Sports

At KBIA Sports, I was given the opportunity to work on the beat for the women's basketball team. Being able to concentrate on one sport in particular allowed me to better get to know the team, and better develop story ideas for feature stories. After attending the games for a couple weeks, I began to notice the lack of attendance. I researched other teams in the Big 12 Conference to see if similar issues were common, but they were not. As a result, I developed a story on the lack of attendance at the women's games, and how it effected the recruiting for Mizzou coach Robin Pingeton.

When it comes to getting butts in the seats for women’s basketball games, the Big 12 is among the best. In 2011, six of the top 20 teams based on attendance were members of the Big 12. Missouri was one of only four teams in the conference outside of the top 50. The four venues below belong to four Big 12 teams: Baylor and Iowa State (top of the attendance charts); and Missouri and Kansas (bottom of the charts.) The pictures illustrate how many sections are actually filled at the teams’ games based upon their average attendance. The figures are based upon the current season. Numbers are up to date as of Friday, Feb. 10, 2012.




Through my work at KBIA Sports, I have covered a wide variety of athletics events including basketball, volleyball, and soccer. During this time, I have learned how to shoot sports in a variety of settings. Adjusting to differences in lighting, speed of the game, and accessibility were tough, but in the end they were challenges I was able to overcome.

At Newsy, I wrote and produced a story on MLB All-Star Miguel Cabrera. I gathered news reports from around the nation on the recent DUI arrest of the Detroit Tigers slugger. Working at Newsy helped me to put my research skills to good use. I searched around the Internet and found several pieces detailing how to deal with the troubled star. I then put the reports together to give the audience a feel for where different blogs and newsrooms see the story going.