UW-Madison has a handful of famous alumni involved in the world of sports journalism and communication. There's Andy Katz of ESPN, Leonard Shapiro of the Washington Post and Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, to name a few. There could be many more famous names to add to that list if not for one problem: There are currently no courses available in the field of sports journalism at UW.
Well, that might be a lie.
Last spring, the aforementioned Shapiro came back to campus to teach a sports writing seminar in the journalism school. That aberration aside, there exists no viable option available to someone interested in the vast, interesting and important field of sports journalism, which includes writing, reporting and broadcasting.
This is not a problem unique to UW-Madison, either. Every Big Ten university besides Penn State has few or no courses in the arena of sports communications. Penn State, on the other hand, has the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism, which offers a wide array of classes geared toward sports journalism, as well as a proactive approach toward internships and active work in sports communication.
What is most bothersome is that such a program would be extremely popular among the journalism crowd on any college campus, as many students enter journalism programs with specific interest in covering sports. Additionally, such a program could possibility entice non-journalism majors to become interested in the field. Even the vast communication arts department - which heavily emphasizes every form of media aside from print - offers zero courses addressing sports communication. Both the communication science/rhetorical studies and film, radio and television tracks in the communication arts major could have at least one course dealing with sports media to some degree.
After taking last spring's Sports Journalism class - which was by far the best course I've ever taken at UW-Madison - it has become even more obvious to me that something needs to be done. A majority of the students taking the class were interested in sports journalism, and a lot of them were even working in the field in some way. But it was the etiquette expected at a game and during interviews, how to write a recap or feature, and the overall mindset needed by a sports journalist - all applicable skills necessary for advancement in the field - that were the main concerns of my fellow classmates.
These are all problems that could easily be fixed by instituting a few classes dealing with how to cover different sports or the type of sports jargon that is required - the basic building blocks required to work in the field. That responsibility currently lies on the shoulders of the campus newspapers, as student journalists typically learn on the job. This responsibility should, in actuality, fall on the university, which prides itself on its ability to offer a wide variety of courses spanning all professional fields. If UW-Madison intends to guarantee that the athletes on campus get a comprehensive education, shouldn't that same umbrella cover students interested in covering sports as well?
This would be a unique opportunity for the university to establish itself as a national leader in establishing an uncommon program, at least among many of the peer Big Ten institutions. UW-Madison should never deny the students and the reputation of the school the opportunity to lead the nation in a widely popular but currently unavailable subject.
Nate Carey is a senior majoring in communication arts. We welcome your feedback. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
