The Road to the Press Box

Goodbye To You…

mshanley — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:15:35 +0000

Here we are. We’re a little more than three months removed from the day this blog was started, and sadly, this is where it ends. I have decided that the lack of success this blog has seen, it’s time for it to be buried. For those of you who still wish to follow my work, I keep another blog. Cori Egan and I both write articles and post updates HERE, at Pro Points. In true funeral fashion, here are a few memories from my time spent on The Road to the Press Box.

About Me

Working with what you have

Slide Show

Philadelphia’s Other Team

mshanley — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:53:19 +0000

Nobody knows where the journalism industry is headed. Those who read the works of journalists have no idea how much longer they’ll have the Sunday paper delivered to their doorstep. Those going to school with the dreams of one day being a byline in that Sunday paper have no idea whether or not they’ll even get the chance. Even those currently within the industry have no idea what the future holds.
Instead of trying to see into the future, it’s much easier for people to recognize the present. The journalists that currently write for the enjoyment of their readers are worried sick about how long they’ll be employed. The most we can do, for now, is appreciate them. Appreciate them while we still have them.
Phil Anastasia has been a staff writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer for a little more than a year, now. He is a graduate of the school formerly known as Glassboro State College. Some of you may be more familiar with the name Rowan University. He initially had no interest in becoming a journalist. He just wanted to write. Earning his degree in English, he soon realized that he was capable of informing the masses about current events, and doing it well.
Anastasia has covered professional sports. He’s covered Division-I college sports. The true mark of this man comes when he says that he’d rather stand on the sidelines under Friday night lights than sit in a press box on a Sunday afternoon. He loves what he does. He loves the purity of sport.

MS: How would you compare things you learned in school to things being taught today?

PA: I can’t really compare the two time periods and do that question any justice, because I wasn’t a journalism major. I majored in English so I learned a lot about Shakespearian times and things like that. I would say that kids who aspire to be journalists now have a leg up on those who studied journalism when I was in school, but at the same time, there’s a lot more competition now.

MS: What would you say your favorite assignment has been over the years?

PA: For me to single out one assignment, I can’t do that. I love what I do. I’ve done so many things that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I guess one experience was when I covered the 1984 National Championship. Just because it was Villanova and they were a huge underdog. The fact that they pulled out the upset and I was the one telling all of South Jersey and Philadelphia about it, that was really special to me.

MS: Who was the first well-known person you interviewed and were you nervous?

PA: I don’t remember the first, but I remember how nervous I was when I was in the locker room with “Dr. J.” Julius Erving was just such a big figure at the time, and he was a great guy. I never actually got to sit down with him one on one, but being in the locker room with him taking notes was still a great experience for me.

MS: What do you feel is the most common mistake amongst young sports writers?

PA: Voice. It has to be the lack of voice that students use in their articles. I stress that point so much and I really try to let students know that an article is not as credible as it could be if it doesn’t have voice in there. They need to learn that you need to go the extra mile and talk to the opposing team’s coaches and players. Otherwise, the article just seems biased.

MS: What advice do you have for those who aspire to be sports writers?

PA: Just hang in there. The industry, hopefully, will get a lot better. It’s in pretty bad shape right now, but we’ll see how things turn out. People will always need information, and people will always need to give information. Journalists will always be necessary. How? I’m not sure.

MS: Are you nervous about where the industry is headed?

PA: I am. The way everything is nowadays, new technology comes out every day. The media and the journalism industry just cater to new technology. I’m not sure print journalism can keep up.

MS: What’s a regular day at The Inquirer like?

PA: There really is no “regular day.” Some days, I’m in the office making phone calls. Other days, I’m driving all over New Jersey either watching games or trying to get in touch with coaches and players. That’s the thing about journalism. There really is no “regular day.”

MS: Do you get to choose your topics and the angles you use to present them?

PA: Yes, I do. I always try to look for angles that no one expects or would think to use. I try to find stories within stories and that’s usually when the best work comes out.

MS: You’ve been very patient with me. Clearly, my interviewing skills are not nearly as sharp as yours. Here’s a fun question just to thank you for your time. Who would you most like to interview that you haven’t yet had the chance with?

PA: I’d have to say Tiger Woods.

MS: Any particular reason?

PA: Just the way he carries himself. His focus. He never lets anyone too close. His will to win is just amazing. I’d love to speak to him about his greatness.

Phil Anastasia is in his first year as a South Jersey sports columnist. Born and raised in South Jersey, he prefers standing on the sidelines at high school football games on Friday nights to sitting in the press box at Eagles games on Sunday afternoons. He’s a graduate of Rowan University with a degree in English.-The Philadelphia Inquirer

Here are some of his recent clips:

Tenacious leads Cherokee baseball to win

A Debut that broke a record

Family tragedy adds focus to his game

Generations of great basketball

Big win for small senior

Lucky Number 12…

mshanley — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:51:36 +0000

In the “Know”

by Matt Shanley

Not many people make their way out of Central Jersey.

