When Knute Rockne evoked the name of George Gipp at halftime of the 1928 Notre Dame – Army football game, I don’t think he had twenty-first century journalism in mind…
But just like Rockne was trying to rally the troops, so too has a new tool rallied the internet world of sports journalism, the GIF…Pronounce it either way, like the peanut butter with a “J” or with a hard “G”, these short videos have captured the attention of readers/viewers and made celebrities out if those who can master them…The Graphics Interchange Format…
Just ask Pete Blackburn… Blackburn writes primarily for UPROXX now and uses these short videos to enhance his ideas…In fact, people search for Pete’s videos as much as they do his writing…He recognized he needed something to drive the traffic and took a shot; “Nobody was coming to me to read what I thought about the Bruins because I wasn’t established in the field yet. I figured I could say, hey, here’s something that I’m doing that no one else is doing. This is a reason to come to me”…And it worked….
This was our final sports journalism seminar of the semester and while we’ve tried to deal with many issues during that time my goal was really to open your eyes…It’s been comfortable for you here but the time has come to put what you’ve learned to work…
I’d never met Pete before but couldn’t have agreed with him more as he spoke about where aspiring journalists go astray…”People can sense when you’re not genuine. You have to be self-aware. Are you funny? If you’re not funny, don’t try to be because it won’t be funny. You have to be aware of what your strengths are. If you’re funny, then go for it and make jokes. If your strengths lay in numbers, or your strengths lay in being analytical, that will get you an audience as well. You just have to realize what your strength is and then figure out how you can provide something that somebody may not be able to.”
As some wise man once told you – “You do something better than anyone else in the world, you just have to figure out what that is”
Finally, I was inspired…..I don’t have a PVR, although I might just get one…So, I gave it a try…rudimentary, for sure, but as the title says, “It never gets old”…
As that (sometimes) wise man also said, “If I can do it, you can do it”….
18 Comments
Timmy Lagos posted on May 1, 2016 at 3:26 pm
For me at least, having Pete come in as our final guest in the seminar series was the perfect ending. Pete is one of my favorite Twitter follows, even more so now during the NHL playoffs when he’s all over Twitter with his GIF’s and analysis on the different games. He also created what is still my favorite GIF of all time, when he made the celebration after John Tavares’ OT winner in last year’s playoffs look like the ending of a cheesy sports movie. I was disappointed when it didn’t work during class. But I digress.
In terms of what I took away from the seminar, I’ll try to keep it short as I’d rather reflect on what I took away from the series as a whole throughout the semester. But one big theme I took away from what Pete talked about was the way he used GIF’s to gain such a large following.
This was a perfect example of knowing what your audience wants. Pete seemed to realize that with all the other hockey accounts out there, he would probably be drowned out if he just tried to do routine analysis of games and plays. So he used GIF’s to gain that large following, and not just generic GIF’s of a play and that’s it, but ones where he added his own personal touch. I feel as though this line of thinking can apply to any of us when we go out into the world and our first job and we are trying to distinguish ourselves from the thousands of other sports writers, reporters, broadcasters, etc. out there.
You need to be able to add your own personal touch to your writing and the way you get your stories and information across. This doesn’t mean adding your opinion or bias to the piece, but more so making your style of writing and the way you present yourself unique so people notice. You can do this a number of ways. Instead of always writing your stories, maybe you can do a podcast once in a while. Maybe do a video story or video interview. Do something that is different and will make people remember you and know who you are when they see your work. Pete was able to do this through his GIF’s, and it seems to have worked out well for him.
The other big theme I took away from what Pete said, and one that segues into my reaction to the seminar series as a whole, was what Professor Shorr talked about above, and that is being genuine. You need to be yourself and play to your strengths. You can’t try to be someone you’re not because people will see right through you. I know of a number of different sports writers I follow on Twitter that tweet about nothing but statistics and general game recaps and box scores, and then once in a while will try to make a joke about something or try to get into a back-and-forth with fans. It just doesn’t work. Even if the joke was actually funny, the fans and followers don’t respond to it because it is so out of the ordinary for them. Just be yourself and let your strengths shine through.
This applies to what many of our guests have spoken about throughout the semester when it comes to finding that first job as well. Don’t try to portray yourself in an interview or on your resume as something you’re not because employers will call your bluff, and then you are in trouble. So being genuine and being yourself is one big theme I took away from the series as a whole.
Another big one I took away from this semester was that you need to start somewhere. It doesn’t matter where it is or what the job is, just get your foot in the door. If you’re able to start out right away in a large market covering a big team, then great for you. But for the majority of us that isn’t going to happen. You need to be ok with being sent to the middle of nowhere to cover high school or prep sports. It won’t be forever, and you can use this time to sharpen your skills when you eventually get to the big stage. With the number of times I’ve heard this throughout the semester and my four years in COM, there has to be some truth to it.
