed that people getting their national and international news from newspapers and television is slowly decreasing and the internet is spiking. From 2007 to 2008, the number spiked from 24 percent to 40 percent.

In 2018 that a Pew Research Center study that 67 percent of American adults receive news through social media, and eight of 10 use social media for daily work. When gathering information, 54 percent admitted to using microblogs according to a survey by Lars Willnat and David Weaver study Social Media and U.S Journalist. Nearly 72 percent of journalists find their work has a positive effect on their work.

The podcast phenomenon has been on the upward trend for a while. The younger demographics are embracing alternative means to consume their information, and podcasts are one of them. As of May 2020, 75 percent of U.S. citizens are familiar with podcasting, compared to 22 percent in 2006, according to The Podcast Host. The report also states that of people 12 or older, 37 percent listen monthly, and 24 percent listen weekly, both numbers are up from 2019.  

The Tools

There are more ways to connect with people than ever before through social media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram are the stables, but new emerging forms such as TikTok are reaching new audiences. There are more and more video conferencing applications such as Zoom, WebEx, Go to Meeting. These services offer plan tiers beginning with a limited free option. As a user adds more options, the cost raises to as low as $12 per month (GoToMeeting) for professional and as high as $27 per month for small businesses.

A journalist has to implement the use of these tools in their storytelling. But to stand out among the competition is another skill that is required. A journalist must find a way to weave through a flooded market on the internet.

This is where a journalist can take advantage of the tools that are freely available such as social media and the video conferencing platforms to give the illusion of talking directly to someone and present that to their audience but journalist will still have to learn the basics of broadcasting from the camera, audio, editing, and graphics.

The Costs

There are a few materials available at low costs for a journalist to create a home office. Listed below is equipment a typical journalist will need attaching with price ranges for each according to Google search:

The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics

The journalist must adhere to the code of ethics which states, seek the truth and report it, act independently, be accountable and transparent, and minimize harm. When a journalist keeps to these principles, they can sift through the world of disinformation.

Conclusion

The principles of journalism do not change, but the methods do. Journalism is comparable to an evolving organism, and the reporters must find ways to adapt. Reports must first keep to the code of ethics and then take advantage of the tools available. Seasoned veterans and young journalist are on similar paths and collaborate to create an alternative media outlet. The combination of experience of the craft and the youthful knowledge of how technology is evolving, will give journalist more opportunities to compete in the grand scheme.