1. Sports Writing

3. Three Types of Stories

4. Game Story Feature Piece Editorial

5. The Game Story
Tells all of the pertinent details of the story with bias removed
Gives the reader the feeling they were there, including details they wouldn’t otherwise know
Combines the facts (stats and quotes) and feeling of the event to tie up the story in a tidy package

6. Your value as a storyteller lies in your ability to tell the story the reader didn’t already know.

8. The Lead
Answer the 5 W’s and H
Keep it concise
They could stop reading at any moment

10. The Lead:
“Texas A&M Commerce (1-0) opened the football season with a bang on its home field Saturday, registering its first win of the season, over East Texas Baptist (0-1), while racking up nearly 1,000 yards of offense.”

11. Post-Game Interview Who Should You Interview?
Depends on the game (win or loss, star or no star)
Player, Coach, Both Teams
Generic questions are a waste
Focus on key events in the game, ask about those
Base questions on statistics, know why they are important

12. Less correct information is always better than more incorrect informaiton.
A short story told well is always a safe bet.

13. Feature Piece Highlighting an event, not necessarily the game
Soccer player scoring 100th goal
Star player getting ready for final game
Golfer sinks 3rd career hole-in-one
Completely different writing style. No solid lead to open the story
Lots of background information to build your story
Quotes will be the foundation
Research and prep ahead of time makes the difference
Savannah Reeves PDF from desktop

14. Editorial First person
Making a point in an effort to educate the reader
It’s personal
It’s opinionated
It’s dangerous
Telling the truth in journalism often is dangerous

15. Tips of the Trade Show Up Early, Know the Story Lines Ask questions
SID
Coach
Administrators
Trainer
Gather info
Rosters
Stats
Injuries
Be in the right place at the right time

16. Working on a Deadline
Work within your means (timeline and skill level)
Use timeouts, halftime, or other breaks to get ahead
Pre-write where you can
Keep your own stats, use official stats to verify
Ask for help