Newspapers in Alabama took full advantage of the University of Alabama’s ride into the national championship game. Below are some samplings of the coverage provided, from special sections to game day coverage.
Tuscaloosa News, Tommy Deas:
We took 11 total people to California — five writers, three photographers and three Web people (video shooters, etc.). We started with three writers and one photographer out there on Jan. 1 and added more the closer it got to the game.
Our deadlines were 2 a.m. CT on game night for the first edition. We had up to 6 a.m. to expand our coverage for an "extra" edition but were done by 4 or so.
Special sections? I’ve lost count — after the Heisman and AP All-America came out, we did a section on the University of Alabama’s awards (mostly large poster-type cutouts with the accomplishments listed). Then we did one on Alabama’s 12 (previous) national championships, with a story and background facts on each one. Then we did our Gameday section, which we do for every UA game, but this one was expanded. We did an "extra" after the game and we’re doing a 60-page (ad-loaded) section for this Saturday as a commemorative edition for the official celebration.
Oh, and did I mention the 100-plus page magazine or the book?
Montgomery Advertiser, Brad Zimanek:
We had two reporters — Josh Moon and Tim Gayle and two photographers, Mickey Welsh and David Bundy.
We produced three pages of live content each day Jan. 3-7, a 16-page pregame section Jan. 7, a 4-page wrap section Jan. 8.
Our 160-page commemorative book is on sale now.
Our game night consisted of stories being filed without quotes at the end of the third quarter and fourth quarter. Reporters here in the office took quotes live to supplement stories from press conferences aired live. Our deadline was 12:45 a.m. We made deadline at 12:44 a.m.
Dothan Eagle, Jon Johnson:
We sent our beat writer, Ken Rogers, to California on Jan. 2, then photographer Jay Hare and sports editor Jon Johnson arrived on Jan. 5.
Rogers did pre-game stories, columns and blogs throughout the week. Johnson began columns, stories and Twitter updates once arriving, while Hare supplied photos.
We had a news front story each day beginning with the Jan. 3 edition, to go along with coverage in the sports section.
On game night, we had a news front story, game story and column on the sports front, then facing inside sports pages with a notebook, sidebar, report card, scoring summary, statistics and plenty of photos. Johnson also did Twitter updates throughout the game.
We produced a 16-page preview section which was inserted in the newspaper the day before the game. A pre-game video with Rogers and Johnson was also produced for the Web site.
Deadline was one hour later than the normal 12 a.m. press run.
Southeast Region meeting:
Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive and associate commissioner (media) Charles Bloom are scheduled to do a Q&A session during the Southeast Region meeting/workshop on Monday, April 26 in Birmingham.
The event will be held at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame building, which is located in downtown Birmingham across the street from the SEC offices and the Sheraton hotel. I will try to secure a group hotel rate for those wishing to stay overnight.
More details will come later on presenters for the rest of the program, which is tentatively scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and conclude around 4 p.m. There is no cost to attend.