Finally, enjoy it. With the exception of one or two of them, I think it was very clear that everyone we had in this semester loves what they do and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. This is the most important thing in my eyes. If you aren’t enjoying what you do, then why are you doing it? Have fun with it. Learn new things. Meet new people. As that wise man also said, “You’ll never work a day in your life.” Good luck everyone!
Rachel Blauner posted on May 2, 2016 at 1:55 pm
I don’t know if it was because this seminar was our last, because I thought Pete Blackburn was relatable and funny, or because I got to eat pizza and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but this was my favorite seminar so far.
The reason primarily being that his job, his identity, was unique and different. Blackburn was able to find his niche in college, and use it to get himself a job that pays him “comfortably.” Isn’t that what we all dream of post graduation?
I was joking with my roommates after the seminar that my goal now is to find something that I am really good at making, like Blackburn’s GIFs, and then use that to get a job. But reflecting on it later, I realized that is what Professor Shorr has been telling us all semester. We all do something better than anyone else, we just have to find out what that thing is.
For some people, like Andrew and Sarah, they are fantastic sports writers, especially covering hockey. Haley is experienced and great at PR. All of the athletes in the room are talented in their sport. We all have different unique things that we can bring to the table during an interview that will separate us from others.
So now, it’s time to master whatever you’re good at. Blackburn took it upon himself to make GIF’s that he knew were funny, and as he said, if you are not funny, do not try and be funny. If you are analytical, be analytical. Don’t force it.
For me, I have to try and find what I am good at in graduate school. Soccer was what I committed my time to in undergrad, and now I have a chance to truly focus on broadcast journalism for the next year after my last season of soccer is over. I can finally see what professions I like and don’t like. To be honest, I am actually nervous, but excited. It’s a new chapter for me, and I am going to have to jump in with both feet.
We’ve heard a handful of different stories and different paths that our speakers have taken after they were students just like us approaching graduation. What I’ve taken from their advice is that try and do something that you love. Don’t give up on a dream if it doesn’t seem conquerable right away. Hard work will get you there, even if it takes longer than you expect.
I’m sure all the seniors in our class are feeling the same way I am. Everything went by too fast. These truly were the best four years of our lives. For some of us, we’ll be like Blackburn, getting into a field that we love and are talented at. For the rest, we may not know exactly what the next plan is, but that’s OK too.
We just have to keep on keepin’ on, until we find our niche.
Taylor DiChello posted on May 3, 2016 at 12:45 pm
At the beginning of the semester, we talked about the future of journalism and how the person that figures out how to make it profitable again will be the next Bill Gates.
Pete Blackburn may not have that solution, but he certainly knows how to jump ahead and innovate journalism for the future.
Not only that, but he’s figuring it out at a younger age than many of the veteran journalists. Journalism is becoming a young person’s game because we were the first generation to grow up with the internet.
We are the most comfortable at it and we are the most savvy at it. No matter what platform of journalism we are hoping to break through, one of our major skill sets will be that we know social media and the workings of our generation more than anyone else in the newsroom, simply because of our age.
This will be true for kids who are younger than us, too. The kids who were born playing with iPhones and iPads are the ones who will figure out how to make a profit from the internet in journalism. For now, we’re the ones in control though.
Even Pete is jumping on a bandwagon that goes further than just the internet, but live streaming through a podcast. The podcast takes place of music on a walk to school and a drive to work. It makes the radio even seem irrelevant.
Technology is catching up to the internet, too. Cars have wifi and chargers and ways to stay connected even while our eyes are on the road.
There are so many innovations in the internet that journalism was bound to follow and Pete is a great example of how any of us in this class can fill an empty hole that journalism has yet to come upon.
Even if everyone in this class focused on filling the same hole with the same innovation, the internet reaches so many people that we would still be unique in our coverage.
The only question that remains is, what is that innovation?
GIFS are a great start to catching short attention spans, saying what needs to be said in a 5 second graphic rather than a minute-long package or a two minute read makes for faster consumption of the news and more consumption of the news. In the time it takes to watch the minute-long package, someone can watch 12 GIFS and get 12 different stories or plays rather than just one.
Professor Shorr succeeded in opening my eyes to the opportunities that lay ahead of us. Things in journalism change every day and have changed since the second we walked into BU as freshmen.
It is not only our jobs to learn what was done before us, but to keep up with what is going on now and think ahead to what we can contribute to the future of journalism.
Those three pieces will determine our level of excellence in the real world. Pete Blackburn is an amazing example of that.
Andrew Battifarano/Judy Cohen/Sarah Kirkpatrick posted on May 3, 2016 at 3:00 pm
Listen to the conclusion of Smooth JAS! https://soundcloud.com/andrew-battifarano/smooth-jas-episode-8
Natalie Robson posted on May 3, 2016 at 3:47 pm
I have to say, when we were talking before the seminar about GIFs—the only real thought I gave it was the war on pronunciation, was it a hard G or were we talking about peanut butter? I wasn’t buying into it as a journalistic tool for the future of journalism.
