Best journalism advice/tips you ever received

Based on some of the fighting, maybe one good tip should be to avoid this thread?

I agree with Cosmo. I feel like we do a better job of the nuts-and-bolts breakdown on football than any other sport. One game a week helps.

 

"Get it right -- the first time." It's the first order our grizzled old wire service editor-turned college newspaper faculty adviser barked out in his cigarette-scarred voice almost 40 years ago, and it should apply just as much today (especially in the era of rushing stories onto the internet).

 

More to the point, they're just circumventing the coaches and players who don't have the time or the interest in explaining any of this and going straight to analyzing events in a vacuum.

Sports is a human endeavor. When Bill Barnwell explains, for example, how shitty most coaches are, he's generally leaving out the context that, well, most humans would be even worse than the coaches are, and the human brain only has so much capacity, in the moment of an insanely intense sporting event, to be that didactic and detached, because there's a human element to it, too, and those dynamics - emotions and wills and trust and loyalty and all that staff - matter and often overwhelm a colder, more detached view of the sport. And that's not to lionize coaches or go all "man in the arena."

As someone who's pretty-systems oriented, I could in theory read and analyze Barnwell's stuff all day. I don't mind analysis. I'm fine with it. I think that stuff misses a larger context, though.

 

It should, but people forget massive screw ups in about 10 seconds anymore. Welcome to the universe of alternative facts.

Without outing myself, I had one a year or two ago. The brass gave me a good and deserved ripping for it. It was forgotten within a week, maybe two.

 

True. Also good to hear you're working for fair-minded people who made their point, then moved on. And nobody is perfect (God knows I've made my share of epic gaffes). But I'll make the effort to follow my old adviser's directive for as long as my employer will have me, or until I drop dead at my desk. Old-school, yes, but it's what I do.

 

I don't think it was so much "fair-minded people" and more that everyone, even management, has a limited attention span. Any initiative is forgotten about within three weeks.

 

Agreed. Really, I do agree. How a team wins and loses is important.

This is not generally taught in college. Takeout writing is taught in college. Empathetic features about athletes from rough backgrounds overcoming obstacles. That's what gets first jobs and that's what wins awards.

 

Short, declarative sentences.

Short, declarative paragraphs.

You are not the New York Times. Only the New York Times is.

(And that advice will hold up for young'uns, too.)

 

For me, statistics are a huge part of what drives my stories, whether that's season/game stats or career accomplishments. I try to soak up as much information as I can about the players and teams. It gives me better context going into the game, like if a player is two touchdowns shy of a school record. Whether he breaks it that night or not, it can be used in the story. We had a school here that won back-to-back games for the first time since 2011. That's something that, if you've done your research, can be useful information in a story and can be something for your interview with the coach.

The same can apply in non-sports stories. Whatever you're writing about, try to get as much background knowledge as you can.

 

Thanks very much for the terrific contributions here.

 

Advice I received/learned/whatever along the way.

-Get points. Additionally, sign up for miles. Additionally (I've been told) get TSA pre.

-It's more about the reporting than the writing, and that's true for even the best writers. But once you do the good reporting, write the damn thing. Use quotes wisely.

-The interview is everything in the space. The person's words, their facial expressions, their gestures, the dog that jumps into their lap. All of that is on the record and may help the story.

-Everyone needs editing. Everyone's opinions especially need editing. Sometimes writers' thoughts stink.

-Not every story is an A+; that doesn't mean it shouldn't be written. Not every ending contains wonder or healing or a Big Lesson. When you start dismissing worthy stories in front of you to search for only the very best ones, think twice.

-Learn to get tired of the "rough background" feature. It's an easy cliche. Lots of people have them, and not just poor kids. It may or may not be what makes them tick. Don't presume you know their context.

-There's a difference in degree, if not kind, between clever and funny. Most writers are occasionally clever. Few are funny. Even fewer are funny on Twitter.

-If there's a meal before an event, eat the meal wherever you're supposed to eat it, then go back to your press box seat. Two reasons: 1. Keep the workspace clean, crumb-free and smell-free. 2. If you get in the habit of eating in front of a computer, you're habitizing the behavior and, eventually, you're eating a lot more often in front of the computer, which means you're eating more, period.

 

Seriously, lots of good points in that list ... and on this thread.