Got my foot in the door. Now what?

This right here. If you do this, you'll be miles ahead of most. Be clean in your copy. It will open doors for you. Very good point Batman. Wish I had said this myself.

 

I'm only 23 myself, but I learned this much during college: do everything you can to lock down a couple of internships. It's great to see how other newsrooms work, and the networking opportunities are valuable. You'll probably learn more as a part-timer and intern than you will in any of your J-school classes.

And down the road, it's a no-brainer for a sports editor to hire the recent graduate with real newsroom experience instead of the one who was very involved on their student newspaper. Good luck!

 

One of the first things Doc said is very important. Always check to see how you story ends up in print, compare the changes. If the editor will let you you may even sit with him as he edits your story. No one is going to expect you to remember all the style changes and things that are corrected right away, but be sure to try. It won't be long before that's natural.
The smaller beats are sometimes where you learn the most. Community colleges, small high schools, losing programs, these are the people that don't expect the coverage, so they are thankful and often more accommodating than those that do expect to be covered. You can learn a lot about how to interview, and what to watch for here.
Be a journalist first. It doesn't matter that you may have just seen the game of your life. What matters is can you convey that to your readers? So many youngsters I have seen get into sports journalism because they love sports, and they think they can write. The passion must be for the art of the writing, not the sport. Because you will get crappy assignments. For every Seahawks vs. Packers NFC Championship games out there, there's 10,000 Buttface High blows out Joe Schmoe Tech. If you can't make a good story from Buttface High, don't expect to see the Hawks.
And don't be driven by the desire to see the Hawks. There are tons of us in Texas that much prefer the prep beat to the Big 12, or the Pros. Yo may find that's you. You may find its not.

As for writing now, keep it simple until you have mastered all the things the boss looks for, then test yourself a bit. Look for a different angle, try a different writing style. In other words, don't be complacent. Some of those attempts may fall flat, but a few will make you proud to be a reporter, and all will make you a better journalist.

And finally, keep having fun. Yes the pay sucks, the hours suck, your social life can suck, but at the end of the day, remember you are writing about sports. And sports are fun.

 

thanks joe. You're certainly right about the small schools being beneficial. I covered a small local private school yesterday who gets maybe 4-5 stories a season in our paper, but their coach/player gave me some of the best quotes.

The hours/money may not be the best in the world, but I couldn't be any happier right now.

 

Learn as much as you can about the subject or the sport if it's new to you beforehand. Nothing improves writing like reporting and knowledge. But if you don't know something don't be afraid to ask questions.

When covering games, check with the official book, even if you think the folks keeping it don't know what they're doing. If you say Billy Bob missed 10 straight free throws or made a key error and the book says otherwise, the shitstorm lands on you.

Play it straight. Resist the urge to paint the local teams as good guys and out-of-area teams as bad guys. Always try to quote both sides. You may learn something.

Don't just quote coaches. Talk to kids.

 

The biggest thing I tried to do in my first year on the job was to learn as much as I could about every role in the sports department, including writing, typing box scores, proofing and even page design. Ask questions, even shadow the page designer if it doesn't bother them. The more versatility you can offer, the better. You never know when someone may call in sick or put in their two weeks notice. Those are times when that versatility can come in handy.

 

This. I am so glad that I worked in a pretty small shop starting out and learned to edit AND design well and quickly. Work your ass off, learn as much as you can and find someone who will help you. Ask a lot of questions, but don't be a total pain in the ass. It's a fine line. But if you DO have a question, ASK. Don't sit there like a dope for 20 minutes trying to figure it out on your own. Be pro-active, and don't wait for someone to tell you what needs to be done. And good luck and congrats!