Radio Sportscasts
Sports is most commonly presented as an element within newscasts (refer back to Figure 5.9). Although many stations air sports as programming features unto themselves, most stations insert information, such as scores and schedules of upcoming games, at a designated point in a newscast and call it sports. Whether a station emphasizes sports largely depends on its audience. Stations gearing their format for youngsters or women often all but ignore sports. Adult-oriented stations, such as Middle-of-the-Road, will frequently offer a greater abundance of sports information, especially when the station is located in an area that has a major league team.
Stations that hire individuals to do sports, and invariably these are larger outlets since few small stations can afford a full-time sportsperson, look for someone who is well versed in athletics. “To be good at radio sports, you have to have been involved as a participant somewhere along the line. That’s for starters, in my opinion. This doesn’t mean that you have to be a former major leaguer before doing radio sports but to have a feel for what you’re talking about, it certainly helps to have been on the field or court yourself. A good sportscaster must have the ability to accurately analyze a sport through the eyes and body of the athlete,” contends radio sports director John Colletto.
Unlike news that requires an impartial and somewhat austere presentation, sportscasts frequently are delivered in a casual and even opinionated manner. “Let’s face it, there’s a big difference between nuclear arms talks between the United States and the Soviets and last night’s Red Sox/Yankees score. I don’t think sports reports should be treated in a style that’s too solemn. It’s entertainment, and sportscasters should exercise their license to comment and analyze,” says Colletto. Although sports is presented in a less heavy-handed way than news, credibility is an important factor, contends Colletto. “There is a need for radio sportscasters to establish credibility just as there is for news people to do so. If you’re not believable, you’re not listened to. The best way to win the respect of your audience is by demonstrating a thorough knowledge of the game and by sounding like an insider, not just a guy reading the wire copy. Remember, sports fans can be as loyal to a sportscaster as they are to their favorite team. They want to hear the stories and scores from a person they feel comfortable with.”
The style of a news story and a sports story may differ considerably. Although news is written in a no-frills, straightforward way, sports stories often contain colorful colloquialisms and even popular slang. Here is an example by radio sportswriter Roger Crosley:
THE DEAN COLLEGE RED DEMON FOOTBALL TEAM RODE THE STRONG RUNNING OF FULLBACK BILL PALAZOLLO YESTERDAY TO AN 18–16 COME FROM BEHIND VICTORY OVER THE AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE JUNIOR VARSITY YELLOW JACKETS. PALAZOLLO CHURNED OUT A TEAM HIGH 93 YARDS ON TWENTY-FIVE CARRIES AND SCORED ALL THREE TOUCHDOWNS ON BLASTS OF 7, 2, AND 6 YARDS. THE DEMONS TRAILED THE HARD-HITTING CONTEST 16–6 ENTERING THE FINAL QUARTER. PALAZOLLO CAPPED A TWELVE-PLAY 81-YARD DRIVE WITH HIS SECOND SIXPOINTER EARLY IN THE STANZA AND SCORED THE CLINCHER WITH 4:34 REMAINING. THE DEMONS WILL PUT THEIR 1 AND 0 RECORD ON THE LINE NEXT SUNDAY AT 1:30 AGAINST THE ALWAYS TOUGH HOLY CROSS JAYVEES IN WORCESTER.
Sportscasters are personalities, says Colletto, and as such must be able to communicate on a different level than newscasters. “You’re expected to have a sense of humor. Most successful sportscasters can make an audience smile or laugh. You have to be able to ad-lib, also.” The wire services, networks, and Internet are the primary source for sports news at local stations. On the other hand, information about the outcome of local games, such as high school football and so forth, must be acquired firsthand. This usually entails a call to the team’s coach or a direct report from a stringer or reporter.
1. Although the first newscast occurred in 1910, broadcast journalism did not evolve until the early 1920s. The broadcast of the Harding–Cox election results in 1920 was a historical benchmark.
2. Because newspapers perceived radio as a competitive threat, UP, INS, and AP refused to sell to radio outlets from 1932 until 1934. Radio, however, proved that it could provide its own news sources.
3. The advent of television led radio outlets to localize their news content, which meant less reliance on news networks and the creation of a station news department.
4. Surveys by the National Association of Broadcasters and the Radio Advertising Bureau found that more people tune in to radio news for their first daily source of information than turn to television or newspapers. 5.
The size of a station’s news staff depends on the degree to which the station’s format emphasizes news, the station’s market size, the emphasis of its competition, and station consolidations. Small stations often have no news people and require deejays to “rip ‘n’ read” wire service copy.
6. Large news staffs may consist of newscasters, writers, street reporters, and tech people, as well as stringers and interns.
7. Computers in radio newsrooms are used as links to the various wire, news, audio, and database services, as display terminals for reading news copy on the air, and as word processors for writing and storing news. Software is available to newsrooms for archiving and other purposes.
8. The news director, who works with and for the PD, supervises news staff, develops and implements policy, handles the budget, ensures the gathering of local news, is responsible for getting out breaking news stories rapidly and accurately and plans public affairs programming.
9. News directors seek personnel with both college education and experience. However, finding a news slot at a small station is difficult since its news staffs are small, so internships and experience at high school and college stations are important. In addition, such personal qualities as enthusiasm, aggressiveness, energy, inquisitiveness, keyboarding skills, a knowledge of the area where the station is located, announcing abilities, and a command of the English language are assets.
10. News stories must be legible, intelligible, and designed for effortless reading. They should sound conversational, informal, simple, direct, concise, and organized.