---

News Release

Last modified: Tuesday, September 15, 2009

National Sports Journalism Center launches America's most comprehensive Web site about sports media

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 15, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center today (Sept. 15) launched a new Web site that aims to be the most definitive source of news, information and commentary about sports media in America.

The site, which has the Web address sportsjournalism.org, includes the latest breaking news inside the sports media business, original columns about the industry from three of the nation's top journalists, links to sports media blogs across the country and detailed information about the National Sports Journalism Center.

"This Web site is a must read for anyone interested in the sports media business, working in sports media or studying sports media," said Timothy A. Franklin, director of the National Sports Journalism Center, who will oversee the site.

"This site is a portal that is a window into the full panorama of sports media -- broadcast, digital, print and books," Franklin said. "We'll cover the entire spectrum of sports media -- not just small slices of it -- with the goal of making this an invaluable resource when it comes to the issues, trends, research and people in sports media."

The site also includes original weekly columns on sports media from three nationally known journalists. They are:

• Dave Kindred, the hall of fame columnist and author, who will pen a column on sports writing. Kindred is a former sports columnist for The Louisville Courier-Journal, The Washington Post, The National Sports Daily, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Sporting News. He's been inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame, and he's a recipient of the coveted Red Smith Award for lifetime achievement in sports journalism.
• Eric Deggans, the award-winning media critic for The St. Petersburg Times, will write a column on sports broadcasting. Deggans has been the media critic of The Times for four years, and before that was an editorial writer and columnist specializing in race issues, pop culture, media and national affairs. Before that, he worked as television critic of The Times for seven years. He is on the board of directors for the national Television Critics Association. He has delivered numerous lectures on the media industry and taught as an adjunct professor. He's a graduate of the IU School of Journalism.
• Jason Fry, who worked for 13 years as a reporter, blogger and editor at The Wall Street Journal Online, will write about digital sports media. Fry is the Web CMS evangelist for EidosMedia, a supplier of cross-media editorial platforms for news organizations. He also is the co-author of a blog about the New York Mets, "Faith and Fear in Flushing." Fry has lectured on sports new media at the Poynter Institute, the nation's leading training center for professional journalists in St. Petersburg, Fla. He also has worked for The New Orleans Times-Picayune and The Fresno Bee.

The National Sports Journalism Center has named John Oehser to the position of Web editor. Oehser will oversee the day-to-day content of the site. Oehser formerly was a writer and editor for the Indianapolis Colts Web site for seven years. Before that, he covered the Jacksonville Jaguars and University of Florida sports for The Florida Times-Union.

The National Sports Journalism Center opened in January, when Franklin, an IU graduate, was hired after five years as editor and senior vice president of The Baltimore Sun.

The center, which has academic programs and events on both the Indianapolis and Bloomington campuses, aspires to be the nation's most comprehensive institute for the study of sports media.

The center now includes undergraduate sports journalism courses on both the IUPUI and Bloomington campuses, a regular speaker series of prominent sports journalists and personalities, internships for students and professional training.

In May, the Associated Press Sports Editors, the nation's largest professional sports media organization, announced that it would base its national headquarters at the center on the IUPUI campus in Indianapolis. APSE will hold its 2011 winter conference on the Indianapolis campus.

---

---