Opportunity knocks for students in the journalism department

Students attending IUPUI professor Malcolm Moran’s sports writing class recently had the opportunity to cover Indianapolis Colts games, an opportunity not normally seen in journalism programs. The students in the course were given press passes and seats in the press box for Indy’s contests against the Oakland Raiders and Atlanta Falcons-- all thanks to Moran. Since taking over as the director of IUPUI’s Sports Capital Journalism program, Moran has built a relationship with the Colts that allowed for access to the games.

"It is probably one of the biggest challenges you can give a class," Moran said. "It's the real stuff and I can prepare you the best I can and we can sit here and talk about different things to think about, but at some point you gotta do it. That's a challenge to do it at the highest level. You don't get much higher than a National Football League game." 

The students got a taste for what they will do after graduation. Moran is trying to make this happen for classes in the future as the students will also cover Indiana Pacers games later in the semester. These trips for class help to hone their writing abilities and give the students a feel for what they want to do in the future. 

"I think there is an understanding for the value of detail, and that's the biggest thing," Moran said. "It's hard to do if you've done it for awhile and it's your profession, but it's even harder to do if it's your first experience. Another reason it's a valuable experience is that it doesn't matter if it’s a National Football League game or a high school game, part of the learning process is to focus in on what you’re concentrating on and tune out all the other stuff."

Moran wants to show the students how business is conducted in the professional world--these experiences help to drive home the points he talks about in class. My experience was one I will not be forgetting. Covering the Colts game was a great event and helped me experience the workplace I am striving for, gave me an idea of how things work for beat writers, and just an overall amazing time.