The Court Report: Trying something new
Sports Editor Joe Sirera wrote in the paper today about a new feature we're adding to our basketball game coverage. Called the Court Report, it focuses on analysis and insight of a game rather than the x's and o's. Jim Young starts it on the State-Michigan game.
It's another way we're trying to move the ball forward with our coverage -- like the sports metaphor? -- and tell readers something that they didn't just see on TV the night before. (We will also recap the game briefly and give the box score.) It probably won't satisfy the rabid fan, but they are tuned into the various rabid fan Web sites that can do that. Our goal is to bring a unique perspective to game coverage by staff writers who are there. So a story may be about a particular play that made the difference or about a player who had a whale of a game or the dramatic play-by-play of the last minute of a close game.
We'll keep developing it as we go along. Let us know what you think.
Comments (1)
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In a way, we journalists are catching up to the realization that we're not going to be the primary source on the game action itself. I think most readers check out the next-day story for the reaction from players and coaches, along with some description of something not immediately evident from TV.
You could even do a one-graf or two-graf breakout on the game itself for the benefit of those who happened not to see it. That and the box score should cover the basics. The rest should go beyond what everyone else could see.
So it's an interesting experiment. It may take some time to work out the details and find the right tone, but it's the right direction to go.
Posted on November 30, 2006 1:23 PM