Beat: stealing?

http://www.thetowerlight.com/sports/tigers-snag-ex-top-100-recruit-from-terps-1.1752425

I hereby give myself permission to steal from...myself? Yeah, okay. Sounds good to me. This is a story that I wrote that just happened to get published. Imagine that. 

Anyway, it appears Dupree was just a little too short to play center in the ACC. Not so in the CAA, if he is able to keep his weight down. And that's a big if. Tony Durant was supposed to be good and then he turned into a blimp.

The only thing I wasn't able to do was get more quotes on this story. Just one, albeit from the head coach, but still. Nobody picks up their phones. That's my biggest pet peeve as a journalist. Whatever. I would add more quotes. I would also mention that he won't have an immediate impact. He isn't eligible to play this season. Only the season following. He doesn't just come here and play automatically, that's against NCAA rules. Should've made that clearer in the story. That's all for now.

audio story

I'm a little angry about the way this piece came about, but happy now that I can finally use it. I've had this idea in the back of my head but never really got to use it...until now. Ryan Hanley is a junior on the football team. He was an offensive lineman, until Rob Ambrose arrived. His O-line coach, John Donatelli, suggested that because of the depth on the line that he switch positions. Ryan Hanley was a 315 pound offensive lineman. Ryan Hanley is now a 270 pound fullback after intense workouts. Classic story. Can't wait to tell you more :)

Beat: Hermann on way out?

This is a pretty complex story that I'll try to condense as much as possible. Mike Hermann, the current Towson athletic director, no longer has a contract. It expired May 31. But he's still on campus and still doing his job. Well, trying. You see, when new head football coach Rob Ambrose was hired, it was not his final decision. Bob Caret did that. Bob Caret also wanted Gordy Combs fired, a move that was made so Ambrose could be brought in. Hermann wanted Combs to stay. Gordy himself will tell you that. My point is, Hermann is losing authority within the department and everyone knows it.

According to a source I spoke with within the department who did not want to be named until a final decision on Hermann was made, the fazing out of Hermann began months ago, and the search for a new AD is in full swing. The way Hermann's contract is characterized right now is "month to month", the source said. Meaning, in simpler terms, he's here until Caret hires a new one. The source even went so far as to say the new AD will be hired only on an interim basis, not a full time one. This because as he says "other coaches are on their way out" meaning the new AD will be the one firing the coaches, then himself be fired so a new, permanent AD can bring in his own coaches. 

 

The weird thing is, everyone I talked to about this (and the list is large) doesn't want to go on record about this. If Hermann gets a new contract, as small as that chance is, they don't want to be on record and then have their relationship with their own boss severed. Fair enough. But for journalists like me, it just makes my job harder. At least I have a blog like this where I can tell you guys all this. Am I right?

WSJ style

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/football/bal-sp.ravens03jun03,0,3559893.story

Here's the WSJ formula story I've selected. Good symmetry. Starts with how he's getting adjusted, ends with where he wants to go, why he wants to do well. Recap in the middle. Pretty straight forward stuff. I don't even like the Ravens, but this was a pretty good read. Hensley knows what he's talking about. It's basically a story of how Beck is becoming more accustomed to his surroundings. Ties back with a quote at the end, that's the key thing. Starts with Beck, finishes with Beck. If you don't have the same starting and ending point, it's just not WSJ style. This is, and it, to me, is a great example.

Feature ideas

I'm pretty much set on this one. Yaky Ibia, a junior defensive tackle for the football team here at TU, was born in Nigeria and lived in England before coming state side. Now, he'll be entering his third year as a starter in new head coach's Rob Ambrose's first year. It's a really good story. I lived with Yaky my freshman year in Scarborough Hall. He lived down the hall from me and we've stayed in contact throughout our time here. Super nice guy and really driven. Don't want to give too much away before the feature, but I'll think everyone will like it.

articles

http://www.sybase.com/detail?id=1063872

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/03/jaguars/white-text.html

Summary vs. Feature leads

In a summary lead, it is what it says. You have all the information you need in the first paragraph, and if you were to stop reading the article, you'd already know what happened and what the story was about.

Feature leads are different. The goal here is to keep the reader reading. Give them something that they can relate to or find interesting. You can use the delay of imformation when appropriate. Asking a revelant question, when used in moderation, may also be key. You just need that hook in a feature. Keep the reader wanting more. Summarize later; don't give them everything at once.

Examples of these feature leads coming soon....