New York Times opt-in Olympics feed a good example for high school journalists

NYTimes Olympic Feed signup

The New York Times 2016 Olympic social media coverage paves a more interesting way to use social media to cover sports, especially for high school media.

One I especially like is the text feed from “Sam at the NYT sports desk.”

First, I like his casual and inviting introduction.

Second, I am not flooded with messages, but rather receive about two a day that automatically pique my interest.

Like what?  He answers the mundane, but interesting questions a viewer might have but that a network might not mention.

Why are the swimmers wearing coats? (warm muscles stay limber)

What are the badminton shuttlecock’s made of? (goose feathers)

Why is the water in the Olympic pools turning green? (someone poured hydrogen peroxide in the pools)

Is Usain Bolt beatable?  (See this link for the digital storytelling in the NYTimes for that one)

A good example of the writer’s texting style comes from one posted Aug. 13 at 1:27 p.m.: “I watched Usain Bolt advance out of the 100m prelims this morning, then headed over to … trampoline, the ultimate ‘Hey, I can do that’ sport’ (trust me you can’t).”  It’s accompanied by a video of an Olympic trampoline stunt.

http://goo.gl/wG1xrj  = link to sign up

Michelle Harmon

Michelle Harmon is in her 13th year of teaching and advising the school newspaper at Borah High School in Boise, Idaho. She is state director of Idaho JEA and President of the Idaho Student Journalism Association.

Michelle Harmon has 102 posts and counting. See all posts by Michelle Harmon

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