My first class – JMC 306 Sports Multimedia Journalism

On January 13, 2020 I walked into a classroom for the first time in more than a decade. This time I was at the front of the room looking out, not in the back, hidden and looking in.

To 20 students, this was another class and part of the next semester. One of many that stands between them and graduation. Football games, concerts and probably a couple of parties in-between.

To me, this was out of my comfort zone. Something brand new.

Speaking in front of a group? Not a strength. Not something I particularly enjoy.

I was honest from the start, mentioned I had never taught before. That led to wide eyes.

I certainly had their attention. That was OK. I took it as a challenge.

I told them, I’m going to learn as much in the next four months as you are, and probably more. They looked at me confused.

The goal? To have each of them walk out on the last day of class more confident and with a better understanding of sports journalism than when they walked in.

Grades? If effort was put forth, that would take care of itself.

We were going to introduce and go over web sites, social media, breaking news, photoshop, html, podcasts, video, graphics, data visualization and more. But we were also going to have conversations about the sports world. Little did I know, these conversations were going to be some I’d never forget.

Day 4 of class was the day after Kobe Bryant died. An impactful and powerful conversation that I will remember as much as I remember ‘where I was and what I was doing the day Kobe died.’

Wednesday, March 4 was the last class before Spring Break. I knew all their names to faces and I asked each one of them what they were doing for break. I told them I was jealous, to have a great time, I’d miss them and I couldn’t wait to get the second half of the semester going.

That was the last time we were in a classroom.

On Friday, March 13 just before midnight I sent them a note. The title was ‘After Spring Break Class Update.’

Part of that message read, “I love my job, being a journalist, informing the public and working for a media company that so many rely on to get their information. … I am 100% committed to teaching and helping develop your skills.”

Monday, March 16, was the first day after Spring Break. Also, that was a little more than 72 hours after we all learned we would be doing class online via Zoom for at least the next two weeks . And really, when we all knew this was going to be the ‘new norm.’

And oh, by the way, that was also the first day I started to have a full staff working from home for KTAR.com and ArizonaSports.com.

I owed these students. They deserved to learn, gain knowledge and be helped to prepare for their future.

Teaching a class virtually is not very easy.

Zipping through a lesson plan is doable. But you talk fast. Any silence and you think you’ve lost the room. The group discussions that I enjoyed and relied on became a big challenge.

The toughest part, for me, was I found great value in walking around a classroom giving feedback, checking in and helping get past small hiccups while working on a project. Screen share and video chat is just not the same.

Having students from Hawaii to New York and in every time zone in the U.S. was all of a sudden “normal.”

I have some of the best co-workers in the business at KTAR News and Arizona Sports. I asked them to help give their expertise, add to the class and pass on what they know. Every time I asked, the answer was always yes. We had more than five guest speakers during a stretch from mid-March to mid-April for between 20 and 90 minutes, depending on the day and the discussion.

Monday, March 30, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced the stay at home order for the month of April for Arizona. KTAR.com had its highest day of traffic ever. The site broke.

I had to cancel class for 20 students and felt awful.

On April 22 and 29 (Wednesdays during class), Ducey and officials held press conferences with important information at 3 p.m. I would live tweet and communicate storylines with staff until 3:29 p.m. (or a few mins later) and then literally pivot to a different computer to hold class.

Ideal? No. But we made the best of it.  

And that leads me to why I’m so proud of this group of students. As quickly as their worlds changed, outside of questions and concerns on the first day, they didn’t complain.

They had to sit on a computer and ‘attend’ class for hours on different days of the week.

For my class alone, they had to create a sports podcast, a 90-second ‘how to video’, a 3-5 minute ‘sports interview w/ B-roll’ video and a sports website group project, among other assignments.

With stay-at-home orders of different varieties in so many states, they submitted their work. Each one surprised and inspired me. Their creativity was excellent. Their ‘get the job done’ attitude was refreshing.

On January 13, I think anyone could’ve asked me for 100 different outcomes for the end of the semester and I wouldn’t have chosen this.

Out of my comfort zone? Yeah, on more levels than I could have ever imagined.

Learning in four months? I have learned more during this time than I have in the last four years and to keep with me for a lifetime.  

Change? ‘This is the way we’ve always done it’ has the value of a penny.

To my First Class, you’ve been excellent.

A breath of fresh air, inspiration, motivation and excitement to know how great the next wave is going to be.

I’m so proud of you now and what your futures hold. I can’t wait for you to check back in with me in 5 years.

Thank you.

—Mr. B