Through the Neighborhood News Bureau course at USFSP, I have had three stories published. Two of the stories were published on the NNB magazine site, Neighbors, while the other story was published by the Tampa Bay Newspapers Dunedin Beacon. As an intern at the Charlotte Stone Crabs, I wrote one story for the Stone Crabs program. Check out my take on the experiences behind each story and view the stories below.

HE COVERS THE RAYS WITH A POKER FACE AND A VETERAN’S TOUCH 

This story was for my Neighborhood  News Bureau class, and I wrote it after shadowing Marc Topkin, the Rays beat writer for the Tampa Bay Rays, for a game. As a fan of both the Rays and Topkin, this was kind of a “dream come true” for me. I became a Rays fan in 2009 after my parents took me to a Rays Spring Training game at Charlotte Sports Park, in Port Charlotte, Florida. Prior to that game, I had no interest in baseball, but that game made me love the game. I began reading the Charlotte Sun newspaper and the, then, St. Petersburg Times on all things Rays. I read Marc Topkin’s coverage of the Rays almost religiously. Fast forward to summer 2014, I got the chance to shadow Topkin, and it was a great experience to see how he writes his stories and the process he goes through each game. You can view part of the story below, and click the link for the full version.

“When he was a little leaguer in Coral Springs, some of the leagues got write-ups in the local paper. Not his. So Marc Topkin called the paper and asked why. The answer: “We don’t have anyone to cover it.”

BROADCASTING COORDINATOR LIVING THE DREAM

This story was also a fun one to write. I shadowed Tyler Murray, the Dunedin Blue Jays Radio Broadcaster, for a game. I had interned for the Charlotte Stone Crabs, a Minor League Baseball team in the same league as the Blue Jays, so it was cool to see how they operated and com[are that to the Stone Crabs. I had never seen how a radio broadcast was done for a baseball game, so it was interesting to report on how Murray did his job. At one point, it started to rain and Murray had to go down to the seating bowl to prepare to pull the tarp. I then got to go on the broadcast with Al Hernandez, who was the Broadcast Assistant, so I got to give radio broadcasting a shot. It was great.

“Light rain sprinkled from the dark gray clouds billowing over Florida Auto Exchange Stadium on a humid summer night.

On the field, the Dunedin Blue Jays were playing the Daytona Cubs.

In the broadcast booth, play-by-play announcer Tyler Murray was calling the game with one eye on the diamond below and the other on the weather radar on his laptop computer.

Then came a text message. Murray passed the announcing to his assistant, took off his headset and ran down to the field – for tarp duty.”

http://www.tbnweekly.com/pubs/dunedin_beacon/content_articles/062614_dun-04.txt

MUSEUM OR COMMUNITY CENTER? POTENTIAL CHANGES SPARK CONTROVERSY

This story was about the Dr. Carter G. Woodson Museum, which  has had some controversy surrounding it. I went to the museum twice. The first time, I spoke with Terri Lipsey Scott, the museum’s chairwoman. She took me on a tour and then we spoke about the museum and the controversy. The second time I went to the museum, it was on gallery night. I got to interact with community members and those heavily involved in the museum. This was an interesting story to write, and I got a lot of perspective on the history of the museum and the area.

“She spent months helping create a lush, beautiful garden out back for meetings and parties. At Christmas time, she and friends took 12 little girls to have lunch with the mayor, get their hair and nails done and spend the night at a downtown hotel. And now Terri Lipsey Scott stands by the museum fence to chat with a little boy.

For Scott, chairwoman of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum, building community is as important as showcasing history and art. So the little building at 2240 Ninth Ave. S has become both a museum and community center.”

http://magazine.nnbnews.com/2014/06/museum-or-community-center-potential-changes-spark-controversy/

TOEING THE RUBBER: A LOOK BACK ON NOTABLE STONE CRABS PITCHERS

One thing that I really wanted from my internship with the Stone Crabs was to write a story, and that wish came true. It was the Stone Crabs’ fifth season, so the “theme” for the season was looking back on the five years of Stone Crabs baseball. I have been a fan of the team since day one, so I had seen some great pitching performances there. I decided to focus my story on that. This story took about two days to write. I  researched each season, every starting pitcher’s stats, and made my decision on the “best” performance based on the stats I found. This was a fun story to write, it was great to go back and relive some great pitching performances.