Lists
Sports fans love lists, and sports journalists are no different. Our version of the listicle, this is how we contextualize a sports trend or a sporting event within our journalism world. This could be anything from the Five best-designed Super Bowl preview packages to the 10 college sports podcasts to follow for March Madness. Each example will contain a small blurb of explanation or critique, with a goal of creating a clearer picture of the trend, issue or event through a sum of its parts.
Count It
This is our data stories category, because numbers tell stories too. That could be a weekly sports stat with an extended caption all the way up to an analysis of how well football kickers have done historically in the Superbowl. These can be tied into an important and timely event, or something from the annals of sporting history.
Building Blocks
How do our favorite sports stories come together? Unpack that multi-layered feature, documentary, or other in-depth sports media with the storyteller, piece by puzzle piece. How did the pitch process evolve? What was the timeline? How did sources line up? What multi-media, design, or publication decisions were made along the way? What did they want the audience to take away?
Most readers only see a finished product, so this is a chance to expose the inner workings of some of sports’ most recognizable stories. This piece about New York Times writer John Branch and the story of three Indian climbers that died on Mt. Everest is a prime example – informative, well-organized, but not robotic.
Q&As
Sports journalists are used to asking the questions, but this is our chance to flip the script. Find a feature or journalist making waves in the sports world and go deeper. We want to know how the idea was born, who made it happen, the challenges they met along the way, and everything in between. This is sports’ cutting room floor.
This section isn’t limited to writers and thrives off of a healthy dose of photographers, documentarians, broadcast journalists, podcasters, and other media creators.
Features
When a Q&A inspires a bigger idea, follow that golden thread. If there is a trend or topic worth a little more investigation, consider writing a feature story. How is sports beat reporting evolving in the digital age? Why is live-tweeting changing the way we consume our sports? How is China getting sports around informational blockades and into living rooms?
Overall these stories should have two or more interviews and tackle a question that other publications are not. Our features section is at once wide-open, and hard to pitch. Keep your story focused and make sure it’s something worth the extended hours.
Research/Innovation
Game Plan also highlights innovation, initiatives and technologies that are changing how we see or play the game. Our profile of the data-driven ShotTracker app for basketball teams is a prime example.