Tag Archives: teaching journalism

Some March Madness cliches are more wretched than others

Posted on March 13, 2019 by

I used to rail vs clichés like “Cinderella” and “bubble teams.” Those words, though, have been used so pervasively in discussions about the NCAA Basketball Tournament that they are now as endemic to coverage as March Madness. That’s what makes English … Continue reading →

Posted in Covering basketball, Sportswriting: Language, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Writing is not a mystery, even if you binge-watch ‘Bosch’

Posted on October 12, 2018 by

Writing is not a mystery, except when it is. If you’ve written a great deal, you know what I mean. If you have not, the previous sentence reads like awful haiku.

Posted in Sportswriting | Tagged , , ,

Rubric for evaluating sports columns

Posted on March 7, 2018 by

Columnists are reporters with an opinion. The best columnists are also keen observers, precise writers, and excellent storytellers. A sports columnist should offer meaningful insights, cover sports ignored by others, address cultural criticism, and analyze games in considerably more depth … Continue reading →

Posted in Sports Columns | Tagged , , ,

What questions do sports journalism students want answered?

Posted on July 14, 2017 by

So what do journalism students know, and, further, what do they want to learn? That’s a primary concern for most educators like myself. So I set out to ask students attending this week’s College Media Mega Workshop in Minneapolis that … Continue reading →

Posted in Sportswriting, Training & Education | Tagged , , , , ,

How to report and write news stories more visually

Posted on March 10, 2017 by

Co-wrote an article with friend and colleague Brian Poulter that has been published in the current issue of Teaching Journalism & Mass Communication. This evolved from a workshop we presented at several conferences on ways to improve writing skills by … Continue reading →

Posted in Sports Features, Teaching sports journalism | Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Bring your ‘A-Game:’ Avoid using cliches in sports writing

Posted on April 28, 2016 by

Cliches still plague sports writing. I suspect that’s because younger sport writers, by and large, watch more sports than read about them, which is a shame because there are so many amazing sports books out there.

Posted in Sportswriting, Sportswriting: Language | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tweet like a journalist from live sports events

Posted on November 12, 2015 by

Tweeting from sports events is no longer optional (nor is inserting links into online stories, but that’s another post for another time). I suggested some approaches last night on Twitter that focused primarily on the Clippers-Mavs game. You can also check out … Continue reading →

Posted in Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment