Reporters want to believe that every story they do is a big one, the most important, the lead…Sadly for their egos, that’s not always the case…
Big stories come in two sizes, breaking and scheduled events…Falling in the latter category would be the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the Boston Marathon…O.J. Simpson’s Bronco chase and “Deflategate” are examples of breaking news…And as a reporter, how you react to both of these may very well determine how far you go in the news business…
Tom E. Curran of NBS Sports Boston and MLB.Com’s Mark Feinsand joined us recently at the Boston University Sports Journalism Seminar Series, veterans of these situations…Curran, in fact, is right in the middle of the Tim Brady/Bill Belichick chaos even as we speak…
The close to the vest New England Patriots are being bombarded for information…Everyone wants the nugget, everyone wants to be first…Feinsand covered the New York Yankees for sixteen years before he became a national reporter…How much bigger does it get?
Let’s face it, fans in New York and Boston can’t get enough about their teams…They genuinely rely on Curran and Feinsand for the behind scenes lowdown…Sometimes it’s overwhelming…”You’re not the only reporters they’re (the players) talking to” Feinsand told the students…”You’re not going to have every story first”…
Curran started, as may of you will, on a small paper, The Barnstable Patriot, before moving to the MetroWest Daily and eventually the Providence Journal… Before he did sports he was a general assignment reporter covering, among other things, Water Department meetings…There probably wasn’t a crowd of reporters circling after the meeting for quotes…But Curran learned how to get that inside information when the time came and he wasn’t the only one looking for answers; “Keep your phone against your ear; it’s diligence, it’s texts, emails, developing a reputation that you can be trusted.”…Not all of you want to be on air or day to day reporters but if you read those words from Curran don’t they apply to anything you want to do and not just reporting?
Much of that is the prep work, the work and the hours you have to put in so you’re ready when it’s your turn…Feinsand set things up perfectly when he said “Know your audience, and put the people there”…In essence, they already know who won, who had the big hit, the goal, the touchdown, but put them at the game…A first cousin to my cardinal rules, “advance the story”, “tell ’em something they don’t already know” and “tell the story of the game through the pictures you use”…
The best part about covering a big story is the rush you get in doing a good job…It could be the quote no one else has, the piece of information you got from player who trusted you…But the adrenaline of working on deadline will make you a better reporter…You’ll learn that being sent out on a story requires one skill set while working an event calls for another…
They’re not all big, but it’s your job to make it big for someone…
11 Comments
Laura Guerriero posted on April 23, 2018 at 4:48 pm
BU students always joke about COM being the College of Optional Math (even though now, we’re all required to take it). I even joke around about it too, laughing when I talk with my business or engineering friends about their calc exams and math that doesn’t even use numbers. I usually say something along the lines of “I wouldn’t know, I don’t do math,” and then someone makes a comment about how ‘easy’ I have it. But, although there’s no numerical math involved, there definitely is some calculating that needs to be done.
Being a journalist is more than just being on the scene, getting quotes and then writing a story. It’s about, as Tom E. Curran and Mark Feinsand gauging the person you’re interviewing so you can cater your interview questions and demeanor to the situation as well as bring your audience behind the scenes with you. It’s about, as Feinsand said, figuring out what the most important story of the day is and writing that. It’s about finding the hook that makes the story that much more interesting and relatable to readers.
There was one thing Feinsand discussed before he even sat down that I thought ties in nicely to this entire seminar (as well as this response): his coverage of the golf team for the Daily Free Press. As he had said, there was really one main group of people reading these articles: parents. That circles back to the idea of knowing your audience and writing articles for them. No matter what you’re writing, and no matter what platform you’re writing on, there will always be an audience you’re writing for, even if it’s only 20 people. When I was on the cheerleading team here at BU, my dad would comment on any BU Athletics Instagram that even mentioned the cheer team, and he would comment where the post about us was when they didn’t (true story). When they posted about us, I was famous for a day, and the post was shared in our family group chat, as I’m sure is the case for at least some of the athletes that are written about in the school paper.
When Feinsand discussed having a deadline 90 minutes after the game, I noticed that a couple of people recoiled at the thought of running, getting quotes and then writing up the story in such a short period of time. I’m in no way saying that this is the same as writing for the ‘big leagues,’ but I had immediately thought “hey, that’s the same as the FreeP deadline.” I know it’s much different shuffling through a packed clubhouse than walking right on to the field to talk to the coach, who typically never has more than a couple other people waiting to interview him/her for WTBU or BUTV10, but there’s something about racing back and writing a story that’s kind of thrilling to me. It’s not even just the rush of doing a good job as you mentioned, it’s the adrenaline of “how can I piece this together and make it the best it can be in the time I have.” Maybe it could just be the adrenaline junkie in me, but I feel like when I’m in that mode, all of the cylinders are firing and I’m itching to write the story. That’s something that doesn’t necessarily happen when I’m writing a 10-page research paper.
Andrew Mason posted on April 24, 2018 at 12:33 am
Are You Ready For the Big One?
Not every story a journalist writes is going to be “the big one”. Let’s just be real, a recap of a 6-4 Red Sox victory over the Padres in early June is not going to be the article that defines your legacy. However, this should not affect the effort that is put into these types of pieces. Even a seemingly insignificant story means something to somebody. This philosophy is one I take to heart every single time I sit down to write an article for WTBU. At the end of the day, our WTBU campus sports previews, recaps, and features do not generate a whole lot of traffic. Nonetheless, to the players and their parents, these articles do mean something. This connects to the advice given by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand and NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran last Thursday in the Sports Seminar Series, to know who our audience is. When writing on collegiate sporting events, “get those names in there”, encouraged Curran with a laugh. A sign of a good journalist is one who can make even a Water Department meeting interesting to the right people.
But every now and then, the big breaking story does fall our way. In order for this to happen, the journalist needs to have a solid foundation established with inside sources. If you want to become the kind of sports journalist that drops bomb after bomb, such as the Adrian Wojnarowskis or Adam Schefters of the world, who you know is everything (well, also 10 percent luck according to Feinsand). The best way to obtain “juicy” information is to have somebody on the inside that trusts you. These types of relationships develop with time and through displaying your “people skills”. I respect these breaking news legends – their lifestyle is by no means relaxing. They must live on their phones, while source after source contacts them 24/7 with the next shocking bit of news. Beating the competition to breaking information is one of the most stressful aspects of being a sports journalist.
Another challenge to covering the big story is sifting through the muck and verifying the most important and correct information. In some scenarios, many different sources could be telling you many different things. In moments like this, it is best to piece together the truth and rely on those your trust the most to guide you in the right direction. As WTBU’s beat writer for Boston University’s women’s basketball team, I actually experienced a situation much like this very recently. Two weekends ago, I caught word from a couple of my sources that a new head coach was going to be announced during the following week, and I wanted to be the one to break the story. The catch? Not all of my sources were giving me the same name of the alleged new head coach. It took hard work and plenty of time (as well as trust in the right people) to sift through the muck and craft the accurate story. At the end of the day, I am proud of myself. After compromising with the BU athletic department, WTBU published my story at the exact same time as the athletic department announced the coaching hire. If it wasn’t for my relationships with sources and my ability to verify the truth, the story would have never been published in the timely fashion that it was.
However, it is important to note that it is still very possible to be a successful sports journalist without being “the big story breaker”. It’s an intense game that not all choose to play. Personally, I don’t think it’s for me in the long run. My strengths as a journalist come more from commenting on the big story, such as through a column or blog. It also takes a special set of skills to cover a big moment that is not necessarily laced with breaking news, but is instead planned, such as a championship game or a particularly important press conference. That kind of big story is the one that interests me. Even in these situations, readers expect flawless coverage, and it’s our duty as journalists to provide them with it.
Ashleigh Shanley posted on April 24, 2018 at 11:44 am
Just starting off in the world of sports journalism, the last thing that seems to be on my mind is how to find the big story. At this point it seems like with my foot barely in the door, my next step is to build my sources. However, after Tom Curran visited our sports journalism seminar this past week, I feel as though at any point in time I really can be working to get the big story.
Curran changed my whole view on a ‘big story.’ I used to think it had to be breaking, brand new and shocking to the audience. However, a big piece can also be something you put endless time and resources into, to figure out the entire story from all angles – and to “tell people what it (the breaking news) means.”
While anyone can break the facts, and send out a tweet about what is new, to be the best sports reporters, we have to be able to tell our audiences why a certain piece of news is important and what it means to them. As we’ve discussed in many of our classes, social media has changed the world of sports journalism. One aspect, is the constant news cycle, which allows journalists to publish the facts right away as they come, and usually before the story is complete. However, once all the facts are out there, it is still necessary to be able to put them together and tell your audience why they should care. At that point, it doesn’t matter if you’re first, but if you can explain the relevance to a large number of people that is what matters and what will make you a great journalist.
“Every story is a big story to someone,” said Curran. But to be a great sports reporter, you have to be able to make that story meaningful to the immediate audience, while expanding the importance and relevance of a story to the general public too. This entire seminar, and hearing both Curran and Mark Feinsand talk about their experiences getting the “big stories,” gave me an entire new outlook on this side of being a journalist. Again, yes, breaking stories can be the big stories, but also being able to maintain relationships, dig for the facts and truth, and build a story over weeks, months or even years can also be the big story people tie your name too. This seemed very relevant in this day and age because I do sometimes question what breaking news is today. We always have a breaking event, but with social media and the 24/7 news cycle, we expect nothing less than receiving ever bit of news immediately. So then, is every piece of news breaking if we get it immediately or do we have to change the definition to once the story is complete, with all the facts, and all parties have been talked to – that is the breaking news?
As Feinsand said, no one cares who breaks the story, but “analyzing what news means has become more important than breaking the news.” And I believe that is true because today it is just too hard to say what is breaking and know who broke a story or facts, because we always demand news to be given to us immediately, and we get that news from so many differently places, so quickly as well. It’s like the argument that took place on First Take on Monday morning – are people impressed with LeBron’s playoff performances? Well, we expect nothing less from the King, right? So yes, his performances are amazing for any other player in the league, but for him we expect that every time he steps on the court. Just like with the news on social media – we expect it to be updated every single second. Therefore, focusing on the meaning of the “breaking” news or facts, and explaining that better than anyone else might be how we can get the big story and get our names to be known. And maybe the misunderstanding of what breaking news is today, is why the ESPN phone app just pushes “breaking” alerts now instead of “breaking news:…”
Elizabeth Pentikis posted on April 24, 2018 at 3:47 pm
https://goo.gl/RCNGHk
Jessica Citronberg posted on April 25, 2018 at 1:30 pm
“They’re not all big, but it’s your job to make it big for someone…”
This line really stuck to me. It not only relates to journalism, but it also relates to life. I can personally relate this to my job as a campus manager for a custom apparel company. It’s been one of my favorite things I’ve done senior year, and I’ve learned a lot about how to engage with people from it.
At University Tees, our main clientele is Greek life, because they often have the biggest orders. They make tshirts for fun, for events, for literally anything you can think of. I once made shirts for a fraternity that said “cool AND fun” on the back in Comic Sans.
They’re the biggest orders, but they’re not necessarily the most important. Every customer is important, whether the order is going to be a $4000 sale or a $75 sale. Yes, the bigger sale is more rewarding and leads to a bigger commission check, but that small sale means a lot to the group, maybe even more than a huge Greek life order does.
I recently did a $75 sticker order for a WBTU show, and the customer was so happy with the result. Everyone on the show can’t wait to put the stickers on their laptops. The order means so much to them, and that’s arguably more important and it’s what the job is about.
Breaking news is exciting. Adam Shefter gets all the big stories delivered right to his inbox. When I started out as a campus manager, it was hard to get those big deals and make a name for myself on campus. As time went on though, I’ve been able to get bigger orders and I’ve even be referred to by other people.
The big story is something you can’t just get overnight. There’s a reason Shefter breaks almost all the news. He’s established himself as a trustworthy person in the industry.
So while we may not all get the big stories right off the bat, it’s important to remember the smaller ones and the people affected by them.
Matt Dresens posted on April 25, 2018 at 3:12 pm
Three years ago was the first time I had ever been truly credentialed for an event. I had been in the press box at Agganis for a handful of games, but it wasn’t until the spring of 2016 when I got my first real credential. It was for the 2016 NCAA west regional in St. Paul, Minnesota. To make a long story short, I wanted to go to the games but didn’t want to pay for the tickets on top of already paying for flights and a hotel. I got in touch with the SID at Minnesota and low and behold, he let me in and I got a credential.
Through this, I got to sit next to all the “big time” (its a loose term, nothing is big about college hockey) writers and little freshman Matt thought it was the coolest thing. Midway through the second period, I overheard one of the writers say, “I’m done. I got my story, I’m gonna go sit by the glass for the end.”
I was stunned. How could he be done? It was midway through the second…. This leads to last week’s discussion when Mark talked about always writing throughout the game. My little brain at the time couldn’t understand how a story could be told if half the game hadn’t even happened. Anyway, it makes sense to me now that the practice of “knowing your story before the game ends” is vital. It is also imperative if you have three stores like Mark did when he wrote for MLB in the early 2000’s.
