We've been resisting writing about this, because it's kind of depressing, but a post from YAYSports! shamed us into it: It's Fox Sports' Next Great Sportswriter contest.
We don't mean to mock the whole enterprise; we actually like a couple of the chaps they have judging over there, so we're just going to assume this came from corporate. We're not actually against the idea, actually; heck, nobody reads more sports blogs than we do. But the whole thing just reeks of cheese, we're afraid; it seems like the type of contest that Tom Arnold would secretly enter (and win).
But that's not our real point here: After all, we suspect some of you are in the contest, and there's certainly no harm in any of it. Naw, our real joy has been reading the 30 Sportswriting Tips from Journalist's Toolbox. The tips are, as YAYSports! put it, "all great, particularly if you want to write for a newspaper in 1982."
Our favorite: Oh, it's sooo tempting to accept those cool T-shirts, gym bags and other goodies you'll find in press kits (see bowl games, NBA finals, Super Bowl). Don't buy into it. Ethical reporters don't accept gifts, no matter how small. Even if the rest of the writers are digging in, don't join the crowd. "
Ha. Ha. HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHA!
30 Sportswriting Tips [Journalist's Toolbox]