The Rowan chapter of the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) welcomed the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Eagles beat writer, Jeff McLane, to speak to students.
McLane was invited to the chapter’s second meeting on March 5, hosted by President Sarah Shockey and Vice President Katie Thorn. The chapter’s faculty advisor, Professor Mike Rosenstein, who invited McLane, also attended.
“For him to be able to come on campus and talk to the students about being a journalist, being a student journalist, what it takes to be successful in the industry,” said Rosenstein. “I was really happy that the students who attended had really straightforward, pointed questions about sports journalism in terms of an industry.”
McLane started the talk by explaining how he got a job in journalism, and offered students looking to pursue careers in journalism advice.
“My suggestion always to younger journalists, sports journalists in particular, but just journalists in general, is just read as much as you can. Write as much as you can, make as many contacts as you can. Talk to as many people as you can,” said McLane. “It’s a pretty simple thing. Be nice.
Shockey and Thorn allowed students to ask McLane questions, to which many students raised similar concerns regarding the evolution of journalism and how he adapted to the change over the years.
“Every year my job changes,” McLane said, “I’ve kind of always had some sort of a podcast, but that’s become a very big part of what I do.”
Despite having a podcast, McLane continues to write about the Philadelphia Eagles to cater to audiences who value long written content.
“I’m still a little bit of a dinosaur, in that I still will write long, and I still will write the stories that maybe journalists or fans, or your generation probably won’t click into and or subscribe to the Inquirer to read,” said McLane. “But I still believe that there’s a huge audience for that.”
Rosenstein said that McLane gave students good advice on what to do to prepare for the changing journalism job industry, and that he hopes students felt inspired by the event.
“I’d like to think that everyone’s going to get a job at the Philadelphia Inquirer coming out of school, but that was 30 years ago,” said Rosenstein. “The industry has changed since then. So, my hope is that students were inspired by what he had to say to go out and get after their first job.”
Although the Rowan chapter does not yet have a consistent meeting time, Rosenstein is glad with the speed at which the club was approved, and hopes to see the club continue to grow and have more speakers.
“I had not anticipated receiving the charters so quickly from the SGA. They greenlit the group after just a few weeks, and credit to Sarah Shockey and Katie Thorn, the president and vice president, for getting that done,” said Rosentstein. “Hopefully, with some time to plan and prepare, we can hit the ground running in the fall.”
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