Mr. Penn was able to give me a little insight on what it is like to work for a newspaper and report the sports new. Mr. Penn told me that "It takes a love for sports and a lot of your time. You have to be willing to drive all over a specific area, which could be hundreds of miles, depending on where the team is playing." He told me a common misconception of the job is that sports writers sometimes try to create drama or cause an issue when there really isn't one. Mr. Penn went on to say that another misconception is that sports writers tend to misquote coaches and players. When asked how he was able to deal with these misconceptions he said "I just tried to report the facts, scores, and statistics as accurately and unbiased as possible so that I could report as objectively as possible. Also, whenever I would get a quote from a coach or player post-game, I would be sure and record it or write it down so that it was as accurate as possible." I then went on to ask him how big of a role communication is in the field. He replied, "Communication is critical. Not only accurate communication with the coaches and players that you are covering, but also with your editor and those above you to ensure that everyone is on the same page. I always tried to be as transparent as I could so that no one thought that I had an alternative motive for anything that I did."
Friday, September 19, 2014
Prompt Post #3 - Interview
I was able to interview someone who has worked in the field as a sports reporter. Taylor Penn from Van Alstyne, TX was kind enough to take time out of his schedule to help me gather information about the job. Mr. Penn is currently a high school teacher and coach, however, before he went into the field of education he was employed as a sports writer for the Van Alstyne Leader which included the towns of Van Alstyne and Howe in Texas. Mr. Penn covered high school athletics, such as football, volleyball, baseball, softball, basketball, track and field, golf, and tennis matches. He also had his own weekly column where he could write about anything he wanted as long as it was related to sports.
Mr. Penn was able to give me a little insight on what it is like to work for a newspaper and report the sports new. Mr. Penn told me that "It takes a love for sports and a lot of your time. You have to be willing to drive all over a specific area, which could be hundreds of miles, depending on where the team is playing." He told me a common misconception of the job is that sports writers sometimes try to create drama or cause an issue when there really isn't one. Mr. Penn went on to say that another misconception is that sports writers tend to misquote coaches and players. When asked how he was able to deal with these misconceptions he said "I just tried to report the facts, scores, and statistics as accurately and unbiased as possible so that I could report as objectively as possible. Also, whenever I would get a quote from a coach or player post-game, I would be sure and record it or write it down so that it was as accurate as possible." I then went on to ask him how big of a role communication is in the field. He replied, "Communication is critical. Not only accurate communication with the coaches and players that you are covering, but also with your editor and those above you to ensure that everyone is on the same page. I always tried to be as transparent as I could so that no one thought that I had an alternative motive for anything that I did."
Mr. Penn was able to give me a little insight on what it is like to work for a newspaper and report the sports new. Mr. Penn told me that "It takes a love for sports and a lot of your time. You have to be willing to drive all over a specific area, which could be hundreds of miles, depending on where the team is playing." He told me a common misconception of the job is that sports writers sometimes try to create drama or cause an issue when there really isn't one. Mr. Penn went on to say that another misconception is that sports writers tend to misquote coaches and players. When asked how he was able to deal with these misconceptions he said "I just tried to report the facts, scores, and statistics as accurately and unbiased as possible so that I could report as objectively as possible. Also, whenever I would get a quote from a coach or player post-game, I would be sure and record it or write it down so that it was as accurate as possible." I then went on to ask him how big of a role communication is in the field. He replied, "Communication is critical. Not only accurate communication with the coaches and players that you are covering, but also with your editor and those above you to ensure that everyone is on the same page. I always tried to be as transparent as I could so that no one thought that I had an alternative motive for anything that I did."
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