Although, when Pete Blackburn came into discuss his work for his blog, it became really apparent that using GIFs was just a small element in his overarching scheme of online writing domination.
I think this was his foot in the door and somewhat a creative card that Blackburn uses to appeal to audiences. I get it. How many times have I scrolled through my newsfeed watching stupid little videos and peoples comments on them?
When done RIGHT I feel that it can be used as a really effective story telling tool. In a sense I kind of look at it as a column in 140 characters. Oftentimes these clips are laced with funny comments or some kind of commentary based off of what one person saw.
For example, if a player makes a stupid play, a writer can use a GIF to show the play and then use the tweet to give some sort of commentary—good or bad. I think this is a corner of the journalism universe that bloggers and funny men like Pete have mastered.
This is how they build their audience. He is able to bring people in with his GIFs and they want more—then they go to his blog, he gets clicks and everyone lives happily ever after.
At the end of the day, I feel that journalism is now about what you can bring to the table to make it different. It no longer is about how well you can do stuff of the past, but what you can bring to a company or a news organization that they don’t already have.
Journalism has become about innovation and use of technology in a practice that has primarily rested its laurels on truth seeking and proper punctuation.
I think this is how journalism is supposed to evolve into something that stays relevant in the lives of people that are married to their smart phones and thrive off of instant gratification.
Doyle Somerby posted on May 3, 2016 at 5:48 pm
Gifs are something that have dominated the internet lately. Pete Blackburn has committed himself to posting funny or interesting Gifs within a minute of the play during a game. Personally, I have started to follow more accounts on twitter that use gifs, because I like watching all kinds of sports plays the morning after when I read twitter. A perfect example of how Gifs are positively impacting a fans experience, is Kris Letang’s hit on Marcus Johansson. I watched a gif at least 15 times last night and another 15 this morning. I wanted to repeatedly watch the hit because I wanted to judge for myself on if I thought it was legal or illegal. The great thing was, it only took 37 seconds to watch the hit that many times.
Pete’s seminar was a great way to end the semester because it tied everything together. He did a great job describing how he lives his life, and for me personally, I would not enjoy myself having his job and sitting inside all day. I think that he is blessed to be able to live comfortably while working from home and watching sports, however, I need to be a lot more active.
People often think there is one way to enter the business the world. Every seminar this semester has shown us, that unique skills will elevate people above their competitors. If an attempt at stepping outside the box fails, then don’t give up. Finding ways to innovate is they way to get a foot in the door and prove yourself. Innovating a job market that is constantly evolving is extremely important.
Pete took full advantage of something that he started doing so he could have some pocket change in college. While he may have started years before us, the business world is not a sprint, its a marathon.
While gifs are in now, in a year it will be something else, and it will be a revolving door of the next best technology for the rest of time. Taking advantage of opportunities is something that this class has ingrained in my mind.
Haley K. King posted on May 3, 2016 at 7:43 pm
In a day and age where attention spans are shrinking, GIFs are undoubtedly very popular. Why else would iPhones come equipped with GIF keyboards nowadays? My company frequently adds GIFs into our email threads—showing off everything from a woman trying to do squats in heels and failing miserably to GIFs of Han Solo reading “May the 4th be with you” calling for everyone to bring Star Wars memorabilia into the office tomorrow. GIFs are funny. GIFs are entertaining. That is why they’re so popular. When it comes to sports, showing one replay of a killer play (or a not-so killer play) isn’t enough anymore. GIFs are convenient because they play automatically, and repeat an indefinite amount of times, meaning you can watch a play of your choosing until your heart is content—unlike traditional replays.
I don’t think—by any means—that GIFs are “the future” of sports journalism—nor any form of journalism for that matter. But they’re an easy addition to articles that make stories more intriguing and noteworthy than just merely text on a screen. GIFs are supplemental, and great when it comes to social media sites like Twitter where the average user’s attention span is astronomically low considering the rapid-fire Twitter feed concept.
However entertaining GIFs might be, in the sports realm I’m not a huge fan, nor do I find them the least bit impressive. I can make my own GIF relatively quickly through an online GIF generator free of charge. Sure the quality isn’t as great as a GIF generator I would purchase, but the point still gets across. That being said, I certainly don’t think GIFs are a dying breed, but making them today is definitely commonplace, meaning sports reporters will now be looking on to the next big thing to stand apart from their rival writers.
All in all, GIFs are fun when texting, or in casual company email threads, but in the realm of journalism—seem to be a bit of a cop out in my mind. Especially when they aren’t supplemented by a polished, enticing story or provoking insights.
I will now share this gem from the 2013 ALCS:
http://thebiglead.com/2013/10/13/red-sox-ballgirl-hit-in-face-by-stephen-drew-foul-ball/
Not everyone can say that there’s a GIF online about them, might as well embrace it, right?
Dakota Randall posted on May 3, 2016 at 8:13 pm
Having Pete in class was interesting, and sort of inspiring. Like Carrabis and Mastrodanoto before him, Pete is using the internet as a tool to develop and reach audiences in unique ways. Personally, i feel like a similar career track is what suits my strengths and personalities best. So when i hear Pete say that he’s very comfortable and that you can make a good living doing what he’s doing, my ears certainly perk up.
As far as the GIF goes, I’ve personally found it useful in my own writings. I write game recaps and features for Dirty Water Sports, and all of these posts need to be brightened up with videos, pictures, etc. Especially in the case of the game recaps, the idea is to have the post up as soon as possible, and to include videos / clips whenever possible.
Often times, the Red Sox home page, youtube, or Newssource don’t have the highlights up that quickly. So you have to get resourceful. Often, I just embed tweets from people like carrabis or Joon Lee that are posting clips or GIFS of key points in the games. But sometimes they don’t have the moments that I think are interesting, or what I’m writing about. This is where GIFS become useful. I can splice up the exact, brief clip that I want, and put it in the post immediately.
I don’t think they’re inherently entertaining or interesting, as much as they are genuinely useful. They’re also great for posting a lively tweet.
All of these methods are intended to liven up your content, and in turn drive more traffic, which in turn brings more money.
It all goes back to $$$$$
Now, what I think is far more fascinating, and productive, is trying to come up with that next thing that will catch on, like the GIF. Journalism is not a tapped resource. There are plenty of new ideas out there, it’s just up to us to be creative enough to continue to revolutionize and evolve our field.
Audiences’ attention spans are shorter than ever, so it’s likely the next big thing will come in the form of something that simplifies the over all viewing experience for the reader.
There are a lot of interesting things that I took from this seminar. And given that I added the course at the very last minute, I have to say I’m very glad I did.
I’m not going to get into listing all the things I took from this semester, because what’s important is that many of these speakers validated to me that the path I’m going on is one that has room for growth and success, and most importantly, can still be fun.
Ashley Boitz posted on May 3, 2016 at 9:04 pm
There is no doubt that every day we are taking surrounded with an overload of new information and media. As a college student how do we find something that will set us apart from everyone else trying to do the same thing?
Peter Blackburn found his niche in college creating GIFs. When I think about the idea of GIFs its genius and you are viewing entertaining content, all under 60 minuets. Personally, I love GIFs, I think they are great, don’t take up too much time, and are wildly entertaining.
I think a great point that Peter made was to stay true to who you are. I think throughout this semester each speaker has had a message and with in each of his or her messages the main point was to, find out what you love to do, be yourself and go for it. I think the scariest part of being at the end of college is being uncertain of what is going to come next. There have been times where I don’t even know where I will be next semester, how am I going to make it after college?
I think these seminars have taken some of the panic and anxiety away from this year. I have learned that maybe I haven’t found my niche or the thing that is going to make me different, but I will eventually. The words, “You do something better than anyone else in the world, you just have to figure out what that is,” have to be some of the most calming words I have a heard all semester. The moral of the story is, you just have to put yourself out there, you can’t find what you love without trying it first.
Gabbie Chartier posted on May 3, 2016 at 9:26 pm
At the beginning of the semester, Professor Shorr told the class that we are all better than someone else at something. In order to be successful, we need to find out what that strength is and pursue it.
Pete Blackburn definitely did that by pursuing a career based on making GIFs. Ten years ago, a GIF-based career was unfathomable. It was only up until these past five years that GIFs gained major steam. However, Blackburn has since become extremely successful and has 25.1K Twitter followers to share his GIFs with. Blackburn was able to identify a way to enhance his reporting and create a more rewarding experience for his followers than simply tweeting words and a link to a YouTube video. Because of that, people became more inclined to read his stuff.
As Haley pointed out, the attention spans of many readers and viewers today are extremely short. GIFs are able to capture a short event in a couple seconds, keeping the viewer’s interest. These short videos only show what is necessary for the viewer to see in order to understand. This idea is similar to “the lead” print journalism. In video, the GIF is the lead.
As I said, GIFs are only a fairly recent development. Blackburn was able to tap into an emerging technological advancement at the time and turn it into a career. Looking at Blackburn’s lifestyle and how he is able to make a comfortable living by editing sports video from home is inspiring. Technology is constantly progressing and, while it may be GIFs today, it will most certainly be something new tomorrow. The key is to stay on top of that technology and potentially know what it will be before it’s here. Blackburn was able to do that and give viewers something other reporters were not. If we, as young reporters, have this same intuition about emerging technology, we will have an upper hand on some of the veterans in the business who are not as tech-savvy. Being on top of the current and emerging technology gives us a leg up.
I think this seminar really tied together the entire course and highlighted some of the motifs of the semester. Everybody in the class has strengths and weaknesses. The key is to play up our strengths and recognize our weaknesses. The world of journalism is vast and is constantly changing due to new technology and social media trends. Because of that, we all can find our niche.
