When we start our class, or go out and speak to athletes or students of all ages, we often ask the question “Who is the media?” The usual answer runs the gamut: Bleacher Report, ESPN, the New York Times, CNN, the BBC, Twitter and on and on.
The real answer we always raise, is anyone who has a mobile device. If you can photograph, record, text, you have the chance to be able to story tell wide, craft a vision, and in some cases be in a position to enter into a larger narrative by breaking news. For that latter idea, it takes, luck, hustle a little grit and a good understanding of what news is, and who may be able to share in the content you have created.
This idea of news as content for a larger audience arose twice in the past few weeks, as two young people relatively new to the media business found themselves with a window to history. One was Max Goodman, a young beat writer for the Yankees for si.com. Max, a Northwestern grad, has hustled his way into success for both the Yankees and the Jets this past year by being respectful, understanding social media and looking for stories or opportunities others may not see or be in a position to see or take advantage of. He is in Florida covering spring training, mostly remotely (he has been credentialed for games before COVID restrictions set in) but last week he was in the stands for a Yankees-Tigers game with his phone when he captured a Gary Sanchez home run….for a game that was not broadcast locally in New York. The result was that the NBC affiliate in New York, looking for highlights saw max’s post and ran it as news during their nightly newscast, crediting him directly. Call it Citizen app for sports maybe, but what it was, was a great example of hustle, and understanding or the marketplace and being ready to merchandise success.
The other example happened last weekend as St. Bonaventure University captured the Atlantic 10 men’s basketball Championship. The team jumped up on the scorers table and a photographer came in to capture the moment. He was subsequently grabbed around the neck by a security card, and THAT moment was captured and shared on social by photographer Griffin Quinn. An amazing moment for being in the right place at the right time.
As March Madness is now upon us it will be fun to see who can use their mobile device to seize the moment as it happens. There will be limited amounts of people there, but they will have that chance, like we have seen in the past when UMBC’s Zach Seidel expanded the window of their legendary and historic upset of Virginia through his social posts and video. He saw the opportunity and grabbed it, and it was great for the school. And great for those who hustle.
It’s not always perfect, its not always easy or fun, but for those who want to be “the media” the opportunities to self storytell can be endless.
Let’s see what surfaces in Indy.