As for the big story, I have yet to really break one, outside of a few scheduling updates that are really not big stories at all. Some of the stories that Mark and Tom told were incredible, the most fascinating being the Pete Carrol/Drew Bledsoe one. That being said, why does it matter?
Well, the big story is what pays the big bucks. Papers/radio/TV stations want to break news. Having a story break that says the Patriots are in the works of moving on from their starting franchise quarterback is going to draw clicks/views. That generates money for the station and in time if you break enough big stories and are consistently boosting the station’s views, you can get rewarded for it.
Also, breaking stories is what separators journalists form commentators. Any former player can sit on TV/Radio and tell an audience what he thinks about story XYZ. But, without a journalist actually breaking that story and gathering the facts and presenting it in a way Joe Average can understand, there really isn’t much to talk about. That is why it matters.
Outside of the “the big story” one other area that was covered last Thursday was, like most weeks, getting the first job. That first job doesn’t have to be your dream job. In fact, sometimes it doesn’t even have to be covering sports. This is where there is a unique opportunity to provide your audience with a totally different outlook on a topic. A person who doesn’t normally cover a something and is asked to cover the water department like Tom E. Curren was, there a chance that person can be totally, 100% original in their reporting and offer a new twist on a story.
This reminded me of a story I heard over the summer involving 1990’s grunge singer/songwriter Chris Cornell and his band Soundgarden. Prior to recording one of the band’s signature albums, Cornell literally learned how to play the guitar. He had never played before. This created new sounds that were completely original and unique. I can see this exact scenario in a journalistic setting, too. A new beat is an opportunity to be creative and give the audience something different.
Nicole Ericson posted on April 25, 2018 at 4:20 pm
Ah, the big story. As Tom Curran and Mark Feinsand explained “it’s the big mac of all big macs loaded with everything wonderful, but you have no idea where to take the first bite.” While everyone loves to get the big mac, there are only a few who can methodically take the first bite without losing some of the good stuff. Just like journalists assigned to write the big story. They might attack it from the wrong angle and lose some of the juicy details. But after this seminar I realized that every story is a big story someone.
Most equate the big story to breaking news like Tom Brady returning to the patriots, and some will think that the renaming of Yawkey Way is even bigger. Therefore, no matter what story a journalist takes on, they have to write it for the correct audience. Curran and Feinsand made a good point when they said that you have to get the facts first, write towards the correct audience then explain what it means. As a journalist it is our job to get the facts right and get them to the public. But that is every journalists job and just because you might think you have the big story there is guaranteed to be another journalist assigned to it as well. So, you have to separate yourself and look for the new angle the other journalists may to have seen. Utilizing sources and doing your research are key when it comes to attacking a story from a different angle. You might have a connection that someone else may not.
The biggest take away I took from this seminar was to make the big story the interesting story. Anyone can write a big story with the facts, but what is going to separate you from everyone else out there? Journalists have to be creative and find a new angle on a story that no one else has. Of course when you have the big story people are going to be more interested in your work, but how you approach that story will make or break the next big story you write.
While I have not had the opportunity to cover something as it unfolds, I look forward to making the big story interesting. I will try and look for new ways to write while giving the audience a new perspective. Any story could be the big story.
Matthew Doherty posted on April 25, 2018 at 5:46 pm
I have a lot of respect for journalists who can break the “big story.” Adam Schefter and Adrian Wojnarowksi are at the top of their fields because of their ability to break stories and that takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice. You always have to be on your phone, checking in with sources, and getting little sleep. It’s a tough gig but I can’t imagine how rewarding it must be when you do actually break the big story.
But as Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston said in Thursday’s seminar, that’s great to break the news but it’s more important to tell what that news means. I think that is something Curran does a fantastic job at. As a journalist, that’s my favorite part of the job. I try to look at everything in the big picture and figure out what it means for the reader. As the men’s basketball beat writer here at BU for WTBU Sports, I write an article after every game but I tend to stray away from what happened in the game and focus more on the analysis and the big picture. I think it’s important to briefly mention what happened but having the whole game recap summarize what went on in the game is completely useless. I think the importance of those stories are to tell what everything means in terms of the team, the players, and the outlook moving forward. Adam Himmelsbach is someone who perfects that art in his Celtics game recaps.
