Through the school’s National Sports Journalism Center’s Student News Bureau program, Brittany Johnson, Joey Lamar and Matt Velazquez will cover the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.

This is the third year in a row that NSJC Student News Bureaus have covered the Indianapolis 500. Teams also taken covered some of the nation’s premiere sporting events, such as the Super Bowl, BCS Championship Game, NCAA Men’s Basketball Regional and NCAA Men’s Final Four.

Malcolm Moran is director of the National Sports Journalism Center. (Courtesy photo)

Malcolm Moran, director of the center, has covered the race as a journalist during his years as a reporter with USA Today and The New York Times, among others, but this will be his first 500 as director of the program. He said he can relate to the excitement ahead for the student team.

“When I first entered the press area at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a reporter for The New York Times more than 30 years ago, my knowledge did not extend much beyond the reality that right turns were discouraged,” Moran said. “What I learned, very quickly, was that the 500 is one of the most fascinating, complex and challenging assignments a reporter can receive.”

The students are pursing sports journalism degrees at the school as well as participating in the center’s programs that support those degrees.

• Johnson is an intern with USA Football and is pursuing her master’s degree in sports journalism . The Cincinnati native received a bachelor’s degree from Miami University, where she majored in political science and Spanish. Since enrolling in the program, she has covered the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Midwest Regional in Indianapolis and the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine.
• Lamar began working on his master’s degree in sports journalism in January, and his work has been featured in USA Track & Field and in NCAA publications. The Atlanta, Ga., native is an intern this summer with WLFI in Lafayette, Ind., and with USA Track & Field. He aspires to a career in sports broadcasting. He has undergraduate and graduate degrees in accounting from Clark Atlanta University.
• Velazquez is in his final semester with the program. He received his bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and spent nearly two years working for the Dayton Daily News in Dayton, Ohio. Through the center, he has covered the National League Division Series between the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants, and this year’s BCS National Championship Game between Notre Dame and Alabama. He has also served as an intern with Pacers Sports & Entertainment, working with the websites of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers and WNBA’s Indiana Fever.

“Our students will be amazed at how much they will grow in just a few hours,” Moran said of the upcoming experience at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “We are very fortunate to extend our classrooms to one of the most famous addresses in sports.”

As he looks toward wrapping up his studies, Velazquez reflected on how NSJC programs have enhanced his classroom work.

“I have had some tremendous opportunities during my time at the National Sports Journalism Center and I’m excited to add the Indy 500 to that list,” Velazquez said. “The race has international appeal and I look forward to experiencing IndyCar for the first time.”

Indianapolis native and Butler University graduate Ed Carpenter is the pole-sitter for the 33-driver race. A crowd of more than 200,000 is expected to descend on IMS Sunday.

More:

• Follow the students’ coverage of the race on the center’s website, sportsjournalism.org, Twitter using @iusportscenter and on Facebook.
• Link directly to the page listing all the students’ reports (beginning May 26).
• Read about other Student News Bureaus.

When it’s Disney-owned ESPN.

Word about the layoffs began percolating through sports media Tuesday, sparked by a report on Deadspin and fueled by a typically vague statement from the Worldwide Leader in Sports: “We are implementing changes across the company to enhance our continued growth while smartly managing costs. While difficult, we are confident that it will make us more competitive, innovative and productive.”

As a number of experts immediately pointed out, ESPN doesn’t seem like a company close to layoff mode. At its upfront presentation to advertisers a week ago, it unveiled plans for a new, massive 193,000 square-foot studio at its Bristol, Conn, headquarters (including a new set for its signature SportsCenter show), costing $125 million.

Its 11-year agreement yanking rights for the U.S. Open tennis tournament from longtime host CBS was valued at $825 million alone; the latest among many high-priced deals aimed at keeping major events away from rival sports channels owned by CBS, NBC and Fox. There’s a new football show coming and its first daily soccer show, both in August.

This all comes a few weeks after ESPN’s parent company, Disney, reported a 32 percent rise in profits that beat analysts predictions. So ESPN’s 7,000 employees (4,000 in the U.S.) can be forgiven for bristling under a contradictory message: “We’re making money, we’ve got serious competition coming, we’re pouring resources into facilities and programming, and you’re fired.”

This seems an unexpected collision between unyielding corporate edicts, skyrocketing competition and the brutal reality of modern television.

Rumors swirl that Disney is insisting on cuts across all its properties to maintain its stock performance and ESPN’s spending on sports rights has gotten the blame for making job cuts necessary.

It’s simple industry math: sports is the form of television most resistant to the forces dismantling big audiences elsewhere. Fans want to see it live, which reduces use of DVRs, keeping viewers from fast-forwarding through commercials. And it’s the last big meeting place for viewers of all stripes, still setting audience records at a time when TV networks are losing 10 percent of their audience every year.

Which leaves staff positions as the best place to make cuts, especially if the company can use the instability to trade experienced, higher-salaried employees for younger, less-expensive ones. And if the jobs on the line are mostly held by folks who don’t appear on camera, fans may not notice anything. At least, not at first.

The good news for those caught in the layoff matrix, is that there’s a host of competitors, including the soon-to-debut Fox Sports 1 channel, who would likely love to hire knowledgeable ex-ESPN employees to ready for competition with the Worldwide Leader.

Just as ESPN needs to be focusing on combat with Fox, its dealing with the distraction and bad press of layoffs in the midst of relatively good times. And even some local officials have groused over millions handed to ESPN in state and local tax breaks for guaranteed job growth, though reps for the company insist they’ll meet those employment targets.

The bad news: The point has been made loud and clear to employees. It doesn’t necessarily matter how much money the company is making or how great the approaching challenge, if there’s a way to polish the stock price by shedding a few more jobs, you might be out the door.

For a company dedicated to covering all aspects of sports, that seems an awfully unsportsmanlike way to do business.  

Eric Deggans is TV and Media Critic for the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times and a 1990 graduate of the Indiana University School of Journalism. He also provides regular commentary for National Public Radio and has been published by the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Detroit Free Press, Chicago Sun-Times and many other publications. He also writes a blog on media, The Feed.

Check out Deggans’ latest book, Race-Baiter, How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation, and you can also visit his website for more information.

In a statement Tuesday, ESPN said, “We are implementing changes across the company to enhance our continued growth while smartly managing costs.”