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SPTM 4800: Multiplatform Storytelling for Sports, Fall 2022
SPTM 4800: Multiplatform Storytelling for Sports, Fall 2022
Course objectives
Grades and assignments
Required materials
Rules and policies
Overall schedule
Module 1: Introductions
Module 2: Writing and interviewing bootcamp
Module 3: Data and visualization
Module 4: Video reporting and editing
Module 5: Trend stories and visual elements
Module 6: Podcasting
Portfolio
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Module 1: Introductions

As we get started, you will be orienting yourself to your beat and the bigger picture of the world you want to cover this semester. The key things on which you’ll be working:
News literacy: finding the best places for information and backgrounding yourself on the teams/sports you want to cover.
Informational interviews: talking to athletes, coaches, store owners, and others about key events this fall and the most compelling stories about them and their friends and colleagues.
Beat memo: Producing a report on your beat, key people involved with it, and local history so that you have the basics to develop story ideas.
Story ideation and pitching: Coming up with the basics of story ideas and pitching them to an editor.

Homework

Assignment 1
Reading (from Gisondi)
Chapter 4
Primer A
Primer D
Suggs lecture: Beat reporting
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Quiz 1_1
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Assignment 2
Suggs lecture: Online research
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From
the list of clubs
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and sports, pick two and use the databases mentioned in my lecture to compile a research file of stories about either the club or the sport published in the last five years. You should have at least 10 stories for each club/sport. None of them should be game stories or season recaps; look for profiles, trend stories, and bigger topics.
Put all of your stories (download them as PDFs) in a Google folder.
Write a short recap explaining what each story is about, who wrote it, when and in what publication it appeared, and put that in a separate Google doc in the same folder.
Apart from the downloads, find at least three publications or social-media sites devoted to each sport and include links and short descriptions of them.
Share the folder in the #module1_2 channel in Slack.
Assignment 3
Team report: For both the clubs/sports you chose for Assignment 2, create a Google doc with the following information:
At least three people here in Athens affiliated with the club/sport, what their affiliation is, and their contact information
A short summary of key accomplishments and events over the past year, including top performers, rankings, and any other information you can find.
A social report with all the official team accounts and personal accounts focused on the team you can find on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc.
A note on which club/sport you think is going to yield better stories, and why.
Post that doc to #module1_3.
Assignment 4
Reach out to all the people on your list in assignment 3 for your main sport and at least one person from a backup option requesting a 20-minute informational interview. We will talk more in class about what you should discuss, but you are looking for ideas for the stories we will be reporting and creating in this class (video profile, data story, trend story, and audio story/podcast). Create a Google doc to serve as a log showing when you reached out to them, by what channel (e.g., email, text, social media), and what the response was. Remember Suggs’ rule: if you email once and don’t hear back, email again in 24 hours, and if you still don’t hear back, reach out via another channel in an additional 24 hours. Post your log to #module1_4 showing at least one message to each person by the deadline, but keep it updated after that.
Field assignment A: Informational interview
Complete an informational interview with at least one person from your list by the deadline. If more than one person agrees to an informational interview, fantastic.
Transcribe the interview and write a one-paragraph summary of it in a Google doc.
Post the doc to #module1_a.
Field assignment B: Beat memo
Now that you’ve completed your background work, pick the club/sport that seems like it will provide the most promising stories. Write a 500-750 word summary of the current state of affairs for that club/sport, noting key events taking place this fall, interesting people and organizations, and the bigger picture of issues and trends affecting the sport locally and nationally. Use material from the team report, from social media, and from your informational interview, being careful to attribute all facts. Include a very rough list of potential stories for the assignments for this class: video profile, data story, trend story, and audio story/podcast. Post the doc to #module1_B.


Module 1 schedule
7
Day
Date
Time
Type
Module
Description
1
Thursday
8/18/2022
​12:45 PM
Class
1
Day 1
2
Monday
8/22/2022
​11:59 PM
Homework
1
Quiz 1_1
3
Tuesday
8/23/2022
​12:45 PM
Class
1
Syllabus, orientation, research
4
Wednesday
8/24/2022
​11:59 PM
Homework
1
Assignment 1_2
5
Thursday
8/25/2022
​12:45 PM
Class
1
Research, sourcing, social research
6
Monday
8/29/2022
​11:59 PM
Homework
1
Assignment 1_3
7
Tuesday
8/30/2022
​12:45 PM
Class
1
Beat memos, informational interviews, diversity
8
Wednesday
8/31/2022
​11:59 PM
Homework
1
Assignment 1_4
9
Friday
9/9/2022
​11:59 PM
Field Assignment
1
Field Assignment 1_A
10
Monday
9/12/2022
​11:59 PM
Field Assignment
1
Field Assignment 1_B
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