Brainstorming new ways to write gamers

You aren't covering the game.

You are covering the team.

Each game is a little sliver of the ongoing story of that team's season. Think of telling the story that way.

This isn't really that radical of an approach but I think it helps to think of it that way to get away from the box of "this game."

(Of course this may not apply to preps where you aren't staffing all the games or both teams are in your coverage area, etc. This works more for college and pros where you have a traditional beat writer.)

 

I should have clarified that I was primarily concerned with preps, where I'm covering games and not teams. I just think for a mid-December prep basketball game ... how much interest is there really in a standard 20-inch gamer? I try and almost turn them into features, but in an era of shrinking staffs and the subsequent covering of more and more teams, and more and more sports, I often don't know much about the teams I'm covering, especially early in the year.

 

Find the microcosm.

Think of Dan Wetzel's treatment of the Giants/Patriot SB, and the scene with Tom Brady in the locker room. It told you almost everything you needed to know about the game in a narrative scene. It was human. It was intimate. And it relied almost zero on hackneyed quotes.

Applying this to preps: your quotes are more original, so don't be afraid of them, but also don't over rely on them. In the end, there will be places (Rivals, Twitter, a box score at the bottom, etc.) where the nuts and bolts can be displayed. Use the inches to give your readers something only you saw. Your principle readership in this instance is likely people connected to these athletes or school --a lot of them saw the same game. So what about your perspective/viewpoint/observation skills was unique to you? Teach them something. All the better if it's a moment, almost minuscule, that can help ascribe some meaning or significance to the game.

 

We've done a segmented style gamer for prep football for the past three seasons. It improved our deadline time by a minimum 30 minutes because there are parts of the gamer who can do as the game goes along. We do about 300 word gamer with bulleted "Extra Points" notes, Up Next and How They Scored scoring summary-only box. We keep them 15" on larger school gamers and 12" on smaller schools. I can send you examples if anyone is interested csouza@nwadg.com. Best thing we ever did. We also do a segmented style follow-up that includes Player of the Game, injury report, up next and an expanded box score that included first downs, individuals, etc. This season, because thankfully all games are moving to 7 p.m. starts, we will do the full box with the segmented gamer for the Saturday editions. It works great for us and we have no plans to go back to the old nuts and bolts style that people frankly move past after the first 3-4 grafs. It's a style that works well both online and in print.

 

One of the major metros in my market has done the same thing. I have no interest in preps, but I find them a hell of a lot more engaging than the standard-issue 200-word gray masses. They actually make the reporter be more analytical in some respects than a typical lede-stats-records-quote-transition-quote gamer.

 

We tinkered with this approach this prep football season - Sykes spearheads Wildcats' mauling of rival Trojans - Daily Journal

 

Like others have said, the "chapter in a book" approach works well. If you're just parachuting in on random games that's a tougher task. If you're more familiar with a team and know their goals for the end of the season (are they a contender or rebuilding?) then you can look at the last few games and see how they're trending and how it relates to the end game.
What are the causes for concern or reasons to think things are heading the right way? Was a bad shooting night indicative of something bigger? Is a young player who put up his third double-double in a row coming into his own? Can the three-game winning streak turn into a confidence boosting 10-gamer with a soft part of the schedule coming up?
Any one of those are good hooks for an otherwise meaningless gamer, and then you don't have to dwell on the mundane play by play.

 

No excuse for not knowing much about who you're covering.
Prep for the game. Check the season preview. Look at old box scores. Talk to coaches who have played against them.
When the game is over, talk to everyone - but not all on the record. It's amazing how much info you can get when you just BS with someone.
I freelanced the state swim meet for a chain of papers. I used to work in the area so I knew all the coaches but wasn't really familiar with all the teams. About an hour before the meet started, I made my rounds and chatted with each coach to get a feel for what they expected and who they feared. I got a lot of great info, all of it off the record, but all of it stuff I was able to use to get on the record stuff.
I think a lot of prep reporters get caught up in trying to get quotes. Don't. Use your questions to get information. If a quote happens, it happens.

 

whatever approach you use, it's our job to make a gamer interesting, no? I turn in a 'gray mass,' that's my fault.

 

How would you like to write this gamer?

 

We're doing something similar this spring for prep sports, as well as minor sports.

Charlotte Christian shuts down Statesville | The Charlotte Observer The Charlotte Observer

 

I really like the approach of 8-10 inches of "game report" followed by bullets of key plays, stats, notes and quotes. Very reader-friendly. Thanks for sharing!