How digging in on research can make a story stand out
Matt Schneidman
You might not think a college newspaper and Bleacher Report have many similarities, but I’ve found quite a few. I’ve been writing for The Daily Orange at Syracuse University for my entire freshman year, and I’ve been a part of the Bleacher Report Advanced Program in Sports Media for three months.
Though one is traditional print media and the other is the newest form of digital media, I’ve learned from both that in-depth research to paint a story is the most vital aspect in creating a polished product, no matter what it looks like.
A recent assignment for my school paper taught me that.
Not many people have heard of Syracuse softball freshman Sydney O’Hara, but the name is worth knowing. O’Hara is mowing opponents down on the mound and pounding the ball at the plate on her way to becoming the best two-way player in SU history.
As the softball beat writer for The Daily Orange, I was assigned the task of writing a back page (sports cover) story on why O’Hara could be on her way to being the best dual-threat in program history.
My first back-page assignment.
I was excited to take this on, but at the same time, writing a cover story for one of the top college newspapers in the country came with significant pressure.
The focus of the story was the comparison of O’Hara to other Syracuse greats and why she is on her way to being better than they were.
I dug deep in the school record books to piece together a distinct angle, especially since there wasn’t a strong off-the-field angle to discuss. To navigate my way through this, I made sure to have a topic that has relevance over a long period rather than just one week like most of the stories I’m assigned.
I made sure to include as much specific detail and factual evidence to illustrate my story regardless of the topic to help it come to life more. I started interviewing O’Hara and writing the story the week before it was due and showed the editors three different drafts before the story was published last week.
This was a very different writing process than how I go about writing articles on Bleacher Report, but I find I use a lot of the same tools.
In lieu of interviews, in-depth research holds an even greater importance to construct a meaningful story and convey your angle to the reader. The more details you can collect, the more succinctly your story will come across.
But instead of focusing solely on my words as I do with The Daily Orange, I’m able to turn some of my research into media, using videos, tables and more to illustrate my point and engage my audience.
The addition of multimedia further advances writer-reader interaction on Bleacher Report as opposed to in a newspaper, but in-depth detail is a common thread.
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Matt Schneidman is in the Winter class. Follow him on Twitter @matt_schneidman.
My Hardest Assignment is a series in which we ask students in the Advanced Program in Sports Media to write about the hardest assignment or toughest challenge they’ve taken on as a writer.