Troy Johnson
Dennis Nelson
Dadeville High School
Dadeville, Alabama
My column is on Troy Johnson he is the former sports columnist for the Columbus Ledger and the editor-in-chief of Trojan Tribune at Evans High School in Orlando, Fla. That's where he developed his interest in writing and in journalism in general. When he was planning on making a choice for college he had no idea what he wanted to be. Johnson was the editor of his school newspaper. When he did go to college he played football. He was the columnist for half of his whole career. He also was the Editor of the Alumni magazine. He worked for 16 years as a sports journalist at various newspapers, covering everything from Division I college sports to professional sports.
Johnson left the business three years ago to take a job here at Auburn University. Now he’s the communications editor for the university's College of Education, but still uses many of the same skills that he developed in the newspaper business. He now writes for and publishes an alumni magazine that goes out to 35,000 graduates and manage the website.
Johnson had said that “Sports stories are good when they are about someone. When writing Pat Tillman a football player who left his career to enlisted himself into the United States army. He was really basing it on his motivation. Also, when you are writing a sports story, write for your fans not for yourself. His favorite people to interview are the offensive linemen, because they have to really be smart on the field.
Johnson also said he wrote a story on the Michael Vick, an NFL quarterback that went to jail for illegal dog fighting. All students should remember what Johnson said when you are reporting to get an interview; you get to ask questions that normal high school students don’t get to ask. For example, when you have a big interview with someone who is famous or has a big title ask questions that a 10th, 11th, 12th grader may not or wouldn’t expect from that age group.
When you are interviewing someone about sports you have to be real flexible with you questions. What I think it all really means is that as a reporter, you have to be ready to take chances. Also interviewing comes down to the important people, but don’t think just because they scored the most points in the game that they have a story. Some people don’t have a story. I would pick someone who doesn’t have a big title.
You have to be a thick skinned person with your questions. Being a sports reporter you have disadvantage and advantages because you have to really reach out and touch and grab your story and don’t be scared to ask any kind of questions. It’s just people have a certain story and not all are what your readers want to hear. One of the first questions I asked him was did he like his job and he had said what he loves about his current job is that, even though he’s no longer covering sports, “I'm still writing about and interviewing interesting people”. In his current role, he write mostly about the research being done by the faculty members designed to help improve education at the local, state and national levels. He said the faculty focuses on everything from classroom teaching to special education to health and human performances. So he feels there's always a different topic to explore.
Another question that I had asked was how he feels just walking up into somebody’s face asking questions. He said “that the first few times are intimidating, especially when you're young and afraid of public speaking”. An example that he always gave that students should try to follow is to introduce yourself with a smile and a handshake and try to put them at ease. Journalists have to have the same talents as salesmen, in some respects. You're selling yourself. You want people to feel as though they can trust you and tell you things they might not share with others.
Dadeville High School
Dadeville, Alabama
My column is on Troy Johnson he is the former sports columnist for the Columbus Ledger and the editor-in-chief of Trojan Tribune at Evans High School in Orlando, Fla. That's where he developed his interest in writing and in journalism in general. When he was planning on making a choice for college he had no idea what he wanted to be. Johnson was the editor of his school newspaper. When he did go to college he played football. He was the columnist for half of his whole career. He also was the Editor of the Alumni magazine. He worked for 16 years as a sports journalist at various newspapers, covering everything from Division I college sports to professional sports.
Johnson left the business three years ago to take a job here at Auburn University. Now he’s the communications editor for the university's College of Education, but still uses many of the same skills that he developed in the newspaper business. He now writes for and publishes an alumni magazine that goes out to 35,000 graduates and manage the website.
Johnson had said that “Sports stories are good when they are about someone. When writing Pat Tillman a football player who left his career to enlisted himself into the United States army. He was really basing it on his motivation. Also, when you are writing a sports story, write for your fans not for yourself. His favorite people to interview are the offensive linemen, because they have to really be smart on the field.
Johnson also said he wrote a story on the Michael Vick, an NFL quarterback that went to jail for illegal dog fighting. All students should remember what Johnson said when you are reporting to get an interview; you get to ask questions that normal high school students don’t get to ask. For example, when you have a big interview with someone who is famous or has a big title ask questions that a 10th, 11th, 12th grader may not or wouldn’t expect from that age group.
When you are interviewing someone about sports you have to be real flexible with you questions. What I think it all really means is that as a reporter, you have to be ready to take chances. Also interviewing comes down to the important people, but don’t think just because they scored the most points in the game that they have a story. Some people don’t have a story. I would pick someone who doesn’t have a big title.
You have to be a thick skinned person with your questions. Being a sports reporter you have disadvantage and advantages because you have to really reach out and touch and grab your story and don’t be scared to ask any kind of questions. It’s just people have a certain story and not all are what your readers want to hear. One of the first questions I asked him was did he like his job and he had said what he loves about his current job is that, even though he’s no longer covering sports, “I'm still writing about and interviewing interesting people”. In his current role, he write mostly about the research being done by the faculty members designed to help improve education at the local, state and national levels. He said the faculty focuses on everything from classroom teaching to special education to health and human performances. So he feels there's always a different topic to explore.
Another question that I had asked was how he feels just walking up into somebody’s face asking questions. He said “that the first few times are intimidating, especially when you're young and afraid of public speaking”. An example that he always gave that students should try to follow is to introduce yourself with a smile and a handshake and try to put them at ease. Journalists have to have the same talents as salesmen, in some respects. You're selling yourself. You want people to feel as though they can trust you and tell you things they might not share with others.