Overall, I think it’s important for us to remember whom we are reporting for. Our job is to educate, but also to enhance the viewers’ and readers’ experiences in ways other news outlets don’t. As Rob King said during our ESPN seminar, “Trying to serve fans is a worthy mission and it’s going to take you a lot of places because all fans aren’t the same.” Because of that, we are given a great deal of creative freedom.
The possibilities are broad and our strengths all vary. But, it is only by playing upon our strengths in order to enhance the experience for the readers and viewers that our careers will likely be the most rewarding.
Jake De Vries posted on May 3, 2016 at 9:46 pm
I was not in class for this seminar, but based on what I’ve read so far, it sounds like we had a guest in Peter Blackburn that personifies one of Professor Shorr’s inspirational quotes for us: “You do something better than everyone else in the world, you just have to find out what it is.”
I don’t know if Peter is the best “GIF-fer” in the world, but it sounds like the guy certainly found his niche. We’ve heard advice from plenty of our guests this semester that have told us the importance of finding your niche, and there are a few that stand out to me. Rob King told us about a fantasy guru and a NASCAR expert that found their place at ESPN because they are SO darn good at what they do. Just last week, Greg Lang told us how valuable it still is to be a tenacious reporter and a brilliant writer.
Putting Rob and Greg’s advice alongside Peter’s experience with making GIFs should show us what Professor Shorr has been trying to show us all along. You will be successful in the world of sports journalism, or any journalism, if you are an excellent writer and reporter or if you do something that few other people can do. Whichever route works for you, it will take hard work and passion to get there. Some people are excellent writers by the grace of god, but to be a great reporter requires time, energy, and people skills that must be developed and improved. To find your talent that you do better than everybody (making GIFs, predicting fantasy football stats through codes, covering college gymnastics) may take years of searching and years of working a job you aren’t so good at. But like Dalen Cuff told us a few weeks ago, you have to be honest with yourself and do what you love or you won’t be happy. Find the field of your dreams (pun intended), become an expert in it, and make it yours.
Anna Padilla posted on May 3, 2016 at 9:58 pm
Having Pete Blackburn in class was interesting. But to be honest it didn’t really do anything for me. I understand that GIF’s are a popular thing and that Blackburn is clearly a connoisseur turning his blogs and social media into profit, but I I was mostly uninspired.
Whether it is a GIF or a meme or a tweet I don’t find any of this a skill set or something that is significant. It is how Blackburn and other popular “media-lites” such as Katie Nolan use these tools to simply get clicks and audiences that should be noted.
And that is a great lead in to the quote Professor Shorr reiterated of Blackburn’s. Being genuine and finding you voice is the hard part. Using your skill set and the technology tools available to gain popularly and dollar, dollar bills is just purely necessary of you want to be successful. GIF’s do absolutely nothing for me. If they were gone tomorrow, I would not notice (just like Blakburn’s fear of dying tomorrow and being easily replaced). But the lesson from this seminar was to find what you are good at, be confident in your skills and put them out in the public as much as possible.
The internet is a scary, big place. In fact, it is almost scarier and bigger than the real world that is creeping around and lurking after graduation. But this seminar class has demonstrated that being yourself and following your passion is the key component to any career you pursue, whether it is a beat reporter or social media professional. Make connections when you can, take all the opportunities that come up and be ready to do any job given to you.
Emily Tillo posted on May 3, 2016 at 11:00 pm
Part of my daily routine upon waking up involves reading the news via email newsletters. I rely primarily on The New York Times newsletter, theSkimm, and—perhaps my favorite—Bit of News. Bit of News definitely is not a one-stop-shop for all of the news stories I need to know, but it provides a great glimpse of what is going on in the world. It gives me the “5 most important things” each day in a clean, simple, easy-to-read format. However, what I love most about Bit of News is that each day’s newsletter ends with a quote. I look forward to seeing what the day’s quote will be. Each quote makes me pause, step back, and think about life in a different way.
Anyways, as I was reading all of your blog posts, I couldn’t help but be reminded of a Bit of News quote I read a few weeks ago. I’ll share it with you and then explain why it pertains to GIFs, Peter Blackburn, sports journalism, and all of us as future professionals in the sports world.
“Then it dawned on me that no one else was going to believe in me until I believed in myself.”
— David J. Schwartz
I remember reading this quote the day before we left for Patriot League Championships. It was such a timely reminder that I must trust in my athletic abilities and myself. This simple sentence helped put me in the right frame of mind heading into the tournament.
Schwartz’s words resurfaced in my mind as I was reflecting on our discussion with Pete Blackburn and on all of our conversations at the seminars this semester.
[Side note: Ironically enough, the newsletter in which the quote was featured began with a GIF of Hillary Clinton—I don’t make this stuff up!! ]
Anyways, I believe Pete is a great example of this quote ‘in action.’