The list is short and prestigious. It’s one that includes Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, and Kirsten Dunst. Saturday, New Jersey sports fans had a reason to celebrate: Knowshon Moreno of Middletown had become the first round draft pick of the Denver Broncos.

Though the professional football hadn’t heard of the running back until recently, Moreno has been a household name in Monmouth and Ocean County for several years. His agile, yet forceful, style of play has been recognized throughout the state since he was merely a teen.

“I first heard about him when he was in middle school playing basketball at a summer camp at Monmouth University,” said Fred Sprengel, former head football coach at Brick Memorial High School. “A friend of mine told me to watch out for an unbelievable athlete who played Pop Warner football in the Atlantic Highlands. We scrimmaged him four times throughout his high school career. There was no doubt he was a stud.”

The University of Georgia clearly heard about this unbelievable athlete as well, as Moreno was recruited by them during his junior and senior seasons at Middletown South High School. Other football schools such as Michigan, Virginia Tech, and Florida also kept close tabs on the elusive half back; however, it was the Bulldogs who ultimately came away with the prized young man.

It wasn’t long until the people of Athens, Georgia came to love Moreno as much as those from his hometown. Sasha Williams, a junior at the University of Georgia, goes against the will of her boyfriend with her love for the running back. “He used to be my favorite,” said Williams. “My boyfriend Taylor is a huge (Florida) Gators fan, but Knowshon is still my number one.”

Though those who watch Moreno know him well, those who know played against him know him even better. Former Brick Memorial defensive end Steve Avon has had his fair share of experiences with the first round pick.

“I tried to treat it like any other game,” said Avon, “but you can’t help but get the jitters when you play against an athlete of that caliber. His versatility and intelligence are what separated him from everyone else. Not only could he beat you around the edge, but he can also go up the middle and simply run you over.”

Moreno is so hard to compete against because of said versatility. He has so many strengths and so few faults. For now, it seems as though there’s only one way coaches can game plan when number twenty-four is on the other side of the ball.

Coach Sprengel may have come up with the best strategy to date:

“To game plan against him,” he said, “I would pray each day leading up to the game that Knowshon would miss the bus.”

This Is The Way I Live

mshanley — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:32:11 +0000

Going along with the apparent theme of this week, I want to talk about another lecture I sat through in one of my classes.

In my Online Journalism class yesterday, my professor asked us three questions, the most important of which may have been “What is journalism?”

He talked about how journalism is more than news and media. He spoke to the class about how so much more goes into journalism than just relaying information. It really hit home with me and what he said will remain in my brain until the day my life in journalism is over, and probably after that, too.

The one point he made that really stuck out to me is that sport is nothing but a ball being passed around. He couldn’t have been any more right. There’s something about sports that is so juvenile. There’s something about it that seems so pre-meditated and so allegorical. It’s a world within a world.

And in spite of all that, sports is something that keeps people interested. No matter how simple the game may be, there’s something about it that keeps the general public interested. There’s something about it that keeps audiences coming back for more.

I may not have realized it until yesterday, but there’s something about sports that lives inside of everyone. The competitive edge and the acrobatics are something that many people live vicariously through. For as long as there will be sport, there will be journalism about it.

Some time next week, I will be posting an article about Middletown, New Jersey product, former Georgia star, and future NFL running back Knowshon Moreno. I’ve interviewed people who have played and coached against him, and as soon as I put the finishing touches on it, it will be posted!

Raise Your Voice

mshanley — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:34:37 +0000

This week in my Sports Journalism class, my professor (and Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer) Phil Anastasia stressed one point to his audience. He wrote the word five times over on his marker board: “Voice.”

He said that no article, outside of a column, is complete without outside voice.

I agree with this statement, and admit that I haven’t always been the best at seeking quotes for my articles. It’s necessary to get the ideas of the players from both teams. The audience wants to know what it’s like to lose a close game just as much as they’d like to know how it feels to win one. It’s important to get the feelings of the coaches from both sidelines. The audience deserves to know what game plan worked better than the other.

And though I LOVE writing columns because I enjoy the sound of my own voice, even opinion pieces could occasionally use a little flavor.

This piece, for example, by ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard, is intended to be a column, however, there’s so much voice within it, it almost plays out like a feature. I feel like the voice within this article makes it a little more interesting for the readers, and adds a bit more insight than it would have otherwise.

I feel as though all readers deserve a little bit of an expert voice within the articles they read, and if quotes can be obtained, they should be utilized.

