First time in the Midwest

Until last Friday, never had I ever set foot in the midwest. I’d never even spent a significant amount of time with people from the midwest. In fact, to tell the truth, I’ve avoided it as much as possible. Born and raised in Los Angeles, I was the spoiled, “I’ll only live in LA or NYC,” kid. I’ve been to other cities — Philadelphia, New Orleans, Miami — but nothing like Columbia, Mo. I remember being a senior in high school, seeing that Mizzou was the top journalism school in the country, and immediately disregarding it because of where it’s located. 

It’s funny how life works — five years later, fresh out of undergrad, I’m here. After nearly a week in Missouri, we’ve toured the journalism school and the local NBC-affiliate station. I’ve been to a Waffle House for the first time. And I’ve learned that it’s not so bad. I wouldn’t say I prefer it to Los Angeles or that I regret going to school at Pepperdine overlooking the Pacific, but it’s neither miserable nor desolate.

The realization I’ve come to is that starting my career in a smaller city wouldn’t be bad. The high school and college sports are magnified, and the experience may not be just beneficial but possibly also preferred. My views have been widened and my be all-end all is no longer strictly west coast/east coast. 

 -- Alysha Tsuji

Free T-shirt? Bring it on!

As a reporter I am dedicated to writing fair and accurate stories on whatever I happen to be covering. And if that happens to be a sports game, I feel no shame in taking a free shirt, keychain, jacket or eating a pregame meal (even if the total of the value is over $25).

Greg Bowers, the sports editor of The Missourian who led a great discussion in class on sports journalism ethics, is definitely shaking his head in disappointment at the above statement. But the thing is – I really, really like free T-shirts. And that’s okay because I can still write a fair, truthful piece regardless if a huge organization gives me a shirt or not.

I can do this in two ways:
1. Always having a second person read over my piece.
2. DON’T WEAR THE SHIRTS IN PUBLIC.

No. 2 may seem like a joke but it’s not. If I enter a press box and take a shirt and a notebook (which every reporter gets as a form of hospitality) and go about my work, no harm is done. None of my potential readers knows of the hospitality, and they will judge the fairness of my work purely on my work. However, if I’m asked to come onto a sports talk show and I wear a logo of a team I’ve been
covering, it’s similar to running out of that press box and waving my free T-shirt
like a flag in front of the home crowd. It comes down to keeping my interests –
and the hospitality I’ve been given – to myself.
But at the end of the day, let’s be realistic. Everyone is taking that shirt.
--Zolan Kanno-Youngs

Friendly competition

Coming in hot! After a rough start to the sports checks this week, which included sitting outside of the top-5 leaderbaord for the first five days, I have broken through with a strong run and now currently sit tied for fifth place. Just three points behind fourth place, I have my sights set on working my way up the leaderboard. While I sit quite a ways out of the top 3, trailing my roommate for the week Cameron Wolfe by 16 points, I have plenty of time left to reduce the deficit and land a podium spot. It’s almost a
foregone conclusion that I won’t catch the leader Jaylon, who seems to be breaking away from the pack, but I can catch the next few spots and keep my reputation as the comeback kid intact. Ready or not, here I come, you can’t hide… I’m talking to you Ashley,

Cameron and Chris

Small market could equal big opportunity

We got a chance to visit KOMU (the NBC affiliate in Columbia) on Tuesday and it was an eye-opening experience. Being in a small market TV station is something I’ve envisioned for myself many times. While many of my SJI classmates may not be interested in that, I’m a broadcast major and have long dreamed about taking that route. And a market like this one is the sort of place that most college graduates would find themselves in, so I took particular interest in how they operate and what roles a typical reporter plays.

What’s interesting about KOMU in particular is that most of the on-camera talent are students at Missouri. The fact that students already are getting the small market opportunity opened my eyes to some of my competition for jobs and at what level they produce. I talked to Mark Selig, assistant sports editor of the Missourian, and he mentioned that his girlfriend was going to grad school for free by being a TA at Missouri and working with the channel. That seemed like something I could potentially be interested in—and something I wouldn’t have known without this tour.

--Cameron Wolfe

Bowers: Instructor, historian and even tour guide

             One of my SJI classmates on Sunday made the comment that Greg Bowers was our official tour guide of Columbia, St. Louis and everything in between. That couldn’t be more accurate. The editor of The Missourian has welcomed us into his home for a meal, taken us to the historic Lewis and Clark expedition starting point, and given us a walking tour of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. But while we were being led onto the field in Busch Stadium, I noticed Mr. Bowers is much more than a good host to the many reporters who stood alongside the Dodgers batting practice.

I knew that Jenifer Langosch, the Cardinals beat reporter for MLB.com, had known Bowers since she used to work for him at The Missourian. But her competition, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, also knew Bowers well. Goold told us that he used to work for Bowers at The Missourian.

All this showed me a couple things. For one, people in this business know everyone. Introducing myself to one editor resulted in connecting with every Cardinals beat reporter. The second thing is that when you are a reporter or editor of a city, town or any community, you almost become a part of that community. You know the ins and outs of the area, as well as the fellow movers and shakers. The last is that people aren’t just encapsulated by their title (even though I do need to work on memorizing them). Greg Lee may be the director of editorial content for NBA.com. Bowers may be sports editor of the Columbia Missourian. But they are also teachers, leaders and network builders. And at times, really good tour guides. 

--Zolan Kanno-Youngs

A tight sports check race heads into the home stretch

The sports check competition is heating up. As we enter the final checks, every question matters, every random test of knowledge can make or break you.

For those who don’t know, sports checks are quizzes on current events (news or sports) and general sports knowledge. They come every morning, and often at other times too. They have been a battle of Room 11 essentially the entire time, with Jaylon Thompson and me going at it since day one. I caught Jaylon at the top of the leader board a couple of days ago, but a rough patch threw me back into second place. I've been making up ground and this morning I pulled within one point.

 Then, out of nowhere, Carron Phillips throws in a three-point extra credit, "When was the last time the Olympics were held in Los Angles?" All of a sudden, J-Smoove (as his Twitter name yields), has a sizable lead when there's a significant difference between a one-point lead and four-point lead.

 Current Standings:

                1) Jaylon Thompson 95.5*

                2) Chris Bumbaca 91.5

                3) Cameron Wolfe 90.5

                * 92.5

 As my good friend Leon Carter, would say "SCANDAL!"

I also have C-Wolfe breathing down my neck, but I've kept him at bay for a while now.

To borrow a Mr. Carter quote again, it seems that I'm facing some "ADVERSITY!"

I will come through. J-Smoove got lucky this time, but he better watch himself.

--Chris Bumbaca

Far from the crowd, and learning to lead the way

Columbia, Mo., is roughly two hours from St. Louis and two hours from Kansas City. But
if you think that means it sits in the middle of nowhere, just take a tour of the Missouri
campus and you’ll soon change your mind. It’s no secret that for journalism students,
Missouri has one of the best programs in country. Getting the opportunity to learn at this
institution is awesome, but it gets more interesting. My SJI class went on a tour of the J-
school this week. It’s full of state-of-the-art equipment house in nine buildings, and the
program features with six award-winning sequences. Not bad for a school some might
label as being in the middle of nowhere! Not to mention that one out of every five
students at the university (the undergraduate population is nearly 27,000) studies
journalism. The Missouri Method is not simply a theory; it is a consistent initiative to
provide students with proactive, self-engaging experience in media platforms. You learn
by doing. I love the concept and it is the true life of a journalism student. And for this
week, it’s our life. It reminds me of the fact that experiences come in all shapes and
sizes, and it’s you make of those experiences that separates you from the rest.

---Wilton Jackson II