As he mentioned to us last week, he wrote for an almost nonexistent audience for several months after launching his blog, Nosebleeds, during his college years. His first few gigs earned him “dog shit.” Pete knew he was a gifted writer and he didn’t wait for other people to tell him he was good. He told the world he was good.
Pete, like Ashley said in her post, stayed true to who he was. He sacrificed pay early in his career in order to pursue his dream of being a sports writer. He knew what he wanted and he went for it. Along the way, he discovered the power of social media and its role in helping him leverage his brand, promote his writing, and increase his readership. Social media and GIF-making are two of Pete’s strengths; he knows how to use them to effectively attract an audience that appreciates his honest and candid style of writing.
I admire Pete for his inner drive and self-confidence. However, like Doyle, I would go crazy if my only daily breaks were going to the gym and walking my dog outside. But, everyone is different. Pete writes from the comfort of his home, but I want to write, interact, and ask questions from inside the ropes.
Big Jim Murray of 98.5 The Sports Hub said during our March 24 radio seminar that he doesn’t “want to meet my heroes in person because a lot of these people will disappoint you.” The athletes I will be interacting with may disappoint me sometimes, I’m sure, but I prefer to ask them the tough questions from inside the ‘boxing ring,’ bruises intact.
Remember when Doug Kyed of NESN told us to “find the story” and “immerse [ourselves] in it” during our February 11th beat reporting seminar?
Well, we also have to remember to “find our story,” too. It may take days, months, or years…everyone’s path is unique, but what unites all of our stories—and the stories of our guests this semester—is grit, determination, and passion. Life’s too short to simply “jump on the bandwagon,” as Pete put it.
I’ll leave it to a card my high school golf coach gave me when I graduated 4 years ago and left for BU (times sure flies) to eloquently conclude my last blog post:
“No one else can make your journey. Only you know where you need to go.”
Enjoy the journey.
Vanessa de Beaumont posted on May 4, 2016 at 1:11 am
Would a gif of any other name (say, gif) be as eye-catchingly effective?
Would a gif-maker of any other name (aside from our guest Pete Blackburn, of course) be as successful?
The young social media maestro seems to believe that, should he hypothetically collide with a bus in the near future, a gif-makers of many other names would, in fact, be successful.
“There are a ton of people making NHL gifs now,” he laughed, remarking his new suggested status as being replaceable.
Already at such a young age and early point in his career, however, Blackburn seems to have done precisely the opposite of taking well-occupied and well-tread paths – opting instead for the untapped potentials.
Most impressive of all? He’s done it his way, honoring his branded style. It’s refreshing.
After a week of sweating over the reality of what may be my undesirable first gig, Blackburn gave me hope that, with enough insight into opportunity, I, along with the rest of my classmates, may very well be capable of pursing our passions straightaway (working from home rather than in an obscure town).
By building upon each successive success, Blackburn has reached an already sought-after point in his career. It’s a journey that any and all of us can relate to, given the relatively small age gap we share, and his easy demeanor perhaps sold me too well on the possibilities I may unlock.
After hearing him speak about his route to UPROXX, I was temporarily prepared to toss out all of my mature realizations from just a week prior. And then I remembered something of critical importance.
Let us refer back to my first line. Forced. Weak. Simply not funny.
Just as Blackburn suggested for us all, I have attained some level of self-awareness. Humor and I were not meant to be.
But as much as I’d like to stay clear of the temptation to inject any form of cleverness, I’m confronted with a few problems:
1. The current social media sports audience has been conditioned to tune out anything lacking wit (particularly people of the younger generation to whom Blackburn even admitted his writing is best geared towards).
2. Injecting even the slightest comedic element in your analysis or storytelling will inevitably always enhance your perceived entertainment value and subsequently the majority of reader interest.
3. Much like Blackburn, I have zero interest in the cut-and-dry aspects of beat reporting. He was quick to identify the state of “misery” many of the people occupying those positions subscribed to just as I, too, found this to be the case earlier in our seminars.
It’s a personal problem to be certain (no doubt many of my peers, both in this course and outside of it, wield internet wittiness with ease). The point I am attempting to raise, however, is that, while it’s most important to follow one’s passion, it may not always lead to the road of greatest success.
We are all well-acquainted with the old happy/less professional renown versus discontent/career fame dichotomy. For my own selfish desires, however, I will express a hope that the newest trend or craze, the one we would all surely love to predict, will lend itself to those of us who are less comically inclined.
Fortunately, however, it won’t matter too much in the grander scheme. Because aside from pursuing passions or areas of strength, the greatest quality to attain (or more likely, to dredge up from within) may very well be initiative.
Time and again our guests always seemed to return to that one, self-motivating theme, and Blackburn was no different (finding both recognition, comfort and professional satisfaction).
