By Paul Vigna, Mid-Atlantic Region chair
Sports Editor, Patriot-News (Mechanicsburg, Pa.)¶
The APSE Mid-Atlantic region held its fall meeting on Nov. 13 at Temple University in what was dubbed the Temple Sports Summit. Originally scheduled for Oct. 29, it was postponed when Hurricane Sandy prompted a state of emergency in the city. ¶
This was the first of what’s planned as an annual event, which would give the Mid-Atlantic region a regular spot for spring (Penn State) and fall (Temple). More than 90 people, including students, faculty and APSE members, attended the day-long event at the Howard Gittis Student Center on the school's main campus. Temple’s objective was to recognize the number of graduates it has working in the media and to assist its students in networking with some of those professionals. ¶
We assembled four panels and then held an infomral job fair during lunch, with representatives there from area media and sports teams present to answer questions. ¶
Thanks to Andy Mendelson, the chair of Temple’s journalism department, for all his help and financial assistance with this event. ¶
First panel: Getting to the Heart of the Story ¶
The first workshop of the day was moderated by Harrisburg Patriot-News columnist David Jones and highlighted the way journalists get to the heart of a story. ¶
Daily News writers Mike Kern and Dick Jerardi participated in the panel and discussed some of the more interesting stories they had to cover. ¶
Jerardi, who’s been writing for the Daily News for 27 years, talked about how journalists must adapt their stories on the spot whenever something out of the ordinary happens. He used the example of when he covered Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro’s final race. Barbaro famously shattered his leg in the first 100 yards of the Preakness Stakes. ¶
Jerardi was able to cover the aftermath of the race and became close with the doctor that operated on Barbaro. When asked by a person in attendance how he was able to get so close to the doctor, Jerardi responded: "Trust." The idea that trust has the ability to bring out stories was prevalent in Jerardi’s speeches. He mentioned a few times how a person’s trust in a journalist will often let them open up and speak freely. ¶
Thirty-year Daily News veteran Mike Kern went into detail about covering former Temple men’s basketball coach John Chaney and the time they spent together before his 80th birthday. Kern also recounted the time Chaney threatened to kill then University of Massachusetts basketball head coach John Calipari in a press conference. ¶
Kern said that when he asked another Atlantic-10 Conference coach who was at fault, the coach said, "The only thing Chaney did wrong was not follow through." That drew a hefty laugh from the crowd. ¶
Jones did a wonderful job moderating the talk, and even added his own experiences of his first time coming to Philadelphia. He spoke of the knowledge he gained by going into the heart of North Philadelphia to find a touching story of poverty and basketball. ¶
Kern gave some of the best advice of the first workshop when he was asked a question about how to get viewership. He said, "Give people a reason to read your story and get past the third or fourth line." ¶
— Ean Dunn, Temple University junior ¶
Second panel: Finding Your Career Path ¶
In today’s competitive job market, every journalism student wonders exactly how he or she will ever be able to stand out and find a career path. That was the emphasis of the second panel, which lasted approximately an hour and consisted of three panelists. Temple University alumni Rob Ellis from 610 WIP radio and Danny Pommells from Comcast SportsNet were there to speak to students, along with Bonnie Clark, the current Vice President of Communications for the Philadelphia Phillies. ¶
Although the panelists work in different sectors of media, they had one consistent message: Internships and hard work pay off. "Hard work has to be fundamental and rudimentary to being a success." Pommells said to students attending the summit. Clark also offered sage advice when it came to networking and internships. "My career found me thanks to networking. Don’t ever close a door, because it may be an opportunity for a stepping stone to your future." The panel also advised the prospective journalists to be proactive interns by asking questions, coming up with story ideas and by constantly volunteering for events and tasks during the span of the job. ¶
During the hour-long conversation, the three panelists answered numerous questions from students, and touched on the do’s and don’ts of social media, as well as provided an inside glimpse to the not-so-glamorous side of journalism. All advised students to take jobs for experience rather than pay, and to constantly be on the lookout for the next chapter in their careers. ¶
Matthew Fine, a Temple assistant professor in the Department of Media Studies and Production, served as the modeator. In addition to the great tips and pieces of experience the panelists had to give, they also told students that the most important thing is to chase their dreams. "Take a shot," Ellis said. "Pursue your dreams now, because in 10 years you don’t want to look back and have a dozen what ifs." ¶
— Breland M. Moore, Temple University Class of 2014, broadcast journalism
Third panel: Best Practices of Social Media for Reporting and Branding ¶
There’s no question that social media has changed sports coverage, but the best practices for using tools like Twitter in sports reporting continue to evolve. ¶
During the combination APSE Mid-Atlantic workshop and Temple Sports Journalism Summit on Nov. 13, five professionals in sports journalism discussed this very topic in a panel called "Best practices of social media for reporting and branding: A look at tools such as Sulia, Yardbarker, Twitter and more." ¶
Naturally, the usage of Twitter dominated the dialogue. ¶
Philly.com Executive Sports Producer Matt Romanoski, who said the first thing he does when he gets to his office is turn on his email and Tweetdeck, noted that Twitter is a great tool for newsgathering. Ryan Petzar of Philly.com added it’s a great way to crowd-source and garner tips from followers. ¶
