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Jane Ripps
Managing Editor, ODYSSEY Media Group
sports
I started my time in the ODYSSEY Media Group as a Sports Staffer in the Fall semester of the 2021-2022 school year. This section was my "home base" where I learned almost everything I know today about journalistic writing.
I initially struggled to gain my footing in the beginning, as I was adjusting to the norms of the newsroom while actively attempting to write game coverages and previews. Because of this, a lot of my stories remainded stuck in the drafting phase. Regardless, my time in sports taught me how to take action and keep moving during times of struggle or miscommunication. Specifically working with my staff during game coverages, I gained my footing through experiential learning and communication.
This was the first story of mine to ever get published on our website, and I wrote about my high school's softball team and how they were planning to bounce back after losing a few of their games. Although it underwent lots of edits and I had to do a lot of conferencing, I didn't give up. At this time, I was extremely new to news writing and the OMG, and so this piece was definitely a learning process. However, I kept working and it was rewarding to see it posted.
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This piece is a By the Numbers I created for a football game at my high school. These pieces give statistics from both teams on information such as touchdowns, sacks and more. Although it is a quick story to create, it helped me become familiar with MaxPreps as well as the terminology. As a Sports Staffer at the time, understanding the statistics prepared me for my game coverages.
I wrote this piece covering an upcoming basketball game at CCHS. Around this time, I was finally understanding the inverted pyramid style, as well as how to avoid voice of god, which were issues I was facing a lot the first few weeks as a freshman. I was proud when this piece went up on our website in a timely manner and I finally felt like my work was paying off.
editorial writing
This editorial is an example of the story ideas I would search for throughout the school. I noticed extreme unhappiness among athletes affected by the region change in athletics, and I wanted to be the voice for these athletes. I wrote this editorial about how the athletic regions changed, and how this change unfairly impacted smaller and less popular sports. I typically tried to write about societal issues for my editorials, but I loved branching out and writing about sports for this piece.
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getting the short end of the stick
presenting
When I was a freshman, then senior Gretchen Hinger and I presented "More than a game" at both the 2022 GSPA Winter Conference and the 2022 SIPA Convention. We spoke about different ways journalists can improve their sports writing and diversify their coverage, because just posting game coverages or highlights can become repetitive. At SIPA, we spoke to a crowd of over 80 students, which was amazing exposure for me because I was really new to presenting and speaking to crowds. This presentation set me up for success and prepared me for my future presentations my sophomore and junior year, as well as enhanced my knowledge on sports writing and how to improve it.
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