What could be better than attending Columbus Blue Jackets hockey games for free, talking with the players in the locker room, and being published continuously on a notable professional sports Web site? Posting the experience as an internship on your résumé.
John Carlisle, a sports writer who is working toward a degree in professional writing, is getting the best of both worlds.
John first learned of this internship after attending a Blue Jackets career fair in January of 2006. The human resources director called John in July to tell him that there was an opening. He interviewed for the multimedia internship, a position with a strong emphasis in Web writing.
Originally from Shelby, Ohio, John chose to go to Capital because of its Columbus location and proximity to the city's resources. Before this opportunity with the Blue Jackets, John had held three prior internships, one with Capital's Public Relations and Marketing Office; another with Weber Associates, where he worked as a copy editor and designer; and a writing, editing and researching internship for the U.S. Pretrial Services for the Federal District Court of Southern Ohio.
John had quite a bit of writing experience under his belt from his previous internships and English classes. He also was able to present a few sports writing samples from working as the sports editor of The Chimes, Capital's student newspaper. He did not, however, have very much experience with Web writing and design, but he quickly picked up those skills when he started this job in September.
Not just a day at the office
On Fridays, John works a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. office shift before heading up to the press box during the game. During the day, he will write a non-byline story that previews an upcoming game – usually a game being played the next day. He also will write different feature stories for the Web site, depending on what assignments he is given.
Another of John's main responsibilities is to write the "Q&A" weekly feature for the Jackets' Web site, which involves asking players a list of questions on non-game days. When interviewing the players for this feature, he either catches them after practice or calls them when they are out of town. Generally, half of his interviews are in person, and the other half are over the phone.
During the game, John is up in the press box with media members as well as Blue Jackets employees. One would hope that John would be able to take this couple of hours to sit and enjoy the game, maybe write a bit. This is not the case.
During and after the game is when John is on his feet the most. He acts as the media relations assistant, which means he makes sure members of the media are updated on other hockey scores as well as the stats of the current game. At various points during the game, John calls in the updated stats to a national SportsTicker service.
Post-game interviews
After the game, John heads to the locker room with his voice recorder to talk with the players.
"Every hockey player I've interviewed or talked with has been very respectful, and most are even friendly if you catch them at the right time. They understand that you have a job to do like they do, and they'll help you in any way they can," he said.
John will sometimes record quotes from the visiting coach or attend the press conference with the Blue Jackets' coach. Once he has the quotes on his voice recorder, he heads back upstairs to the press box and transcribes them. He then passes out the quotes to members of the Columbus media and the Associated Press to help them in writing their features.
After this, John usually updates the team's record on the Web site. What is difficult, though, is writing the updated win-loss records and details of the game in an appealing way. "I have my own style; I like to try and make it clever and interesting to read."
Keys to the story
John believes there is always a positive and intriguing story line. This, to him, is the key to public relations writing. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't appreciate the art that goes into making these stories interesting."
What has been most appealing to John about PR writing is the fact that it is a job about people – a job that involves writing on people and the good things they do.
"People complain about how much money pro-athletes make, but if they're doing something good with it, then I don't really have a problem with that." According to John, some of the players come from families with low incomes, and they are working (playing) to support them.
Others have become involved in philanthropic efforts, such as the Jackets' center, Manny Malhotra, and the seats he buys each game for his "Manny-Acs" – inner-city youth who would not ordinarily have the chance to experience something like this. A few other philanthropic players include Fredrik Modin, who has donated seats to Central Ohio Easter Seals, and Nikolai Zherdev, who has sponsored seats for Franklin County Children's Services.
A better education overall
When asked what this and other internships have done for John, he replied, "I've gotten a better education overall from real-world experience. I've made connections with my bosses/co-workers that might be helpful in landing a job in the future. Also, my résumé will be stacked coming out of school, which will give me the confidence I need. When I go to an interview, I know that I can get the job, and that's a good feeling. "
John will graduate this May and plans to work in media, public relations or communication. He says it may not necessarily be in sports, but he is keeping his options open. He hopes to work in a job where he can utilize his writing and research abilities and improve his editing and multimedia skills.
If you are interested in reading some of John's pieces or learning more about the Columbus Blue Jackets, please visit the Blue Jackets' Web site.
Haley Miller ('07) is studying English Literature and Communication at Capital worked as an intern in the Public Relations and Marketing Office in fall 2006.