It is true that on February 16, I was not in school but instead I spent the day on ice, with the Detroit Red Wings. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me and 60 other high school journalists from around the state.
On National Journalism Day the Red Wings hosted a special event for aspiring sports writers. I, Maximilian Ellsberry, was the lucky guy chosen to represent Southfield High this year. The anticipation the night before was keeping me awake. It almost felt like game day.
The event started off with a “Q & A” with professional sports writers Kevin Allen (of USA Today), Michael Caples (Michigan Hockey), Jeff Riger (WXYT-FM), and Shannon Hodges (Fox News sports reporter). Many topics were discussed during this session but none as deep as the effects that social media has had on journalism.
Allen said, “Journalism is re-inventing itself.” He stressed that it’s important to get stories in the social world because teams are breaking their own stories.
He also talked about it being a reporter’s job to stay “hip” to the social media world. “But it is just like how I had to get used to computers when I had a typewriter,” Allen said.
Hodges had a few tips for posting stories on the web. She reminded the young reporters to check their sources and be careful about they post “because once it’s out there, it’s out there.”
Not only was social media a huge topic but the relationship a reporter has with a team is very crucial to the job, the pros said. Allen told the high school reporters they had to be fair with teams, have no grudges, and not make anything personal. He also said to let the person being interviewed talk because that can find a new lead.
Allen warned us that there’s a strategy to reporting and said to weigh every situation differently.
After the heartfelt Q & A session, it was time to get to the ice. We were given a special opportunity to watch the Red Wings’ morning practice, following their 21st straight home win, which is a National Hockey League record.
During the practice, I was approached by a journalist for the Southfield Sun, who asked me for an interview. So for a moment there, I was both the student journalist and the story at the same time.
The interview was very swift because it was time for a pizza lunch provided by Michael Ilitch, Sr., who owns the Detroit Red Wings, the Detroit Tigers and Little Caesar’s Pizza.
Towards the end of the event it was time to talk ice. We had a chance to speak with Wings General Manager Ken Holland, Coach Mike Babcock and three Wings: Dan Cleary, Todd Bertuzzi and Valtteri Fippula.
So yes, this was not just an ordinary day. It was the start of a possible sports reporter career. And that’s why I missed school on February 16.
Some lessons are just not in textbooks.