Forum focuses on reporting

SCSU had some big names in its Atwood Little Theatre Friday, April 13.

The 35th annual First Amendment Forum included a line-up of award-winning speakers discussing the relationship of athletes and reporters.

The First Amendment Forum started out being media day for high school students.

A few years later, it became known as the First Amendment Forum to educate journalism students on their rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

The forum is student organized and every year covers a different topic.

Students from the Society of Professional Journalists organized the forum, and this year, time and effort was spent getting the best people to come speak to students.

Among the speakers was Gary Gilson who has worked on WCBS-TV, WABC-TV, WNET and the Public Broadcast Laboratory.

The forum began at 9 a.m. and ran until 3 p.m. with a line-up of sports reporters sharing stories of their success and misfortunes.

Three of the speakers attending the forum were graduates of SCSU and have had success in their careers.

Ron Johnson, sports reporter and anchor for FSN North, Tom Elliott, assistant sports editor for the St. Cloud Times and Clay Matvick, college sports reporter for ESPNU, were all in attendance.

This year, the forum was focused on Sports Wars. At 9, the forum began with former New York Times reporter Ira Berkow, who specialized in sports reporting and column writing.

Berkow's opening speech introduced the topic of this year, "Sports Wars: Should Reporters and Athletes Be on the Same Team?" 

A panel met following Berkow's speech, including Gilson, consultant for the Minnesota News Council; Morris Kurtz, SCSU director of intercollegiate athletics; and the three SCSU graduates listed above.

During the panel discussion, the event speakers were asked questions regarding certain situations in their careers where they have encountered putting moral values before their jobs.

"We are in the business to search for the truth and get that truth to the people," Elliott said.

Certain situations arose regarding past universities and the scandals that occurred and were reported on in a negative way.

All speakers had their own unique stories to tell. Matvick took the floor and said, "There was a time I was reporting for the Twins, it took me an hour and a half to get an interview with the catcher, which in the end never happened, but I realized then that I had to be professional as a journalist and stay on the team's good side so they keep coming to me." 

"Readers don't want to know about the story you almost had," Berkow said. "That 15 second sound bite better be good, and it better not say how you couldn't get an interview."

"There is a double standard to reporting, and you must understand that before becoming a reporter,"  Matvick said. "Don't let an athlete inhibit you from doing your job. You are there to get a story, whether it goes as planned or not, that's all you're there to do."

The panel closed their discussion with some advice for aspiring journalists and how to get a good relationship with a team and its athletes. 

"Report the truth. News isn't news if you have to make a scandal out of it, and you can't be afraid to report the truth," Matvick said.

Following the panel discussion, SCSU professor Michael Vadnie presented the First Amendment defense award to Gilson.

"Gilson's nomination was natural and popular for the 2007 First Amendment Defense Award… especially as it coincides with his retirement for his tireless work leading the Minnesota News Council into the 21st Century," Vadnie said.

The second session of the forum focused on "Sports Wars: Marketing, Spin and the Search for the Truth."

Speakers included Joel Sutherland, St. Cloud River Bats owner, Anne Abicht, SCSU director of media relations, and Kevin Allenspach, St. Cloud Times sports reporter.

The First Amendment Forum is an event not only for the mass communication department, but also for the students.