CMM 415: Sports Reporting & Writing

UNE Course Description: Introduction to Sports Writing and Reporting offers a semester-long course focusing on craft, practice, voice, interviewing, and storytelling skills, all grounded in real-world experience. We’ll be viewing our subject matter as a laboratory and lens through which to focus on the human experience. The course will include: Reading and discussion, on-the-ground reporting at local events, drawing out reticent interview subjects, narrative strategies, and drafting and revision as the foundation for serious sports writing and reporting.

Personal Course Description: This course gives me real, hands-on experience in sports journalism by putting me directly into the action of UNE athletics. Throughout the semester, I wrote “gamers” (stories covering UNE sports matches and games) and created in-depth profiles on people involved in the university’s sports world, whether they were student-athletes, coaches, or staff members. The class is discussion-based, so we spend a lot of time talking through examples, breaking down reporting techniques, and learning how to write clearly, accurately, and without bias. Everything we do builds toward real-life journalism skills: interviewing, developing strong leads, crafting engaging narratives, and understanding how to cover sports in a professional way. At the end of the course, I produced a cumulative podcast that pulled together everything I learned—from class discussions to our readings—and reflected on how my reporting skills developed. Overall, this class strengthened my writing, pushed me to think critically as a reporter, and gave me practical experience I can use in the sports media field.