Exploring an untapped source of recognition? Beginning his own blog? Exploring alternative avenues (such as podcasting)?
Blackburn did all of these things not because he was told to but because he was himself driven to achieve. He acquired skills in coding, began writing for no audience and assumed online responsibilities that those in established positions wouldn’t dare.
It doesn’t truly matter what, as Professor Shorr phrased the inquiry, “he wants to be when he grows up” or even what relevant technologies or trends will exist. Blackburn and people like him (namely, Joon Lee and Jared Carrabis) will succeed because they will already have their sights set, ears to the ground and adaptable attitudes.
And while, much like comedy, these traits are more innate than taught, there remains no reason why any of us shouldn’t become candidates for further seminar discussion in a few years’ time – this time on the other side of the classroom.
julie aiello posted on May 4, 2016 at 8:53 am
Looking back on the seminar with Pete Blackburn, I am happy that we ended with him. His attitude toward changing up the industry from such a young age, even in college, is encouraging.
During our chat with Blackburn, he said he doesn’t want to be limited in what he writes about. For someone his age to be that set on writing only the stories he wants to is pretty rare. I think about our other guests who have said they must write a certain number of stories per day and that some of them are really not what they’d like to be writing, Blackburn really does have an ideal set up. It’s exciting to know that it’s out there, that not everywhere will I have to write about David Ortiz’s haircut or Gronk’s partying.
But how he got to the point where he gets to choose (mostly) what he writes was not easy, and it was a reminder to me that I need to figure out my specialty and work at it. Like Rachel said in her post, this is what Professor Shorr has been telling us from day 1: each of us is better at something than everyone else in the class. Blackburn’s visit helped me see that the one thing I’m better at doesn’t have to be something grand like being the best feature writer or shooting the best videos, but that it can be something as simple as creating GIFs most frequently.
Finally, Blackburn’s distaste with traditional, mainstream news careers resonated with me. Like many of my classmates, I don’t know where television networks or large newspapers will be in the next 10 years. That has made me shy away from them in terms of seeking internships or jobs because of the lack of job security I foresee in the future. I think online publications are the way news is heading, especially with the aggregation of news, and there is so much room for creativity and originality. Getting my foot in the door, as Blackburn said, can be as simple as putting my work up on my website or even just writing stories when I feel passionate about something. The more exposure the work I do gets, the better, and I am grateful for Blackburn’s visit where he reminded me of just that.
With all of these topics covered by Blackburn in our seminar, it reflected the number of jobs he does in his current position. We aren’t just going to be GIF creators or sports writers, we are going to be juggling multiple tasks a day and we need to be prepared for that. I feel this was a great speaker to end our seminar with because not only did it allow us to see someone who I felt came out of nowhere and is now a sports editor at a large online site, but his originality and creativity will push me through the summer to find my own specialty and get a jump start in my future career.
Justin Akiva posted on May 4, 2016 at 10:30 am
Professor Shorr mentioned something in his blog and it’s been the theme for the whole semester. “You do something better than anyone else in the world, you just have to figure out what that is,” he wrote, and he and has reiterated it all semester. Peter said the same thing about how everyone has that one skill that works for them. They have not been the only people who have given us this advice. This is something that has been said by almost everyone one of our guest speakers and that is why I think it is the most powerful message we can take from this course.
Throughout the year we have listened to some outstanding guests and they all explained the reason that they do what they do is because they are good at. Katarina Luketich said she changed to news reporting because she loved it, but because she is also good at it. Greg Lang told us that we should always show our employers what we are good at and how it can help them. After, hearing it so many times from so many people, I started to think about it a lot more. What am I good at it or do I even recognize the thing that I do better than anyone else in the world? However, after much reflection, I realized I don’t think I can answer that question on my own. It is something that I will probably realize after I am finished doing it. For now, I am going to keep walking the same steps that I have been walking and eventually, I will find out what that thing is. At least I hope I do.
Professor Shorr also talked about how he doesn’t understand the point of GIFs and how he would rather watch highlights instead of GIFs. I can honestly say that I completely agree with him. GIFs should be used for more comical plays like the Nick Young one that was shown in class. I mean it is hilarious to watch someone mess up on loop over and over again, but it’s not the best way to watch a highlight. Highlights deserve more credit than a three-second video that continuously loops. GIFs happen so fast that when people are scrolling through their newsfeed or an article they don’t even have to stop to watch them. The play happens and that’s it. I can’t speak for everyone, but I feel that doesn’t give the same effect as a highlight video that is just seven seconds longer.
A highlight is not just made by a nice cross over or a sick goal. It is made by the context of what happened and I don’t think you can get that out of a GIF. When watching a highlight, I want to know how the atmosphere of the game feels, how crucial the situation is, and how the play developed. For example, I can watch GIFs of Steph Curry hitting a thirty-five footer over and over again, but it won’t do anything for me because it has been happening all year. However, if I am watching the full highlight of Steph Curry, dribbling up the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder as the clock is counting down, and the crowd and Mike Breen are going nuts, that is a totally different experience. That’s something I would rather watch. I want to see all that excitement, so I can feel the way the people in the arena felt and so I can see the Steph Curry celebration or Russell Westbrook’s eighteen-minute handshakes. Isn’t that more enjoyable and gives the highlight more significance than a GIF?
