NABJ News Blog

Craig Young/NABJ Convention Online
Mike Wilbon, Washington Post columnist
and co-host of ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption,
makes a point at NABJ’s Sports Task Force
Mentor Breakfast.

By Darren Sands
NABJ Convention Online Staff

In the opening event in of a full slate of programming by the NABJ Sports Task Force, Washington Post sports columnist and ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption” co-host Michael Wilbon offered advice to younger journalists looking to break into sports.

Wilbon, who spoke about his own career path at this morning’s mentor breakfast, said that young journalists must have a command of the language. He added that many too many that he comes into contact with don’t have the writing skills to be successful.

“Any time you get to sit in a room and listen to a guy like Wilbon, nothing but good things can come from it,” said Sirage Yassin, a 21-year-old senior from Penn State.

Wilbon also encouraged young journalists to have a contextual knowledge of stories in the current sports news cycle.

Several sports writers made themselves available after the breakfast, including the Denver Post’s Marc Spears, who looked over clips and exchanged business cards with students.

This afternoon the Sports Taskforce will run a workshop titled “Closing the Head-Coaching Gap in College Football and Women’s Basketball.” Panelists will examine ways to increase the numbers of African Americans head coaches in collegiate sports.

Tomorrow’s workshop will focus on the decline in popularity of baseball in the black community.