Sports Writing
Journalism 45A-1
Spring 2015
Instructor: Peter May
Time and Place: Tuesdays 2pm-4:50pm, Brown 316
Office Hours: By appointment
Telephone: 617-610-4037 (cell) E-mail:
“Sports communicate a code, a language of the emotions, and a tourist who skips the stadiums will not recoup his losses at Lincoln Center and Grant’s Tomb.” - Wilfrid Sheed
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is an introduction to the basics of sports reporting and writing. Students will learn to cover games, conduct interviews and produce clear, concise sports stories. Through in-class writing exercises and out-of-class reporting assignments, students will learn to write game stories, sidebars, notebooks, features and columns. Each week we will read and analyze examples of sports writing. Local sports writers and sports figures will join us on occasion to share their perspectives.
REQUIREMENTS:
This is a Writing Intensive class. Attendance is mandatory. Notify me by e-mail in advance if you are ill or have a valid reason for an absence. You will have writing assignments almost every week, some, outside of class, involving games on nights and weekends. Deadlines are fixed; late assignments will not be accepted. Correct grammar, punctuation and spelling are required. Faithfulness to AP Style is required. With a goal to improve your writing, you will be given an opportunity to revise each assignment. The revision must be turned in by the next class to receive credit. The grade on the assignment will be the average of the original and the revision. Writing assignments in class may not be made up unless you have notified me in advance thatyou will be absent. Read assigned material prior to class as well as ESPN.com and the Sports pages of The Boston Globe and The New York Times. Students are responsible for material posted on LATTE; check it daily.Expect a weekly quiz on style and/or current events in Sports.
GRADING:
Grading will be based on reporting assignments, in-class writing exercises, quizzes, a mid-term examination and class participation. Your final project – a 1,000-word profile of a Brandeis athlete you have followed throughout the semester – will count for 35 percent of your grade. This athlete cannot be a friend. You will submit an outline and a first draft before submitting your profile on the deadlines indicated. Weekly writing assignments, quizzes and class participation will be 40 percent of the grade. The mid-term examination will be 25 percent of your grade. Effort and improvement will be rewarded, but grades will reflect the quality of written work.
DEADLINES FOR PROFILE:
Selection of Subject: The Class of February 3
Outline: The Class of March 3
First Draft: The Class of March 31
Final Draft: Final Class April 21
LEARNING GOALS:
By the end of the semester, students will know:
- How to identify the elements of a sports story.
- How to conduct interviews with athletes, coaches and fans.
- How to write crisp, accurate game stories on deadline
- How to write colorful, in-depth features and profiles
- How to write an opinion piece
REQUIRED READING:
Sports Writing: A Beginner’s Guide, by Steve Craig
The Associated Press Sports Writing Handbook
The Boston Globe, The New York Times, Sports Pages, daily
ESPN.com daily
Additional reading material will be posted on LATTE.
ACCOMODATIONS: If you are a student who needs academic accomodations because of a documented disability, please contact me and present your letter of accomodation as asoon as possible. If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodations, you should contact Beth Rodgers-Kay in Academic Services (x6-3470 or .)Letters of accomodation should be presented at the start of the semester to ensure provision of accommodations. Accommodationscannot be granted retroactively.
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES:
Week One: January 13 Introduction
An overview of course content and expectations: Students will be assigned “beats” to cover and monitor throughout the semester. There will be an ungraded writing assignment during class.
Week Two: January 20 We Don’t Print The Truth . . .
The first art of sports writing – and journalism – is to get the facts straight. Often times, that can be a daunting enterprise. The late, great editor of the Washington Post, Benjamin C. Bradlee, famously said, “we don’t print the truth. We print what people tell us.” So how do we determine what is real and what is not?
Scheduled Guest: Pete Thamel, Sports Illustrated
Readings: Craig, Chapters 1-3 and LATTE links
Week Three: January 27 Covering a News Conference
How do you get newsworthy information out of a news conference? How do you make your subject feel at ease? You will get your chance in this class. You will each prepare three questions for the guest and, following the news conference, write a 500-word story in class. It will be due by the end of class. Writing Assignment #1.
Scheduled Guest: Brian Meehan, Brandeis men’s basketball coach
Readings: Craig, Chapters 4-5
LATTE links
Week Four: February 3Game Coverage
How do you cover a game? A beat? This is the foundation of sports writing – almost every sports writer begins his or her career as a beat/game story writer. We will talk about how to do just that.
Scheduled Guest: TBD
Due: Selection of Profile Subject. Individual must agree to the story
Readings: Wilstein, Pages 10-41; Craig, Chapters 6 and 9
LATTE links
Week Five: February 10 Game Coverage
We will have a brief class this day and hopefully hear more on game story coverage from ESPN Boston’s Chris Forsberg. You will then cover the Brandeis’ men or women’s basketball game on Feb. 13. You will talk to the coach after the game and a player and you may use ONLY statistical information provided by the Brandeis Sports Information office. The 500-word story is due by email; deadlines are 10 p.m. for the women and midnight for the men. An extra 30 minutes is allowed for an overtime. Writing Assignment #2.
Week Six: February 17 No Class
Winter Break
Week Seven: February 24 Game Coverage
We will spend the class reviewing the game stories from the Brandeis men and women. We will also talk about the upcoming midterm examination and how to cover a professional game.
Scheduled Guest: Kevin Paul Dupont, Boston Globe
LATTE links
Week Eight: March 3 Midterm Examination
Your midterm will be to write a game story with quotes, statistics and perspective on one of two games from the previous weekend: the Boston Bruins game against the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday or the Boston Celtics game against the Golden State Warriors. I will supply information you need beyond the stats. Writing Assignment #3.
Outline of your athlete profile due at the end of class
Week Nine: March 10Column Writing
You have interviewed a coach. You have covered a game. You are in working on a masterful profile. Are you ready to try your hand at the marquee job in the sports department - the columnist?
Scheduled Guest: Bob Ryan, columnist, The Boston Globe and ESPN television personality.
Readings: Craig, Chapter 10 and Wilstein, Pages 68-100
LATTE links
Week Ten: March 17 Column Writing
We will spend the first half of the class discussing column writing and discussing your profile outlines to make sure everyone is on track. The second half of the class will be devoted to writing a 600-word column on a topic of your choosing. It will be due at the end of class; you will have had a week to research the topic. Writing Assignment #4
Week Eleven: March 24 Individual Conferences
There will be no class this week. Instead, students will have individual conferences of about 15 minutes with the instructor. We will talk about the work already done and the project yet to come.
Week Twelve: March 31 Feature Writing
The feature story can be the most fun part of sports writing. It can also be the most exasperating, as many of you are finding out. What makes a good feature story? How do you get your subject to open up? How should a feature story be written?
Scheduled Guest: John Powers, The Boston Globe
Readings: Craig, Chapter 7 and Wilstein, Pages 142-174
LATTE links
First Draft of Athlete Profile Due At End of Class
Week Thirteen: April 7 No Class
Spring Break!!
Week Fourteen: April 14 Feature Writing
Taking off on what John Powers told us, we will test his formula with an in-class feature writing assignment. The 500-word story will be due at the end of class. You will have had plenty of time and advance notice to research the topic. Writing Assignment #5.
Schedule Guest: Leon Powe, former NBA player
Week Fifteen: April 21 Last Class
We will have discussed prior to class what format our last class should take. You athlete profile is due at the end of class.
SYLLABUS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE