Jon Finer: Sports Blogger

Jon Finer, sports blogger at ksuowlhowl.com, was the guest speaker for my sports reporting class last Friday (Oct. 11). Finer is a 2012 summa cum laude graduate of Kennesaw State University with a degree in criminal justice.

 

Finer co-created and maintains “the owl howl” and uses it to bring awareness and extra attention to KSU athletics. He said his main goal is to keep people informed. Finer finds his own content, which is mostly based on recruiting. Kennesaw’s official website can’t post certain content due to compliance regulations so he focuses on recruiting information in order to fill a niche. Finer said that he emphasizes speed when it comes to getting new information to the public, and has developed his own formatting system for listing recruiting info.

Finer explained to us the main differences between blogging and journalism. Professional journalists get paid for their writing. They have certain expectations and standards, must write what they are told to write regardless of their interests, and must also complete tasks on strict deadlines. As a blogger, however, Finer does not receive pay for his writing. He chooses his own content and has no official deadlines. He described it as writing what he wants, when he wants.

Finer also gave the class some advice and things to keep in mind while blogging. He emphasized writing respectfully and discreetly, and told us to make sure we say things as nicely as possible when writing something critical or negative about a player or team. Finer also reminded us to focus on spelling and grammar. He really stressed the importance of having respect and pride for our work.