By Pat Tintle
Sports Editor
When writing for sports, stories often present themselves. Having Division I teams play on a consistent basis creates the opportunity for beat reporting.
Beat reporting is a form of journalism in which the writer follows an issue, organization or team over a long period of time. The concept can be used in any section of the newspaper, but the term is often associated with sports writing.
So what does a journalist learn from beat reporting? One big outcome is that the writer builds relationships with the players, coaches and fans of the team on their beat.
That is a strong advantage to have when sitting down to write a game summary.
Rather than always relying on statistics, a beat writer is able to include the personality of players in his or her reporting, which gives a story a valuable dimension. Building relationships also allows the reporter to ask more in-depth question to his or her interviewee. The player, or coach, feels more comfortable—and expressible—when they know the interviewer well. That leverage is key in writing a good and unique sports story.
On the other hand, a sports editor must always be searching for possible feature opportunities, and those reporter/player relationships provide many of the opportunities. Through conversing with players, a journalist is able to see which players are leaders, which players are talented and which players are newsworthy. Those three qualities set the foundation for sports feature writing, and it is up the journalist to portray each athlete in an accurate, and intriguing, light.
Writing stories is the foundation of print journalism, and for that reason it is my favorite aspect of being a sports editor. I have the right to decide which player or teams get put in the Bonaventure spotlight, and that is a right I do not take lightly. Seeing hardworking people receive the recognition they deserve is my job for right now, and I intend to recognize the most deserving sports stories Bonaventure has to offer.
Interested in writing sports for The Bona Venture? Contact sports editor Pat Tintle at tintleph11@bonaventure.edu.
