Panelists Talk Platform Transitions Over Grits N’ Eggs

Thursday, July 24, 2008

By Dioni L. Wise
The UNITY News Online

Journalists making the transition from print to multimedia need to keep basic reporting skills central to the story, panelists said at a breakfast Thursday.

“Be a dynamite reporter,” said ESPN on-air personality Jemele Hill.

Hill, who spoke at the Sports Keynote Breakfast, transitioned from a print reporter at the Orlando Sentinel to an online columnist to her current ESPN gig.

“When I go into a story, I’ll think, ‘Now, this would make a great TV piece,’” she said.

Nearly 500 people heard Hill and five other ESPN staffers discuss their transition from print to multi-platform journalism over a meal of grits, eggs and bacon.

The NABJ Sports Task Force assembled an all-star lineup of panelists, including senior news editor Dwayne Bray, news editor Brian Wong, columnist J.A. Adande, bureau reporter Pedro Gomez and ESPN.com Editor-in-Chief Rob King.

Greg Lee Jr., NABJ Sports Task Force chairman, said the ESPN-sponsored event was pertinent to anyone who wants to stay up-to-date with today’s changing industry.

“We need to be very versatile on the approach,” he said. “You have to be adaptable to the industry. You can’t be so rigid to where you’re limited to one thing.”

King learned that lesson a few years ago when he left The Philadelphia Inquirer as deputing managing editor of sports for ESPN. The former cartoonist, reporter and graphic designer had been raised in print – and reared by parents who worked in newspapers.

He turned down the ESPN gig three times, until he decided to move into the online world.
“Nobody could’ve told me seven years ago that I would be here,” he said.

The breakfast also afforded budding journalists the opportunity to meet established professionals. Ronald P. Clark, an associate reporter for MLB.com, joined the breakfast to mix and mingle with industry higher-ups.

“It’s one of those things where you’re looking for some hope,” Clark said, shortly after giving his resume and clips to Hill. “Being in the industry is difficult right now.

The recent Hampton University graduate said he was trying to get into the minds of other professionals.
“You just get to talk to people who are where you want to be,” Clark said. “They’re here for you. They’re here to mentor you.”

Clark said he likes being an online reporter.

“There’s no ‘You have to have 550 words exactly,’” he said. “I have stories that are 6-8 (hundred words) long.

He said print journalists definitely need to catch up to their more technically-savvy counterparts. But there is one common denominator among print and multimedia journalists.

“The reporting’s going to stay the same,” he said.

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