Notes from division chair Rick Sykes

Where has the time gone? It is hard to believe that the holiday season is just around the corner. Plans for the Sports Division’s efforts during the 2010 Convention are moving forward.

The division has established two faculty production competition and three student production competition categories for BEA 2010. Look for more details in a post below this one. Thanks to the hard work of the division’s Vice-Chair Ken Fischer, 12 panel proposals were submitted for consideration this year for the 2010 Convention, a threefold increase over last year’s submissions.

The division has also been working with the BEA staff on a BEA-sponsored survey on the status of or interest in sports industry-related partnerships by member institutions. The results of the survey will be presented during a pre-convention panel. If you haven’t had a chance to complete the survey, here’s the link.

Finally, I would encourage each of you to submit your papers for consideration in the division’s paper competition. We had some excellent entries last year and we are looking forward to some great entries this year.

Division survey available online; pre-conference panels in the works

A survey developed for the division is now posted on the BEA website for your consideration.  The survey focuses on academic sports programs, the students they produce and any sports media company partnerships that schools have with companies like ESPN and CBS Sports.  Survey results will be presented as part of our pre-conference panel presentations. 

There are also two panels in the works for the pre-conference activities: one concerns presentation of audience-interaction research conducted jointly between ESPN and Ball State University, and the second involves the extension of our partnership with the Sports Video Group.

Please take part in the survey by visiting the division’s BEA web page and clicking on the link for the survey.

Division production competition categories set

The sports division has sent its final list of faculty and student production competition categories for the 2010 conferece to BEA. The categories are:

• Faculty: Short form sports video feature, 30 seconds-10 minutes. Short form video category would include; feature stories, mini-documentaries.  Judges will evaluate entries based on their content, creativity, pacing and execution.
• Faculty: Long form sports video feature, 11 minutes-30 minutes. Judges will evaluate entries based on their content, creativity, pacing and execution.
• Student:  Television sports reporting, 1-5 minutes with complete script for each entry
• Sports news or feature field package.  Judges will evaluate the entries based on the content’s journalistic value, creativity, pacing & execution.
• Student: Television sports anchor, 1-5 minutes with complete script for each entry. Can be one continuous or one or more excerpts from a student produced newscast or sports program.
• Student: Radio sports reporting.  1-5 minutes with complete script for each entry. Sports news or feature field package.  Judges will evaluate the entries based on the content’s journalistic value, creativity, pacing & execution.

Entry fee for the faculty entries is $35.00 and the student entries is $25.00.  Submissions that were produced between Dec. 2, 2008, and Dec. 1, 2009, may be entered. All entries are due by Dec. 1 and submissions can be handled online at the BEA website (click here to go to the site).

Suggestions for judges for either competition should be forwarded to Denise Belafonte (dbelafonle@lynn.edu) or Tommy Booras (tommy.booras@wku.edu) for consideration.

Paper competition deadline is Dec. 4

Last year’s winning papers in the Sports Division were diverse and innovative, including works by a doctoral candidate as well as faculty.  As the division enters its second year of paper competition, co-chairs Dr. Rob Bellamy (University of Duquesne) and Wayne Hepler (Harford Community College) emphasize that there is room for more entrants this year in a field where topics abound: from manipulation of on-air content, to multi-platform expansion, to transitions away from traditional media to new technology. 

The deadline for sports division entries is December 4.  BEA has adopted a system for user-friendly submissions online, so send us your entries for a fun sports genre that provides a wide range of possibilities.

Panel Proposals for BEA 2010

The August 14^th deadline for BEA 2010 program proposals is quickly approaching.  Program proposals of the following types will be accepted by the convention chair:

• Invited panel/paper sessions:  These are the standard convention format sessions with a moderator, 3-5 presenters and, if possible, a respondent (and co-sponsorship from another Interest Division).
• Invited plenary sessions:  These panel or speaker sessions should be of board interest to all convention attendees and would be scheduled in stand alone times.  Of particular interest are plenary sessions related to the broad topic of ethics and how it cuts across various strands of broadcast education, technology, production, news, and other relevant areas.
• Showcases:  These sessions highlight student work in which faculty have been involved.  They should “show” more than “tell” and require preparation of audio-visual material before the convention.  (These sessions are sponsored by Interest Divisions).
• Technical demonstrations: Manufacturers or vendors of the equipment and software bring in the latest communication technology to demonstrate.  Often, faculty who have worked with the technology are included to share their experiences with the equipment or software in the classroom or lab.
• Workshops: These sessions involve intensive training and professional development.  They may extend over more than one panel time (normally panel sessions are 75 minutes).
• Alternative innovative ideas for meaningful sessions, such as off-site tours or technical training.

The forms for submitting panel proposals can be found on the BEA website.

There are also links for finding panels that are looking for panelists and panelists with topics looking for a panel.

Division storms Atlanta

Members of the Sports Division had a significant presence at the recently held College Sportsvideo Summit in Atlanta. Former division chair Mike Bruce from Oklahoma Baptist University and Tim Pollard of Ball State University took part in two afternoon panel sessions: “The Right Format Fit: Finding The Best Video Production Format” and “Campus Collaboration: Developing An Intra-University Strategy.” In addition, current division chair Rick Sykes posed with Carolyn Braff, managing editor of the Sports Video Group in a photo during a pre-summit tour of Turner Studios.

(click to enlarge photos)

Tim Pollard

Mike Bruce (r)

Mike Bruce (l), Tim Pollard (r)

Mike Bruce

Rick Sykes (l), Carolyn Braff (r)

Comments from the new division chair

I hope that the end of the semester has gone well for each of you.  As we look forward to the 2010 BEA Convention, I am excited and thankful for all of the hard work that Mike Bruce and the other members of the executive board put in during the first year of our existence as the Sports Division. 

We have gotten off to a great start and it is my goal to build on that success. This year’s division meeting was well attended. In addition to a number of returning members, we had 14 new participants who expressed an interested in joining the Division.