Relaxing summers?

For clarity...two total local stories a day, one in the CP and one elsewhere.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

This. Every word. Sage advice by Doc.

 

Agree with those who have said wild art is your friend. We might run a dozen photo packages between now and the end of July. I went out to a camp today that one of the local high school baseball teams was putting on. There were four kids there. Still shot it, got three good pictures out of it, and had half of tomorrow's front page done by 2 p.m. I was at the field for about an hour.

As for other content, find the relevant state and national stories in your market that you can throw together with just a little bit of effort. I'm in an area where college baseball is big, and a couple of our teams are still alive in the NCAA Tournament. That's a freaking gold mine for as long as it lasts. There's so much "public domain" material out there in terms of press conference transcripts and videos that I can take it and spend 45 minutes whipping together a preview or even a feature before their next game. To me, those are as good as a local story in that I know people care about those teams and will read it (or complain if there's not enough coverage), and it takes almost no effort at all.
With a three-man staff, two or three local stories a day isn't too much to ask, but look for things like that that don't take a lot of effort but do take up a lot of space.

 

Another good idea can be a season recap of the school year as a whole. Any big storylines? We had one high school with three Power 5 commitments within an 8-month span. Don't even remember the last time we had one P5 recruit in the area. Same school was in four playoff games that ended in walk-offs (just one went in the local team's favor). That's two stories I can get just from one school.

 

Coaching changes are also a possibility, and something you can usually get a story or two from.

 

If you get paid the same for using AP copy, use AP copy.

 

If you do all-County teams, treat them like Earl Weaver treated outs on offense.

 

I'm sad that we're about to run our third and final all-county team for the spring season. Three easy Sunday sections right there. Starting next week, we have to work to find something.
Of course, that's assuming my co-worker actually turns in the stories and photos I asked him to finish three weeks ago so I could get these in the can. Nothing like waiting until the day you're on deadline to turn in an easy assignment you had almost a month's notice on.

 

Don't forget about offbeat sports, too ... is there is big weightlifting competition in town? Write a feature on the culture behind those competitions. Don't cover the event itself. No one but those involved care. But a well-written feature leading into it could be interesting and fun. Stuff that you'd never get to in the heart of prep and college season, get to in the summer. Mountain bike races? Someone involved in equestrian or rodeo or anything like that? I was really hesitant to over-cover youth baseball, just because it was local. You're catering to a tiny fraction of readership, most of whom could not give two shits about what the Connie Mack travel team does in July. Expand your thinking and fine some fun, different topics to write about.

 

That's a great idea. I would also include the do's and don't of taking sports photos with a Smartphone.

 

Can you really fill an entire page with the word, "DON'T!"?

 

I was thinking a mugshot and say, "You can do this with your phone camera. Otherwise, leave it in your pocket."