By Jorge Rojas
Miami Herald
First, we’re happy to say the weather was lovely.
There was no snow on the ground, and — unlike APSE’s past couple of trips — strolling through Indianapolis was as easy as a Reggie Miller free throw.
APSE Diversity Weekend was a sunny success over a recent weekend as 2014-15 Fellows Kami Mattioli, Dana Sulonen, Alex Iniguez, and Carron Phillips traveled to Indy to take part in a variety of panels and exercises hosted by Malcolm Moran and the National Sports Journalism Center of Indiana University.
On Day 1, the Fellows toured the Indianapolis Star’s new downtown office, where sports planning editor Jim Lefko discussed the Star’s digital focus, its Final Four coverage and its decision to run the editorial front-page headline Fix It Now in reference to the state’s controversial “Religious Freedom Law.”
They also took part in a spirited discussion on “O’Bannon and beyond: Legal issues in college and professional sports” with Gary Roberts, dean emeritus and professor of law at IU; and heard an interesting presentation from Floyd Keith, the former executive director of the Black Coaches and Administrators, and Pam Laucella, academic director at the National Sports Journalism Center, on The Making of the 2014 Men’s Basketball Hiring Report Card.
The infamous 15-minute speeches kicked off Day 2. After some high-minded, expert feedback from the judges, the group agreed that 1) sometimes you need props; 2) big girls (and guys) don’t cry; and 3) somebody has to sing lead. And that was that. The day culminated with simulated coverage (digital and print) of the Pacers-Thunder game, in which Russell Westbrook treated the fans to 54 points in a 116-104 loss. Both teams ended up missing the playoffs.
The weekend was mostly a fun exchange of ideas, sometimes in a classroom setting and sometimes over dinner and beverages. But thankfully, not in the snow.
Next up for the Diversity Fellows: regional meetings, followed by serving as assigning editors with the Sports Journalism Institute, followed by “graduation” at the summer convention in San Diego.
Notable news
— The Fellows have been paired with an editor/mentor who works somewhere near their region … someone they can go to with questions, issues, or just seek career advice. Here are the matchups: Mattioli — Mike Persinger, Charlotte Observer; Sulonen — Roger Simmons, Orlando Sentinel; Iniguez — Ron Fritz, Baltimore Sun; Phillips — David Steele, The Sporting News.
— Sulonen, who celebrated her birthday in Indianapolis, has agreed to serve as an adjunct professor at Auburn University. She will teach a class in sports reporting, starting in the fall semester.
APSE SEEKS DIVERSITY FELLOWSHIP SPONSORS
APSE is short of its sponsorship goal for the 2014-15 Diversity Fellowship Program, and hopes you or your organization can contribute to help this initiative thrive.
Presently, nearly $4,000 has been raised.
A new tier structure has been set up to attract more sponsors. The main objective is to allow for smaller donations to help cover costs of the Fellowship, which can total up to $8,000.
The tier levels are:
Platinum — $1,500
Diamond — $1,000
Gold — $750
Silver — $500
Bronze — $250
Friend of the Program — Anything between $249 and $50.
So far this term, the Los Angeles News Group (led by Fellowship Program founder and former APSE president Michael Anastasi) is out in front as a Platinum sponsor, followed by The Association for Women in Sports Media at Gold and Sportsmanias.com (with former prez Tim Stephens aboard), The Sporting News and The Boston Globe at Silver.
Contact an APSE officer or Jorge Rojas at jrojas@miamiherald.com for information.
