I chose to shadow a journalist for my project. Dan Feldman is a sports writer for the Gazette, and he wrote stories about my high school in the past. I went to a high school football game with him on Friday, September 27, to see what being a sports writer entailed.
First, I was given a press pass, which allowed me to bypass any lines I might have to wait in. It also allowed me to stand on the sidelines, directly behind the home team. I had never experienced that before, and it was really intimidating at first. I had to constantly be aware of where everyone was and what the players were doing so that I did not run into a player or get hit by a ball.
Dan constantly moved along the sidelines, sometimes running to try to keep up with the players in order to ensure that he had accurate numbers pertaining to the yards. Additionally, he double-checked almost all of his notes with other reporters who were present. During the entire two and a half hours of the game, he never once stopped moving.
After the game, I experienced the excitement of the home team that beat the visitors 21-0. I listened to the interviews and was able to experience the excitement of the DeMatha players who beat Good Counsel for the first time in four years. I was really impressed by the whole process of the interviewing; Dan would just flag down players and basically force them to talk to him.
Dan had researched many of the star players, and he also pretty much knew the record of the two teams dating back about five years. The amount of research and outside work that he had done really impressed me. He was even aware of other school’s prejudices against Good Counsel, something I was only aware of because my school was a rival to Good Counsel.
The experience of shadowing a professional journalist was really rewarding because I was able to see what it is really like to be in the field and cover an event. I really felt like I was a part of the game, and to see it so close and hear the players as they spoke and cheered amongst them was an incredibly interesting and exciting opportunity.
Here is the link to the article that Dan Feldman wrote on the game: http://www.gazette.net/article/20130927/SPORTS/130929115/1023/dematha-snaps-skid-against-good-counsel&template=gazette
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