Congratulations and welcome to the first class in the sports media certificate program! You are embarking in a fast-pace, intense program that will challenge you and reward you in equal measure. Our program is small enough that instructors and faculty get to know one each other over the course of two or three years, not to mention during your careers once you leave UGA. We will provide you with the experiences you need to gain the skills to be successful in sports media, as well as in any other fields that prize communication skills.

Make no mistake. We expect a lot from you. You will need to be focused and prepared for class, and you will be required to participate in out-of-class field assignments that may take an evening or an entire day over the course of the semester. But we would not have chosen you if we did not believe you have what it takes to succeed in this field. All of us are here to work with you and help you build the skills and the background knowledge that will take you to your dreams.

Don't hesitate to reach out with questions, concerns, or to strategize about how to meet the challenges of this class and those beyond. We are excited to work with you.

Course objective: To prepare students to cover sporting events and report on them professionally across modern media platforms.

In the context of the professional values and competencies of journalism and mass communication, students will…

Understand and practice the standards for professional ethics, behavior and etiquette in the sports media environment.

(ACEJMC principles 1, 6)⁠

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Recognize the roles, responsibilities, and privileges of coaches, athletes, media-relations officials, and media in gameday situations.

(ACEJMC principles 1, 2) ⁠

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Critique the quality of sports media content.

(ACEJMC principles 6, 10)⁠

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Identify and interview the sources vital to good sports reporting.

(ACEJMC principles 6, 8)⁠

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Learn the basic style, form and guidelines followed in coverage of sports events.

(ACEJMC principle 9)⁠

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Write stories and video scripts using appropriate grammar, mechanics, and style rules.

(ACEJMC principle 9, 12)⁠

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Track and interpret statistics to tell the stories of sports events.

(ACEJMC principle 11)⁠

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Report and write stories of sports events on deadline.

(ACEJMC principle 9)⁠

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Report sports events on social media.

(ACEJMC principles 5, 9, 12)⁠

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Recap sports events on video.

(ACEJMC principles 5, 9, 12)⁠

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Produce advance and follow-up stories for audience consumption.

(ACEJMC principle 9)⁠

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Diversity statement: Sport is a world in which we expect meritocracy: the better teams and athletes earn opportunities and victories regardless of personal background or characteristics. We all know this is not always the case. In our reading and our coverage, we will be sensitive to our own potential assumptions and biases as well as those we see in the coverage of others. We will discuss issues of diversity in the hiring and work of teams and news organizations, as well as in the content they produce.

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