[NU Sports] great, just great

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

> As a recent Medill (and WNUR) alum and a public
> radio reporter who sometimes has to ask
> confrontational questions or report confrontational
> facts, a few points:
>    
>   1) Medill and WNUR reporters have just as much a
> right to cover NU sporting events as everyone else. 

Agreed - and it's good to hear that Mr. Murphy has
recognized this. Much more encouraging to hear that
than the e-mails out of Medill lately about the
reverse happening, where the school is backing away
from true journalism for cozy marketing relationships
... but another rant for another list.:)

>   2) So why are the students getting on Coach Roy's
> nerves?  Simple - experience, or lack thereof.  Most

Excellent point - they also don't have the best of
examples locally with Jay Whathisname and the bunch.:)
But face it, television cable networks have changed
how many people view journalism ... instead of tough
and investigative it's now loud and exploitative that
grabs the headlines. So many of these students don't
always find the many great examples of good, solid
reporting and column writing because they're not as
loud or controversial as the shouting heads. That's in
sports, news, everywhere.

But you're right about column writing being so hard to
do right. Most Daily columnists I read while at NU
were just out to generate a few angry letters and fan
flames where they could. The only sports writer I
really remember from my days in Evanston is Stewart
Mendel (now at SI.com) because he had a good mix of
writing styles that could entertain, enlighten as well
as the occasional outrage.

>   3) Alan's hit on one of the most difficult issues
> to balance as a reporter: How confrontational should
> you be?  I think you can ask a tough question
> politely, and most people will understand you're
> just doing your job.  On the other hand, if they
> give you the run-around, I think it's perfectly fair
> to say, "I don't think you're answering my

Exactly - it's not just the politicians who are
experts in spin these days. Athletic departments have
also gotten very good at deflecting questions and
controlling the message - so you want to be forceful
at times to get an answer but you have to be smart
when you pull out that card.

... unless you work for a paper owned by a corporate
conglomerate who also owns the team or companies that
advertise with the team and they don't want you to do
anything but nice fluff.:) But again, a rant for the
journalism list more than sports. And a reason I knew
I wasn't cut out for being a sports journalist - I
enjoy being a fan too much.

>   On the other hand, being confrontational just for
> the sake of being confrontational is just for ego's

Sadly, with talk radio, blogs, cable TV and the like
that's what many people believe journalism is today.

On the plus side, it's nice to know that our name is
still prominent out there in the sports journalism
world along with the overall industry.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

* * * * * * * * *
STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!


 
____________________________________________________________________________________
Looking for earth-friendly autos? 
Browse Top Cars by "Green Rating" at Yahoo! Autos' Green Center.
http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center/