"That’s the power of social media," Petzar said. "It really levels the playing field. Whether it’s as a reporting tool, whether it’s as a networking tool, whether it’s as a broadcasting tool, there are lot of opportunities because of it." ¶
Matt Gelb, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Phillies beat writer, said he has changed his Twitter philosophy a bit over his three seasons on the beat. Reporters have to be careful on social media, even with simply retweeting someone else’s post. There is a lot of misinformation out there, and it’s amazing how fast false reports can spread. ¶
"It may not look like it’s in print, but now Twitter is the equivalent of your name appearing in a newspaper the next day with a story underneath it," Gelb said. "Whatever you put to your name, it’s there. It can be deleted, but somebody’s probably already taken a screenshot of it or retweeted it . . . It used to be treated by writers as just kind of a place to dump my thoughts, ‘This random rumor I hear, this speculation, you know I’ll just put it on Twitter and see what happens.’ But I think it’s become where it’s effectively like the newspaper. Your name is attached to it and it’s not going away."¶
Another topic the panel discussed concerned the abundance of reporters who use Twitter for play-by-play of games and to live-tweet press conferences with coaches or players. Audrey Snyder, who covers Penn State football and writes sports enterprise for the Harrisburg Patriot-News, understands that it can be annoying for followers to sit through press conferences on Twitter. ¶
"Finding that divide, it’s really tough," Snyder said. "You feel like if you’re not tweeting it, well, 20 other organizations are so then those people are going to go there for their news and you feel like you have to catch up. I think it’s something people and companies will work through." ¶
Temple alumnus Dave Isaac, formerly of Philly.com and now a digital content producer for the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, N.J., served as moderator. Matt Mullin of Philly.com also was a panelist. ¶
— Jake Kaplan, Penn State Class of 2012 and former intern for MLB.com and the Philadelphia Inquirer ¶
Fourth panel: The Money Side of Sports ¶
The landscape of professional sports in Philadelphia is one all the panelists wanted to be a part of. Hearing stories about passionate Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia 76ers fans made their transitions into marketing the programs an easier sell. ¶
But the world of professional athletics is never as easy as those making many of the critical business decisions make it seem. There are challenges with creating slogans, variables involved in ticket sales and nuances of the industry that may be out of their control. ¶
Mark Gullett, the Philadelphia 76ers vice president of marketing, and David Buck, the senior vice president for marketing and advertising sales for the Phillies, were joined by John George, a writer for the Philadelphia Business Journal. ¶
The discussion, moderated by Philadelphia Inquirer Sports Editor John Quinn, focused on the similarities and differences between operating a basketball program versus a baseball program. Finding ways to attractively market the 76ers has been challenging at times for Gullett, who came to Philadelphia after nine years working in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning. ¶
"What do we think will make the team better?" Gullett said, when listing his priorities. "What do we think will make the team more relevant? . . . If the team loses, it definitely has an impact on the fan experience. What you want to do is overdo the fan experience so people leave there wanting to come back." ¶
Focusing marketing campaigns around coach Doug Collins, as well as the history of the team and the current players, is an approach the 76ers prefer. Zeroing in on a specific player or phrase is something Gullett said he likes to stay away from. ¶
With the Phillies, Buck said it’s important to make sure their revenue doesn’t hit a plateau at a certain point. The Phillies’ success drives ticket sales, merchandise and the Citizens Bank Park experience, but when games don’t sell out, it presents challenges. ¶
"Our No. 1 goal is to get fans to come to the game," said Buck, who has been with the organization for 25 years. "They’re not gonna come out for bad baseball. . . . Our job is turning it into more than just baseball." ¶
Seeing tickets appear on websites such as StubHub for well below face value is something both organizations are dealing with. While Major League Baseball had an agreement with the ticket company that has run out since the end of last season, Buck said the process can be "a double-edged sword." ¶
If tickets were to sell for $11 on StubHub, Buck said at least the Phillies would get a small margin of the profit back, rather than losing it if nothing sold. However, it’s still well below the face value of the ticket, making the profit margin very small. ¶
As a reporter for Philadelphia Business Journal, George has a job that many newspapers are no longer able to afford. His type of niche reporting gives fans insight into all the nuts and bolts – ranging from ticket sales to potential mascot changes – involving professional and collegiate sports. It’s a role he worked into after newspaper reporting and one that allows him to analyze the trends in the business aspect of athletics. ¶
Students in attendance had many questions about their university and were curious to learn what Temple can do to bolster its football ticket sales and game-day atmosphere. ¶
Buck tied the Temple questions back to the same philosophy he and the Phillies use to sell tickets. ¶
"You have to start at a number that you can sustain. Get people there, show them what it’s like, show them it’s fun and that it’s a good product that they’re buying," he said. "Then, little by little you can build it up from there." ¶
— Audrey Snyder, Penn State beat writer and enterprise writer for the Harrisburg Patriot-News ¶
