Who do you write for?

Bingo, the days of just saying what happened are over. We need to provide perspective, analysis, and in certain instances, opinion.

 

I cover the Eagles in Philadelphia. I don't write for the casual fan, or the first-time reader. I don't assume everybody knows everything ... if they did, they wouldn't need me, but I do assume a certain level of knowledge concerning the current long-running debates among the fan base. I don't laboriously recount everything every time, if that makes sense. I also try to make the stories fun for people who don't see it as life and death, on the off chance that any such people actually exist in my market.

 

As a beat-writer, I usually had the insiders in mind. I tried to do a great many features that might catch the eye of people who weren't caught up in the day-to-day of the team, but the primary audience was that team's fans.

Writing a column, it's much wider, and I must admit that I'm more gratified when someone who doesn't read the sports section comments on something I've written than whatever the usual sports-crazed suspects think. They're going to read no matter what. You don't want to take them for granted, and if you're doing your job, you'll write things that are compelling enough that both will read.

 

I write for The Man.

No, really, I write for the person I used to be. When I was a fan and the local team made a trade or roster move, I always looked forward to getting the paper to see what the writer whom I trusted had to say about it. Somewhere, there's a fan who wants to know what I have to say when something happens with his favorite team.

 

This may sound weird, but when I'm writing about one school in our area I'll try to write for fans of the other schools. At least for gamers. Realized this the other night when I was at one game and people kept asking me how the other schools in town were doing. Figured someone at School A will read my story to get caught up on School B.

 

"For me! For me!"

 

If the directive of your question is which audience, I'm afraid I don't have an answer.

If the directive of your question is my motivation, I write for my wife and two children. Everything else I tolerate with them in mind.

 

I write for the cold ones I know I can crack open once I'm done writing.