National Sports Journalism Center

The IU National Sports Journalism Center announced today its partnership with IndyCar to create the first Student News Bureau at the Indianapolis 500.

Students participating in the news bureau will write stories and develop multi-media packages for publications across Indiana and the country. While on assignment, they will have extensive access to drivers and events throughout the Centennial Indy 500.

The news bureau will include six student reporters from the master’s in sports journalism program in the IU School of Journalism at IUPUI. It also will include an undergraduate photographer from the IU School of Journalism in Bloomington. They will work under the direction of IU journalism faculty and staff.

The students’ work will be distributed to news organizations through a partnership with the Hoosier State Press Association. The news bureau will operate from Wednesday, May 25, to Sunday, May 29.

“One of the goals of the National Sports Journalism Center is to create real world, deadline experiences for the students in our program,” said Tim Franklin, the director of the center and the Louis A. Weil, Jr. Endowed Chair in the IU School of Journalism.

“These experiences are critical in helping our students grow as journalists and prepare for their careers after IU,” Franklin said. “Having the opportunity to cover a major, international sporting spectacle, like the Indy 500, is truly a special experience for our students.”

The creation of the news bureau stemmed from ongoing discussions between Franklin and Amy Konrath, the vice president for public relations and communications for IndyCar.

“It is important to provide opportunities for student journalists to develop their craft by getting hands-on experience, and what better place to do it than at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during this exciting celebration. These students will have the unique opportunity to cover one of the most historic events in all of racing,” said Kornrath.

This will be the third experiential learning opportunity for IU Sports Journalism students this semester. In March, several graduate students covered Major League Baseball spring training in Florida. In April, the NSJC partnered with the NCAA to create a Student News Bureau at the women’s Final Four in Indianapolis. Last spring, the center organized a similar News Bureau for the men’s Final Four.

The Indy 500 Student News Bureau will work closely with the Hoosier State Press Association throughout race week. The HSPA will distribute the students’ work to its member news organizations and to other press associations across the country.

“The majority of our member newspapers cannot send their own reporters to Indianapolis to cover NCAA championships or the Indy 500,”said Karen Braeckel, the director of the HSPA Foundation. “The Student News Bureau gives those editors access to stories they would not have otherwise.”

The National Sports Journalism Center, launched two years ago, includes the nation’s only master’s degree program in sports journalism and undergraduate courses on both the IUPUI and Bloomington campuses. The NSJC also offers internship opportunities with several of the nation’s largest and most prestigious sports news organizations. The center’s website, SportsJournalism.org, now has 30,000 unique visitors and was recently named one of the country’s Top 10 sports business blogs.