What Hinders a Reporter to Reach a Deadline

Okay. Report on a live sporting event. Simple.

Well I wish it was just that. As I drove up from Cincinnati to attend a minor league Dayton Dragons Game, it was far from simple. Firstly, it was a very hot day and the crowd was packed, and I also am not very fond of baseball or understand much about the tactics of the game. Being as it is the summer, there were very few sporting events to report on. As I thought about how I was going to report on the event, it dawned on me that a general knowledge of the sport would have benefitted my reporting skills. I also lacked some of the tools I felt that might benefit me such as live and updated box scores and a media kit that would have made it easier to accurately report the event. The game began at 7pm to a sold out crowd and I used my head radio to try and get a better synposis of important things to include in my article. However, there was little to report on. The game remained scorless for several innings and hits were far and few in between. That is until the eighth inning, when a homer gave the Dragons a 2-0 lead. As we approached the ninth inning, I was for sure that the Dragons would bring home a much needed victory, especially since the deadline for the article was fast approaching. However, the game suddenly was tied and they went into extra innings. Therefore, I was not able to finish my report until well after eleven, after typing it up and submitting it via a wireless connection I picked up on the way back home to Cincinnati.

I believe that as a writer, it is very important to have the media kit, with names, statistics and important information about the team. It would have also been beneficial to have a box summary of the game or up to date statistics to make the report as accurate as possible. As far as deadlines are concerned, depending on the deadline you have and the way the game is progressing, you many not be able to reach the deadline. This also means that depending on the circumstance, a writer may have to stay up late or well past the end of the event to make sure that the event is posted in a timely fashion. I know that I did, especially since I had to search for a wireless connection to post my blog.

I have a new found respect for all SID and editors, which report the info I impatiently wait on via the internet. Hats off to you.