"When dawn spreads its paintbrush on the plain, spilling purple... ," Sons of the Pioneers theme for TV show "Wagon Train." Dawn on the mythic Santa Fe Trail, New Mexico, looking toward Raton from Cimarron. -- Clarkphoto. A curmudgeon artist's musings melding metaphors and journalism, for readers in more than 150 countries.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Twitter questions for a sports journalist

One of my  favorite classes--certainly the one I have the most fun in, is my twitter for media class, #clarkclass. Blog is http://clarkclassuco.blogspot.com/.

I know I'm a  dinosaur and a geezer, but  I know that journalism is a child of technology, always has been, from the pen and paper of town criers, to the handset type of Gutenberg, to Linotypes, to photo-composition of early offset, to the arrival of computers. (Hint--I have handset type, run Linotypes, Compugraphics and the early and current computers, have run small offset and letter presses). Doesn't matter--challenges to the craft and profession continually change and remain constant--the only objection I make is that newspapers are not dying--those who claim so are ignorant or narrowly focused.
But, that brings me back to twitter, and to what view as another death of journalism. Balderdash.
This class proves the opposite...in fact, it is enlivening print and broadcast journalism, public relations, advertising, photography, almost every profession.
In that spirit, Oklahoman Sports Editor Mike Sherman @MikeSherman, comes to talk to my class tomorrow, as he had three previous times. He's an enthusiastic, positive professional about journalism and twitter. By the way, he's a UCO alum (We have great students). You can read his previous points on this blog by searching his name.
And my current class is pumped and primed--today, they came up with questions for him to consider. By the way--these are great students--all about the graduate, from many majors, some already with their own businesses. Here they are. Stay tuned for comments.
    •    If he was the one responsible for the Mr. Unreliable article, and if he was how he went about clearing it up.
    •    How does he think twitter has helped him in his career?
    •    What advantages he thinks he has having a twitter over other writers who don’t have a twitter.
    •    What does twitter do for the world of sports?
    •    What form of media does he find most beneficial for his line of work?
    •    What sports do you like to cover most?
    •    If a bad article comes out how do you handle it?
    •    Biggest influences
    •    Does he see twitter as a critical resource?
    •    Does he use social media to find any of his stories?
    •    How does he use social media to promote himself?
    •    Is his favorite comedian Steve Martin?
    •    Where does he make the distinction of what is worth tweeting, such as if it doesn’t involve sports, what is important enough and what catches his eye?
    •    What’s the best way to network through twitter?
    •    If twitter is a new resume, then how do you know if someone is qualified for the job?
    •    At what age he thought was appropriate for someone to have a twitter
    •    What’s the first think you notice when you look at someone’s profile
    •    What makes you turn away or keep looking at a persons twitter?
    •    When did networking for twitter start taking off for his career?
    •    What made him move from Maryland to OKC?
    •    Should I merge business or personal life, or have two different accounts?
    •    Does he use his poll tweets or are the just for fun?
    •    Anything specific to sports news that has improved for twitter
    •    Examples: Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson and Tyreke Hill. Do you believe there is a double standard for Professional athletes and professional entrepreneurs when obstructing the law?


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