Getting the big story is great and all but at the end of the day it’s just a quick piece of news that surfaces for five minutes. But what separates the Adam Schefter’s in the world to others who can write 1,000 words on what the big story means to me as a fan and as a person are the journalists I enjoy reading. Mark Feinsand noted that Ken Rosenthal does that in the baseball world and I think that’s what separates Rosenthal from Schefter.
I also know Feinsand and Curran both tell their readers what the big story means. Charlie Blackmon recently signed an extension with the Rockies, and Mark didn’t break that news. However, he wrote a piece the next day about what Blackmon’s contract extension means for future players in similar situations. That’s the stuff I enjoy as a reader. Another example was when Schefter broke the news that Brady hadn’t committed to playing in 2018. Great, but what does that mean? Well that’s when Tom Curran comes in and offers analysis.
And those things are more important and interesting to me than breaking the “big story.”
Jane Rose posted on April 25, 2018 at 10:52 pm
“The best way to get lucky is to get in the game,” the quote from last week’s seminar that really stuck with me. It reminded me of the overused “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” quote from Wayne Gretzky that takes a lot of heat (as a hockey fan it annoys me that it’s become more of a joke… I digress). But it was clear, from hearing Tom Curran and Mark Feinsand that you’re never going to make it to the big-time Deflategate-type stories without giving it your all. Sometimes trying is all it really takes, and I’m the first one to say that I lose focus of that often. Worried about being the best can often make it hard to just try something and really give it all you can.
And while we all want to get to the stories where we can talk to guys like Brady (good luck with that though), it’s the little stories that can be just as big to many. If you’re able to keep me reading or on the channel when telling me about a high school baseball team’s win, that takes a hell of a lot more work than keeping me interested in the Stanley Cup Finals. Making those stories good proves your reporting ability, not to mention, the subjects are usually much more excited about it. You’ll never know how many parents have newspaper clippings or recorded newscasts on VHS tapes to show their child’s accomplishments.
So yes, that big story, it’s gonna feel good. You’re gonna be able to lay your head down at night and know that all of this was for something when you’re finally reporting on what you want. But to get there, you have to tell those small stories.
Another topic that stuck with me was Mark’s quote of when athletes convey their disdain for what he wrote. Instead of taking it personally, he simply asks, “What part of it was wrong?” That’s a super bold way to do it, but I love that attitude when defending your work. I hope to one day be that confident in my reporting that I can say that. Because let’s be real, people may disagree with your opinion but they can’t disagree with facts.
Alanna McDonough-Rice posted on April 26, 2018 at 12:17 am
Depending on the situation, I think any story has the potential to be a big story for someone. It doesn’t have to be as big as the Brady-Belichick-Gronkowski situation for it to be meaningful to someone. All semester we’ve had people talk to us about the stories they wrote for high school sports and other really local publications and those “small” stories can be huge for people. For some kids it’s their first chance at exposure to media, what helps colleges notice them, or maybe it’s the thing that helps them renew their passion for their sport. While getting that huge story that makes your name go up in lights is exciting, I believe that the number one task for a journalist is to make an impact on people. I also believe that those “smaller” big stories have more of a lasting impact on people. Will we remember the Brady-Belichick-Gronkowski feud in 30 years? Maybe. But does the high schooler who got their story told probably have that article framed at their grandma’s house? and will they remember it in 30 years? Speaking from experience, the answer is yes.
It might be a really incredible ego boost and burst of excitement to get those huge stories that turn into bigger and bigger stories, but I’d like to argue that all stories, regardless of sports level, can be someone’s “big story.”
Jacqui Manning posted on April 26, 2018 at 3:03 pm
“Exclusivity is not an entity”
Tom Curran said that phrase early into last weeks seminar and I immediately wrote it down, knowing I would be discussing it in my response. In this day in age, the world is too modern and fast to have credit for “breaking a story.” All journalists have to do is make one phone call to a source to confirm what you have reported. You can’t take it personally and you can’t let it get to you. What you can do, however; is make your story as interesting as it can be. That’s how you will stand out, not being writing the biggest story, but by making what you wrote the most interesting version it can be.
Tom Curran has gained the respect of the patriots by his quality, he knows how to manage the people he works for. Something he said about the patriots press conferences struck me, go in with a plan. There are going to be Bill Belichick’s in every line of work. Bill knows what he’s doing when it comes to controlling the media. Don’t go for a question that you know he’s going to give a rude response too. You’ll have a two-second silent sound bite and then what? Nothing. Work hard to impress the people around you, always have a plan. No one ever said journalism was easy work.