By Kendra Andrews
Class of 2017
When 15 sports journalism students came together in a classroom at Norfolk State University in 1993, they knew they were on an unprecedented journey.
The Sports Journalism Institute was a brand new program aimed at bringing more diversity into the field of sports journalism, and the first class couldn’t know the impact it would have.
Now, as the 25th class of SJI heads into a summer full of deadlines and networking at internships at newspapers, websites and multimedia outlets around the country, things are different. SJI has turned out successful journalists like Jonathan Abrams, Baxter Holmes, Candace Buckner–and nearly 300 others. In the process, the institute has cemented its reputation for helping women and minority journalists get their foot in the door and prove they belong.
With the success of the program, it is easy to forget the roots. But the members of SJI’s first class know the impact the program has, and remember well how things began.
“I always felt like I was the one who came in with the least amount of sports writing experience,” said Chanda Washington, a member of that first class and a former assistant editor at The Washington Post. “But I learned how to feel confident and how to cover games. I learned how to be competitive.”
While they were competitive, the members of the first class had no problem putting that aside. Their bonding and closeness laid the foundation for what has become an SJI family.
“My favorite memories were when we and the other interns were just hanging out and cracking jokes,” said Milo Bryant, founder of the Coalition for Launching Active Youth and a former sportswriter at several newspapers. “There were things that were done where I can drive down the highway right now and think about and just crack up.”
Duane Rankin, columnist and videographer at the Montgomery Advertiser, echoes that thought. His favorite memories were when the group would be able to relax together at the end of the day.
While those moments created favorite memories, they weren’t what made the program valuable. That came from reading the paper every morning, taking news quizzes, attending and covering a baseball game and turning out stories in mere minutes–memories that members of all 25 classes take with them.
“Paying attention to detail was one of the things Leon [Carter, co-founder of SJI,] did with his sports checks, where he would ask us questions about sports but also about other things going on – what street we were on,” Bryant said. “With the program that I have right now, there are things people want me to put out but I can’t because I don’t have the details. We have to focus on the things that to some people may appear to be insignificant.”
Washington’s biggest takeaway was fact checking and the priority of accuracy over getting it first, something she feels has changed in the business overall.
“In communication, the thing people say about me is that I am a stickler about getting things right. Even if it is just spelling someone’s name, don’t assume,” she said. “Don’t believe what you saw. Always double check.”