Dear Editor,
I have a suggestion for the Green Phone caller who advised the
Dispatch to
”
get at it
”
regarding coverage of a junior varsity team, presumably
football: How about a little help for the long-suffering sports
desk instead of complaining?
Dear Editor,
I have a suggestion for the Green Phone caller who advised the Dispatch to “get at it” regarding coverage of a junior varsity team, presumably football: How about a little help for the long-suffering sports desk instead of complaining?
When I was a Hollister sports editor, a typical Friday during football season went like this: I’d get to the newsroom about 3pm to get a head start on Monday’s section, make a few phone calls, etc. I’d head to the stadium about 5pm to catch the second half of the JV game then stay for the varsity game. If the Haybalers were on the road, add a half-hour to an hour for travel.
I’d get back to the newsroom around 10:30pm – later if it was a road game – total the statistics I’d taken during the varsity game, type them up and fax them to other area newspapers and call those papers to get scores from other league games. Then I’d write the story, or at least get started on it, while details were fresh in my mind. I’d get home around 11:30 pm, and more often than not there’d be a cross-country meet to go to on Saturday morning, usually requiring another road trip.
Sunday afternoon I’d be back in the newsroom making phone calls for information for other local stories, selecting and editing Associated Press stories and laying out the sports section. Sometimes I’d get home as early as midnight, as opposed to the 2 or 3 am that was typical during the week.
Sundays capped a week in which I worked 60 to 70 hours, and one of the last things I wanted to hear on Monday was “Where was the JV/freshman/etc. story?”
I realize few readers understand what’s involved in producing each day’s newspaper and I allow for that. But in this era of “citizen journalism'” it seems to me that parents involved in the so-called “minor” sports might help their own cause by volunteering as reporters. No one would ask you to write, but just to furnish a few details about the game you want to see in your newspaper. You’d be doing something positive for other fans rather than complaining, in addition to giving a well-earned and appreciated break to the sports editor.
Dave Moseley, Hollister
Editor’s note: Coaches and/or parents are encouraged to e-mail local sports news to sp****@************ch.com
