Cronkite students deliver big-league spring training coverage
Cronkite student Abigail Hardy recording video of the Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training. Hardy is a sports journalism student on assignment from the Cronkite News Phoenix Sports Bureau this spring. Photo by Micah Rind/ASU.
“Take me out to the ball game” is playing at stadiums under the Arizona sun, and for the 16th consecutive year, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication sports journalism students at Arizona State University are covering Major League Baseball’s Cactus League.
The student journalists produce reporting and multimedia content for major metropolitan news organizations, including The Arizona Republic, the Bay Area News Group, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Times of San Diego.
For Cronkite News Phoenix Sports Bureau students, spring training provides a dynamic field reporting experience at ballparks across the Phoenix metro area. It’s an opportunity to test and challenge speed, accuracy, creativity and adaptability, closely mirroring the demands they will face as professional sports reporters.
“To be covering spring training as a student means a lot,” said sports journalism student Abigail Hardy. “My dream job is to be in baseball as a sideline reporter, so knowing the basics is going to help me out in the long run. Being able to work alongside a professional team is going to help me out in my resume, and I appreciate the opportunity that Cronkite has given me.”
From interviewing athletes, to reporting on off-the-field developments and capturing the fan frenzy, students sharpen their skills, all while building their professional networks and portfolios.
“Our reporters are working side by side with many of the best journalists in the business,” said Paola Boivin, a Cronkite professor of practice who oversees the Cronkite News Phoenix Sports Bureau. “It’s an ideal situation to prepare them for the professional world.”
Cronkite students have covered spring training since 2011. This year, students are producing content on the Athletics, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers.
This season they are publishing their work in The Arizona Republic, The Mercury News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and a variety of other publications.
“Our students are covering Major League Baseball for major news organizations and building clips that carry real weight in the industry,” said Brett Kurland, assistant dean at the Cronkite School, who joined the school in 2014 to launch the Cronkite News Phoenix Sports Bureau.
“When editors rely on our bureau year after year, it reflects the trust they place in our students’ reporting, our faculty’s editing and the preparation students receive at Cronkite. That experience and national reach give our graduates a clear advantage as they advance their careers in sports media.”
Former students have gone on to positions with major sports networks, newspapers and digital outlets, reinforcing Cronkite’s commitment to hands-on learning that prepares students for careers in media and communications.