By John Riker
After Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed during a 2023 clash between the Buffalo Bills and Bengals in Cincinnati, The Athletic senior writer Tim Graham’s journalism instincts kicked in. Within minutes, Graham slipped out of the press box and headed down to field level, where he recorded an ongoing timeline of events and observed as an ambulance transporting Hamlin left Paycor Stadium.
During a panel discussion on event coverage Friday at the APSE Summer Conference in Charlotte, N.C., Graham recounted and reflected on his methodology and reporting, which resulted in a first-place award in the Event Coverage category of the APSE Contest.
“You’re absorbing as much as you can in these moments, just absorb, absorb, absorb,” Graham said. “In a thing like this, everybody is going to have all the same material to deal with from things that are going to be released by the [NFL], statements, all these other things. You’re trying to gather as much unique information as you can.”
A trio of editors with a wealth of event-coverage experience also contributed their perspectives in the “It’s a Live (Event)” discussion. Marietta Daily Journal sports editor John Bednarowski, Boston Globe deputy sports editor Scott Thurston and Baltimore Sun Media Group community sports editor Tony Maluso spoke about their approaches to making the most of their event coverage opportunities. Ed Reed, the Deputy Florida Sports Editor for USA Today, moderated the discussion.
Thurston dissected the Boston Globe’s strategy in preparing and executing its coverage of the Celtics’ NBA Finals victory earlier in the week. The Globe’s coverage of the Celtics’ 18th championship included collaboration across desks, from TD Garden to the Boston bars, and quick thinking to ensure reporters and editors would be ready if the Celtics won the title.
“We had all these columns already planned [before Game 4], so for me, once [Boston] got smoked in Dallas, we just rolled that over to home,” Thurston said. “Now we’ve got to evolve: covering the bars … you want your video people out, you want the scene outside.”
Bednarowski broke down award-winning coverage of The Masters for the Marietta Daily Journal and the pivots in his reporting that resulted in engaging stories for his outlet’s readership, an Maluso explained how he adjusted to the relocation of the Army-Navy football game to Massachusetts.
“One of the things that I thought was the most important was to be able to pivot, because you never know if, you know, something’s going to blow up,” Bednarowski said. “You have to be able to adjust on your feet.”
After delving into their experiences covering their respective events, the four panelists spoke about the ways they utilize social media to inform and engage subscribers, strategies for capturing readers’ attention in beat coverage of losing or middling teams and more topics that arise over the course of event coverage.
Across all topics, the panelists underscored the importance of differentiating their reporting and pursuing unique angles that bring audiences into the moment.
“[If] you’re covering a game, give me something about the game that somebody sitting in the stands doesn’t already know about,” Maluso said. “ … Give me, ‘What did the quarterback tell the team in the huddle? Was he wearing his lucky shoes or lucky socks or something?’ Give me something different that someone just doesn’t see.”
