Real Sports Reporting

If you want to know how something is done, why not ask an expert? For Real Sports Reporting, journalist Abraham Aamidor recruited top sportswriters and editors from major media outlets, including the Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Denver Post, and Indianapolis Star, to write about their experiences and lessons learned. The result is an engaging, informative, highly personal look at the real-life work of the sports journalist. Chapters devoted to baseball, football, basketball, soccer, golf, and other sports give readers the inside story on what it's like to cover a beat. Full-text articles provide samples of the contributors' published work, followed by fresh and candid critiques by the authors themselves. Issue-oriented chapters address topics ranging from covering college, professional, or small-town sports, to ethical dilemmas in reporting, coverage of women's sports, and racism in sports. With all the immediacy of an informal chat with the country's leading sportswriters, this book is a valuable guide for beginning journalists and aspiring sports reporters. It provides sports fans in general with a fascinating view behind the headlines.

Contributors:

Abraham Aamidor

Elliott Almond

Mark Ambrogi

Larry Ames

Larry Anderson

Bill Buchalter

John Cherwa

Pat Forde

Scott French

Jeff Gordon

Bob Hammel

Melanie Hauser

Philip Hersh

Garry Howard

Michelle Kaufman

Dick Mittman

Tim Povtak

Nelson Price

Danny Robbins

Jim Rossow

Steve Salerno

Adam Schefter

Howard Sinker

Jay Weiner

If you want to know how something is done, why not ask an expert? ForReal Sports Reporting, journalist Abraham Aamidor recruited top sportswriters andeditors from major media outlets, including the Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Denver Post, and Indianapolis Star, to write about theirexperiences and lessons learned. The result is an engaging, informative, highlypersonal look at the real-life work of the sports journalist. Chapters devoted tobaseball, football, basketball, soccer, golf, and other sports give readers theinside story on what it's like to cover a beat. Full-text articles provide samplesof the contributors' published work, followed by fresh and candid critiques by theauthors themselves. Issue-oriented chapters address topics ranging from coveringcollege, professional, or small-town sports, to ethical dilemmas in reporting, coverage of women's sports, and racism in sports. With all the immediacy of aninformal chat with the country's leading sportswriters, this book is a valuableguide for beginning journalists and aspiring sports reporters. It provides sportsfans in general with a fascinating view behind theheadlines.

Contributors:

Abraham Aamidor

ElliottAlmond

Mark Ambrogi

Larry Ames

LarryAnderson

Bill Buchalter

John Cherwa

PatForde

Scott French

Jeff Gordon

BobHammel

Melanie Hauser

Philip Hersh

GarryHoward

Michelle Kaufman

Dick Mittman

TimPovtak

Nelson Price

Danny Robbins

JimRossow

Steve Salerno

Adam Schefter

HowardSinker

Jay Weiner

Abraham Aamidor, a staff writer for The Indianapolis Star, has reported for The Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette and The St. Louis Globe-Democrat. He is author of Real Feature Writing (1999) and Editor of Real Sports Reporting (IUP, 2003). He lives in Carmel, Indiana.

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction Bob Hammel

Part I. Beat Coverage

1. Football Adam Schefter

2. Hockey Jeff Gordon

3. Soccer Scott French

4. Basketball Tim Povtak

5. Auto Racing Dick Mittman

6. Golf Melanie Hauser

7. The Olympics and International Sports Philip Hersh

8. Tennis Mark Ambrogi

9. Baseball Howard Sinker

10. Writing Columns Pat Forde

Part II. The Rest of the Story

Introduction to Part II Bill Buchalter

11. Covering High School Sports Larry Ames

12. Covering College Sports Jim Rossow

13. Memoir: Covering Sports in Small Communities Larry Anderson

14. Sports Reporting and Investigative Journalism Danny Robbins

15. Sports Profiles Nelson Price

16. Dramatic Narrative in Sportswriting Elliott Almond

17. Freelance Sportswriting Steve Salerno

18. Reporting on the Business of Sports Jay Weiner

19. So You Want to be a Sports Editor Garry Howard

20. Covering Women's Sports: Fair Play? Michelle Kaufman

21. Racism and Sports Abraham Aamidor

22. Ethics John Cherwa