Sports Media Class Welcomes Visitor from Sports Radio

Eight upper school students in grades 10 through 12 are taking Sports: History, Culture and Media, a new elective offered this year. Taught by Gabe Cook, the course takes a multidisciplinary approach to sports in society and explores the most popular and significant sports, focusing on American athletic competitions. In this class, students create a range of media products, including audio and video podcasts, roundtable discussions, solo opinion segments, sports history segments, written articles and SportsCenter simulations as they learn about sports throughout history.

Jason Anderson, who co-hosts The Zone on Sports Radio 810, shared professional advice and tips to help students elevate their projects. He explained the difference between a story and a topic, and how one can develop from the other. For example, a story might be that a player was injured. A topic that grows out of that story could explore how the team moves forward and adapts without that player.

Jason also encouraged students to have fun when presenting information, noting that audiences can tell when presenters aren't engaged and may tune out. He emphasized the entertainment side of sports, explaining that drama between players and coaches, as well as anecdotes from players' personal lives, can be just as interesting to fans as statistics and gameplay.

The class and media projects introduce skills that could lead to potential careers in the growing sports entertainment industry. Interested students could pursue roles in sports radio like Jason, sports writing, digital content creation, production and more.