A Look Back…

mshanley — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:48:26 +0000

I am a firm believer that there is at least one point in a person’s life that helps them decide how they want to spend the rest of it. I was never known as the most decisive person in the world, so for me, there are ten moments where I can honestly look back and say “This is why I want to be involved in professional sports.” I created a timeline of these events, and in the description, I wrote a lead for each to give my audience a little dose of how I would have written an article on the occurrence.

The Top Ten Events That Influenced My Decision To Be A Sports Writer.

Back to the Future

mshanley — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:52:11 +0000

Have you ever wondered what it’d be like to go back in time?

I do. Every day. And right now, I’m going to name off some of the things I wish I knew about journalism in sports before I applied to Rowan University as a journalism major nearly two years ago.

I wish I knew that nobody starts off at ESPN. Clearly, I wasn’t naive enough to the point to think that I’d get a great job as soon as I was handed my diploma, however, the road is a lot rockier than I had initially thought.

I wish I knew that interviews are not always easy to come by, and most of the time, the interviewee isn’t as willing to answer questions as you are to ask them.

I wish I had been more aware of the current state of print journalism. Though, I have no plans of leaving the field any time soon, and I have complete faith that the general public will soon realize that not everyone is a journalist, it is a tough time for the industry.

I don’t wish I had more free time, because writing is a passion of mine, however, I do wish I would have known how unstable the sleep cycle for a journalist can be.

I feel as though journalism is one of the few constants in the world today. I feel like no matter what happens with technology or the government, people need to know what is going on in the world. I wish people would realize that some people are better at relaying that information than others.

Lastly, I wish I would have continued my sports career. It’d make getting voice for my articles much easier!

A Day in the Life

mshanley — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:15:18 +0000

When you decide you want to be a sports journalist, the first thing you’re taught is that your life as a fan is over.

“You can’t be a fan,” I was told. “You can’t be biased to a particular team or player.” “Root for a good game.”

As a child, that’s the polar opposite of what you root for. You proudly sport the jersey of your favorite player. You don the cap of your favorite ball club. You root for a blow-out. The transition isn’t easy.

Up until March 28th, I wasn’t worried about it. I wasn’t writing about the Giants. I wasn’t interviewing Derek Jeter. I certainly wasn’t covering a game in which Michael Jordan was imposing his dominance. I pulled into the parking lot at Philadelphia’s Wachovia Center with butterflies swarming my stomach. I was about to cover a professional lacrosse game. I was worried about my first real shot in the world of sports journalism, not about my actions in regards to clapping or cheering. Perhaps I should have been worried about both.

I was handed a press pass and made my way into the Wings’ locker room. I interviewed players and coaches just as I had for all of Rowan’s sports teams. It seemed no different to me. I took notes, I took pictures. I was calm. Oddly enough, my nerves kicked in when all of the actual reporting was over. I did what I so rarely do. I looked around. I soaked in the moment, and against my will, and the will of those before me, I became a fan.

The combination of finesse and brutality was too much for me to handle. I loved the sport. And because I was sitting amongst the fans, rather than in a press box, I attempted to blend in. I enjoyed it.

And that’s when I realized, it’s impossible to watch a sport and not have a preference as to who wins. You can deny it, but the favoritism is always there. It’s inevitable. It’s the beauty of sport. The fans are the reason journalists are there. Everyone is a fan to some extent.

Crime Logs and Goosebumps

mshanley — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:25:06 +0000

For the past week in my News Writing II class with Professor Kathryn Quigley, we’ve been learning about police beats and crime journalists. I think this is a prime example of things aspiring sports journalists may have no original interest in, yet find surprisingly interesting. It’s amazing what kind of stories these journalists get to write. We read one description of a crime in Florida about a man who was wearing nothing but his underwear and beat an elderly woman with a hose. Seriously? How awesome is that? Think of all the possible headlines for a story like that.

“Half naked man wets up a grandmother.”

“Scantily clad neighbor beats woman with his hose.”

Vulgar? Yes. Entertaining? Absolutely.

Anyway, I realize that I posted two stories on here about my first real sports journalism outing and never really talked to my audience about the actual experience. It was amazing. Before week’s end, I plan on devoting an entire entry to the night I spent at the Wachovia Center covering the Philadelphia Wings.

Break The Walls Down

mshanley — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:35:42 +0000

While browsing the internet today, I found a very informational video. It is about an hour and 35 minutes long, and in order to view the entire thing, you must subscribe to Media Bistro. There was, however, a brief preview on You Tube that gives a pretty general idea of what the video is about. In the video, Robbyn Footlick and Alison Overholt, editors at ESPN The Magazine, discuss what it takes to become a good sports writer with a variety of other people within the industry of sports journalism.

Here is the five minute preview: