I had a chance to speak with Trey Wallace, a University of Tennessee beat reporter for Fox Sports Knoxville. We talked about sports journalism and his personal experiences with evolving media. Here are some of the questions and his responses.
Could you describe what an average day/week looks like for your reporting?
“My number one job at Fox Sports Knoxville is covering Tennessee daily. The triumphs, the radio show, anything. The second part of it is doing a radio show. It’s very interesting. I find it really cool because, yes I am the lead writer at Fox Sports Knoxville, but I can also get my stories out through the radio show. If someone is reading an article that I put out 30 minutes before I go on the air, they can really get a sense of how I’m talking and the tone that I’m talking in.”
How have you adapted to being a multimedia journalist and do you see this trend increasing in the future?
“When I graduated college from the University of South Alabama, we just said, ‘ok let’s get our writing done.’ Things changed. It gave us a different perspective. I can shoot a video at Neyland Stadium after a game. Years ago, that was just for TV anchors. Now, I can set my phone up on a tripod and talk to my listeners. I think it’s abput apadting ot the industry. Most everybody in the industry has done that, and it’s taken time, but I think it has been different and I think it’s a plus.”
What do you believe are some advantages and disadvantages of social media reporting?
“I think Twitter is good, because if I have news that I want to get out before I write a 400-500 word post about it, I can get it out immediately. That immediately gets out to the world. I only use Facebook for business. I use it to post articles for people to find me.”
What kind of preparation goes into the process of interviewing with certain people on your radio show?
“The people that come on our radio show, I would say that about 80% of them are people I’ve built relationships over the last 10-12 years. I’m always writing down people’s phone numbers. I’ve got numbers from 12 years ago from writers who have the same number still. I know that I can call them and ask if they want to come on. I think that’s the benefit of how I prepare for a show. When I ask a question, I kind of expect how they’ll answer it ahead of time. If you come prepared with some questions and some background on the people you are talking to, it makes things a lot easier on you.”
What strategies would you recommend to a young journalism student trying to get into the field?
“Just start writing. There are so many platforms out there to get your work out. Get your opinions out there. There might be ten people that look at it, and there might be 500-1,000 people that look at it. Follow someone on Twitter and shoot them a direct message. Get connected with people and build relationships.”
Matthew Covers Sports 