Fall 2020 JOU 3304 24th Class November 16, 2020

1. JOU 3304
Sports Writing
Professor Michael Rizzo
Director, Journalism Program
Division of Mass Communication
Collins College of Professional Studies
Presentation for November 16, 2020

2. JOU 3304
Sports Writing
Last Presentation – November 12
The Masters

3. JOU 3304
Sports Writing
Today
The Masters follow-up
Writing Profiles

4. Recap
Good sportswriting starts with good
writing with proper grammar, spelling
and proper use of contractions and
conjunctions.
Apply AP Style.
Check your work.
You are a storyteller in every sports story
you write but, even with columns, the
story is not about you.

5. Course Evaluations
Find the email from Student Evaluation
of Teaching, Office of Institutional
Research from this email address:
evals@stjohns.edu
• Complete the evaluation for our course.
• Hit submit.
• Take a screenshot of the page and
email it to me at rizzom@stjohns.edu

8. How did your Masters results
story turn out?

11. Writing profiles
Profile themes:
• A vignette of a moment in time about
an athlete
• A day in the life of an athlete
• An athlete who gained “15” minutes
of fame
• A full-life profile
• A psychological profile

12. Questions to ask yourself as a sports
reporter
How can I make readers understand
why they should care about my subject?
What insight and/or inside details can I
provide about my subject?
How will I make my interviews
conversational to get the most out of
my questions?

13. How can I make my questions fresh,
yielding insight and specific?
Are my quotes spicy and telling and have
I cut out all long, dull and predictable
quotes?
Can the reader see my subject in my
writing?

14. How can I find out and write about the
turning points in my subject’s life?
How can I make it clear my subject is
different than other athletes?

15. Writing sports profiles
[LOOK FOR] Conflict – seek to [address]
an ongoing challenge….Do not
elevate conflicts that are not really
there…but look for where the story
of your person begins [and where it
might be going regarding an
issue/challenge in the athlete’s life].

16. [LOOK FOR] a news angle – connect it
to your profile. Then make sure [the
newsworthiness connection to your
story about the athlete] is clearly stated
somewhere in the profile.
Offer a setting – Put the person in a
place, a physical location [and] set the
scene in the story.

17. [EXPLAIN THE] Character –Show this
person through actions, physical
description, dialogue, [comments] by
others and by revealing this person’s
thoughts…Do not limit your
perspective by only interviewing the
person to be profiled.

18. Write with authority – Learn as much
as possible about this person.
Don’t just go out and speak to a
person or two and think you
have enough to fire off a profile
story. Be a proper reporter.
Investigate, inquire, interview.

19. [Have a] Voice – …include commentary
and insights…But do not typically
interject yourself [in the athlete’s
story].
Offer illuminating points...[but] a profile
story is not about you.
You MAY be a part of the story to paint
a picture of the reporting but that
should be the exception not the rule.

20. Be fair – Look at all sides to any…issues
[related to your athlete].

22. Hang out [and OBSERVE] – Watch
practices, attend meetings, follow the
person around, with their knowledge,
and be observant to actions and
engagements that occur that you can
add to your story. Take good notes.

23. Emphasize story – Have a beginning,
middle and end. Save the inverted
pyramid for breaking news stories.
Write a story narratively… [or]…offer a
series of stories that lead to insight
and keep the profile flowing.
There are many ways to tell a story.
Read other great [sports profiles] for
ideas.

24. 'I hope they go 0-162’
By Robert Sanchez ESPN The Magazine
The season begins in a kitchen 1,000 miles from
Comerica Park. Two new baseball gloves -- black leather
with orange stitching and laces -- sit atop a granite
countertop. It's early February in Dallas, eight days before
Ian Kinsler goes to Florida for his first spring training with
the Tigers, the team that acquired him in the blockbuster
offseason trade that sent Prince Fielder to the Rangers.
There's a nervous energy about the three-time
All-Star second baseman. He's 31, going on 32, and he's
been playing pro ball for more than a decade, yet he's
filled with excitement and anxiety.

26. For Thursday November 19, 2020
Read the handouts on writing
sports books

27. UPDATE ON SEMESTER PLANNING
THERE IS NO CLASS MEETING
ON NOVEMBER 30, 2020.
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2020
WILL BE OUR LAST WEBEX CLASS
SESSION

28. I WILL PROVIDE GUIDANCE IN
THURSDAY’S NOVEMBER 19, 2020
CLASS PRESENTATION ON THE
CONTENT FOR THE FINAL EXAM
AND HOW THE FINAL EXAM WILL
BE CONDUCTED.

29. STAY WELL
AND
STAY SAFE