Driving me bananas

I understand, but it seems like they are wrong 90 percent of the time.

 

I'm thinking more along the lines of their making a big deal about it. Like they have a big ceremony after the game, or promote it heavily through their social media. If you take ownership of it, you get burned if it's not true. If you don't mention it at all, people who know what's being claimed will wonder why you're withholding an important part of the story (and as we all know, it doesn't take much to get high school parents to don the tinfoil hats). But if you say "the school says it's the first time the football team has made the state playoffs in a year that wasn't shortened due to an influenza outbreak", then if it's wrong, people will still complain to you, but you'll at least have a passable defense that they'll ignore because tinfoil hats.

 

With apologies for following a digression...

I had that happen twice this year... and, thankfully, caught it both times. The first time, I knew immediately what the kids were saying was incorrect, but I didn't want to break their little hearts by telling them to their faces. The second time, the claim was easily verifiable via the state association's website -- and I checked before I tweeted anything.

I have actually asked ADs to go check the banners and get back to me. I still remember when an incredibly reliable AD insisted a swimmer's state title was the first in school history. It was... for a boy. I heard from the mom of the true first state champ the next day, even though her little girl had moved away decades ago and had kids of her own. It actually turned out to be a fun make-good story to write.

 

It has to be case by case.

There's something about keeping a running box that helps you understand the game (and over the long term-- the sport itself). Everyone should develop that skill and a system for doing it.

That said, keeping stats is complete waste of time if there's someone else doing it. In 2015, there's just too much else to do.

I covered a lot of college basketball and used to keep a box. Access to stats was instantaneous-- and I worked in TV to boot-- why the fuck would I need to keep a running box ? I did it to see trends, as others have pointed out.

That said, there were many times I was seated behind the bench, could hear everything going on, and said "fuck the box." I used to beat the print guys all the time with shit that was really going on as they frittered over their stat sheets.

Case by case.

 

That seems like a perfectly solid prep gamer. Seems like something someone could run by tracking the more basic standard box score stats (FGs, 3s, points, FT makes and attempts). Perhaps you wouldn't have turnover numbers, but without any larger context that's really just a nice, non-essential thing to have.

 

This.

I think in some ways, tweeting has taken the place of statting a college or pro game as a bit to do with your hands. I think there's value in tracking something more advanced if it's something that matters to you and could give you more insight (pitch sequence in baseball, some play-calling minutiae in football).

 

Exactly.

In many ways, sports journalism now has become much more of an art-- not so much science anymore.

It requires more finesse.

Routines are dead.

 

I come to this late, but with a comment about Twitter.

It's pretty hard to fathom a situation - before the state title game or some really notable game - where a preps basketball writer would tweet consistently in a manner that engaged Twitter community users would care about. Maybe in Texas for HS football, but, still, I doubt it. Twitter is a place for a continuing - albeit in 140 characters -- conversation/debate. I can't imagine what conversation/debate Podunk vs. East Podunk would create that would require, say, more than two informational tweets per quarter. Scores, points, etc. Anything else, really, is time-wasting, and, I'm serious about this: Don't let millennials or consultants tell you different. They're wrong or they don't know. Twitter sucks as a traffic generator, and it's rarely worth the time at the preps level. Most of the kids aren't on Twitter. Most of their parents aren't on Twitter. Most fans who'd care are either there, know someone who is, or merely want basic updates.

Is it a "feel" situation? Sure. It's a feel situation. If somebody breaks their leg on the court and the bone is sticking out, that changes things. Or if a fight starts in the stands. Or if the score is 37-0 heading into the second half, you might ratchet up the level of tweets to chart when the team with "0" finally scores. That all makes sense.

But the rest, at least during a game, is a writer, frankly, a little addicted to Twitter. That doesn't help anybody.

Unfortunately, most older editors and writers are so snowed by what Twitter - or unwilling to "unsnow" themselves, more likely, that they let it go.

At the college and pro level, there's some pretty good argument for it. it helps build a base. It generates conversation. it's advertising.

At the preps level, it's just a writer working out their self-image.

 

I agree with Alma and others that writers don't need to be doing play-by-play for most games. It's generally overkill. And I know Twitter's click-through rate is really low.

But their have been instances when it is well worth the time. A good portion of my followers couldn't get enough of my tweets in a regional final basketball game between two big schools in our immediate last March. There was no radio broadcast or live TV (cable did tape-delay broadcast). My tweets were the only live source for many, and I got a ton (well over a hundred) of favorites/RTs during the game. I wrote a basic recap story during that game (on of the few games I didn't have to shoot) that was published immediately when the game went final. Twitter was the only place the story link was posted, and it garnered IIRC 1,500 page views in the first 90 minutes. If I remember right, 80 percent of the traffic came from Twitter. It can be an effective referral tool.

 

Personally, I like to keep up with high school from the Twitter feeds of reporters.

I like to follow Twitter feeds of fans during college games for the sheer comedy.

Twitter is a good tool, but it's much more of a tool to build the reporter's brand than it is to drive traffic to the website, unless you are just tweeting out links.

 

I am of the firm belief that the media outlet "owns" the Twitter accounts its reporters tweet on. The account should be "@PodunkTimesPreps," not "@JimmyPTPreps." If that's not spelled out in the OP's organization's social media policy, it should be.

Such a policy gives the media outlet control over the account -- such as mandating that scoops go on the work account, not a personal account, and putting a reasonable limit on the expectations for in-game tweets.

 

Screw that. Then, when you leave that publication, all the followers you've built up from your work will be lost.

Twitter followers are a commodity now, like it or not. It speaks to your reach as a reporter.