Covering Sports Trends

Journalism is more than just writing; it is our right to valuable and poignant information which symbolizes some of the freedoms our democracy affords. Journalism and democracy have a synergistic relationship that provides the needed checks and balances to government, corporations, organizations, and us as a collective. Journalism has the power to bring the eyes of many to one singular being through a profile, and it is the engine that transports information, ranging from arts and entertainment to health, politics, and the environment. Without real journalism, power would run wild and unchecked. Underserved communities would have no voice. Knowledge about today’s world would be low. Journalism is essential to our everyday lives and keeps our wide-reaching community involved with the government, which is why I chose to pursue a career in this field.

 

I learned much of this during my time at Washington State University, where I earned my BA in Broadcast News and Public Relations.  Before I got into sports, I built my foundation in traditional journalism, and it has served me well to have perfected those standards which I can apply across the board.  Currently, I am in training to become a full-time sports journalist at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. I’m learning the deeper intricacies of the journalism business and what truly makes an excellent writer, a writer who can paint pictures with words.

 

Before gaining this knowledge, I had always had a desire to enter the sports realm in some way and sports journalism always intrigued me. I remember always turning on SportCenter or First Take when I got home from school during my time in junior high school and beyond; little did I know I was priming myself for the job by studying different sports, analyzing the experts delivering the information, and even thinking of ways that I could improve on their delivery. I soon realized that I had a likening to and an immense respect for television professionals, but I did not want that for myself. I’ve always felt gifted as a writer, and being able to mix my ultimate love for sports with it seemed like a no-brainer to me - I’d be in the middle of the action with direct access to athletes and prominent sports figures.

 

It is well documented that sports have this ability to bring people together from all walks of life. Sports are riveting, energetic, and inherently collaborative. They help us tap into the animalistic sides of ourselves, professionally or recreationally.  Sports also provide an escape for people, even if they would rather not say it.

 

However, don’t make the mistake of thinking that sports are separate from the “outside world", there is no such thing. A less well documented fact is that sports is also a place where illegality, corruption and exploitation can flourish.  The same issues we see in business, politics, economics, health, and entertainment are found in sports, simply because sports feature humans. As a sports journalist, it is not only my job to tell the people what happened at a game and to provide the highlights, but to shine a light on everything related to it, just as a traditional journalist would. Sports are inherently beautiful, but the world it exists in is not always nice or right, and it is our job to let the public know so that they can make their own decisions. That is the function of journalism, not to tell the public how to think, but to display events and issues objectively and factually. The rest is up to the reader.

 

My purpose is to uphold these standards. I plan on working for a major publication like ESPN, The Washington Post, New York Times, or The Athletic where I know journalistic integrity is intact and flourishing. I also would like to pursue stories and ideas that might not make the light of day in a newsroom by building a freelance writing network. Having enough versatility to work on both sides of the coin would provide more variety and I am truly open to the different opportunities I would be provided, whether as a traditional reporter, sports reporter, or a freelance writer. The main goal is to build a name and a brand that people know and trust. Above all else, I seek to be a reliable truth-teller.