However, just because I don’t think GIFs add anything to highlights doesn’t mean everyone thinks that way. Pete Blackburn definitely proves that with his work. Blackburn was an interesting guest because he talked and looked like a student. Of course, we had Joon Lee and Jared Carrabis come in, but Blackburn was different. He related to the class a lot more than they did. He told stories about how he and a friend started their first podcast drinking beers in their dorm and I felt like every student in the class was thinking, “been there done that.” The real thing that stuck out to me about Blackburn was he found something that not many people were doing at the time, he started doing and it, and it became what he was good at. This idea of GIFs is not my ideal highlight, but he proved that it can be a different type of highlight and he is really good at creating them. Who knows? Maybe someone in our class will find something as creative and become famous because of it. Blackburn is not much older then most of the students in the class and that is why he was also very relatable. Like Carrabis and Lee, Blackburn proved that if you really love something you can succeed at such a young age. You just have to want it more than anything.
Blackburn has already found what he is good at, and now that around half of us are graduating, it is our turn to find out what we are truly good at. It will be a tough process, but like all of our guests showed us, hard work does pay off. Start small directing or writing about high school games. Do jobs where you have to do everything. It may not look like the best work, but if you have the passion and put in as much effort as you possibly can, people will see it and appreciate it much more than you might think. The first steps are the most challenging, but I know when I look back on mine, I will be so happy that I took them.
Dakota Woodworth posted on May 4, 2016 at 11:04 am
GIF’s are great, and Pete Blackburn has figured out a way to really make them work in his favor. I personally love GIF’s and accounts that use them if I want to see a quick replay of Tavares’ goal. But I also have to sort of agree with Justin when he says that highlights are made by the context of the play. Especially with hockey, plays start from the opposite end of the ice and take time to fully develop, and that’s not something you can totally understand through a GIF. They’re great, but they’re a little blurry and jumpy which can make it tricky to track a puck. I like what the NHL account does, they use full HD video’s that show the entire play but also short clips of goals as well. They’re really quick in getting things up as well.
It’s not about GIF’s. It’s about having SOMETHING. One very important thing that I’ve learned throughout this semester from our guests, including Pete Blackburn last week, is that you really want to find something – something that you’re good at, hopefully better than other people, something that no one else is doing. We’re all creative people, we should be able to think of new, something we’re good at that should set us apart from the rest of the journalism world.
Wait what?
How many journalists are there in the world? How many journalism graduates are there this year? Or last year or the year before that still haven’t ‘made it’? We’re supposed to think of the one thing that none of those people have thought of and make it popular, make it effective? To separate ourselves from all those other people? Okay, sure.
Maybe this is an extremely pessimistic way of looking at things (I think it is), or maybe it’s just the fear or insecurity of not being able to find anything that I’m really good at (I know it is). Hopefully that goes away, hopefully I find my something.
Stephanie Tran posted on May 4, 2016 at 11:47 am
It’s crazy to thing how fast senior year, especially this semester has gone by. I unfortunately was unable to make it to the last seminar, but reading a lot about what Peter Blackburn said rings true in my eyes as well.
I’m not going to lie; I’m a lover of GIFs so I wish I was able to hear how Peter got to where he is today. I know Anna mentioned that the seminar left her mostly uninspired, but I think each and every guest we have had has allowed us to gain one important thing and that’s a bigger picture. We have had guests in all various fields of the sports journalism industry and it has truly helped me be better-rounded and more knowledgeable on these different focus areas.
The common theme we saw during these seminars is the fact that each guest is good at what they do, I mean that’s why they are where they are. This leads into the famous statement I’ve heard during my time at BU,
“You do something better than anyone else in the world, you just have to figure out what that is.”
For some people to find what they are good at is a process of failing and get back up again. Patience is key when it comes to life because there’s no way of knowing where your path may lead. It’s in your moments of decisions that your destiny is shaped.
Like Peter Blackburn said, “You just have to realize what your strengths are and then figure out how you can provide something that somebody may not be able to.”
Speak up. That’s something I’ve learned during my time here at BU. If you have something to say don’t hold back, especially if it’s something that could contribute to the team or class.
A lot of the graduating seniors in the class, me included, may know where they want to go or do post-graduation and some may have no idea. It’s something I’ve struggled with a lot, the uncertainty. I’ve finally realized that worrying less and focusing on one thing at a time is all you can do. Everything happens for a reason and things work out some way or the other.
I think what sums it up best is what Dan Roche told me one night working at WBZ,
Work hard, have fun, and do the right thing.