Global Sports Reporting

I chose to compare the sports section of The Denver Post, published in my home town of Denver Colorado (http://www.denverpost.com/sports), and The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport), which is published in the UK.  The setup and layout of the two online periodicals were very similar, although The Guardian has a general sports page which includes top stories such as Djokovic's win over Nadal in the Australian Open.  In addition to the primary sports page on the Guardian there is also a tab specifically for US Sports that includes sub categories for NFL, MLB, MLS, NBA, NHL, and NCAA.  Opposed to a main story to catch your attention on the US Sports page there are sections that include Top Story, Most Recent, Video Highlights, Useful Links, & Blogs.  There are also ESPN and Sports Illustrated links available.  The US Sport and the main Guardian sports page have one advertisement at the top and one to two towards the bottom.  It is a very clean setup, not cluttered by a lot of flashing advertisements like many of the American websites.  Rightfully so there are a number of futbol stories that are covered on the front page, and I was able to find a short story about the upcoming Super Bowl after clicking through various pages.  There is also a tab that covers the the 2012 Olympics.  Readers are able to read about the qualifying and recaps of all of the events as well as predictions.

Unlike The Guardian, The Denver Post is full of various advertisers on their page that are flashing and moving all over the page, I guess that is the American way.  I counted 15 advertisements on on the first page of The Post website before I even started reading various stories.  Currently, the 2012 X games are taking place in beautiful Aspen, Colorado!  Most of the highlighted stories on the first page that included pictures from recaps of the X games.  There is also a large photo of Tim Tebow that includes a link to purchase his book (Will to Win: How Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos turned 2011 into a season to Remember.  Other links include college sports recaps, box scores, and columnists such as one of my favorites Woody Paige.  Optional page tabs include 27 options opposed to only 6 option on The Guardian.  These options include local professional sports, high school, college, youth sports.  Some of the categories include activities that popular due to the location, such as skiing and snow sports. Surprisingly, I did not find any articles mentioning the super Bowl, although there was a small piece on it in the UK periodical.

I think both periodicals had in depth coverage for their respective target markets.  The Guardian had primary stories that covered a lot of futbol and rugby while The Post covered the X games, Tim Tebow, and snow sports.  There is a clear difference in the amount of ads that were posted from one sigh to the other.  The Post has advertisements all over the page that flashing and moving, while The Guardian had an ad at the top and one at the bottom.  The overall setup and layout are fairly similar.  Each site included their respective social media outlets.  Outside of the actual sports chosen sports that were targeted to their region the general formats were not far apart.  I enjoyed this assignment, it was interesting to compare the two and to learn about some sports I would not have read about in my usual reading.

ESPN

ESPN has been the catalyst for so many factors that have contributed to the sports industry through technology and cable over time.  No longer do you have to be at the event or wait to read about it in the paper, ESPN paved the way for sports to be delivered how and when they get their sports coverage through a variety of different mediums.  The growing popularity of the network in the 70's and 80's has certainly contributed tp the sports industry platform that is here today.  Currently ESPN well over 94 million viewers a week, and they network is a clear contender by creating shows and programming in radio, print, cable networks, broadband, wireless and on demand.  There is a medium for every sports fan and for every sport.  Their mission is to "Serve sports fans where ever sports are watched, listened to, discussed, debated, read about or played."  In addition to all that ESPN has already made available the website also allows fans to live stream games, and follow its social media sites.  There are more than 10 million monthly site visitors that utilize the site making it clear first option when researching stats, fantasy teams, and so much more.  Without the ESPN organization and its constant technological changes, I don't believe the sports industry would be doing as well as it has over the past 20 years.  They have set the bar high for sports communications and other companies such as NBA and ABC are being forced to compete using similar business models.

Becoming A College Administrator

I decided I wanted to be a college administrator while I was a student athlete at Georgia State University. As a member of SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee), I was exposed to NCAA rules, eligibility, and various marketing strategies for our athletics program.  Our administrators that were involved opened doors for us to do contribute to our community, develop strategies on improving student/coach/advisor communications within the athletic department, and most importantly gave us a forum to express our ideas to help build our program as a whole.  Although there has been a lot of position changes at Georgia State I can certainly say that while I was a student athlete our administrators were very passionate about our advancement, and they worked hard to open various opportunities for us while building our program year after year.  I am still fairly young but each of my administrators impacted me in a way that I am sure they probably don't even realize.  Their personal, career, and athletic support and guidance helped shape the person that I am today.  They inspired me to seek a position specifically in college administration.  Because of their shared knowledge  and experience, I have developed my own passionate for doing the same with current student athletes.  I was very luck to land my job at Colgate University because I have been asked to be a SAAC administrator, and have the opportunity to help student athletes develop in the same areas that administrators were able to help me, in addition to contributing to a successful DI athletics program.  

In A Nut Shell

As of 4 weeks ago I now reside in Hamilton, NY by way of Atlanta, Georgia.  I am the compliance and game operations coordinator in the athletics department at Colgate University.  I was a tomboy to the bone as I grew up which sparked my current passion for sports, more specifically college athletics.  I played soccer and ran track from elementary school through high school.  I earned a full ride to play soccer (my first love) at Georgia State University which took me from my Colorado home to Hotlanta for undergrad.  I graduated in 2008 with a communications and public relations degree.  Following graduation I worked as a ticket and events administrator for the sales department at Fox Sports Network for 2 years.  I also coached girls competitive club soccer from 2008 to 2011.  Within that time I was privileged to work with Georgia Soccer Association, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Atlanta Beat before starting my new chapter here in NY.  Currently, my job entails working with coaches in Colgate's athletic department making sure they are in compliance with NCAA regulations.  I also work in marketing and promotions which includes putting together halftime sponsorship ideas and  marketing for various athletic events.