First-Hand Research

For my I-Search paper, my topic for exploration is the major of Broadcast Journalism. This journalism focuses more on modern forms of media such as the internet, television, radio and social networks. For my original research, I chose to go to the Mets vs. Rockies game on April 11th at Citi Field. Although I am a huge Mets fan, I chose to go to the game with the mindset of a journalist instead of a fan. This was a very different experience for me, as I have been to many games in the past few years. As a "journalist", my job was to focus on the specifics of the game and then write a post-game reaction. I also used my Twitter account ( http://www.twitter.com/#!/timberdon ) to tweet about things that went on during the game in real time. What was very different this time around was my emotions. In the past, I would go to games and obviously hope the Mets would win and cheer them on. However, this time I tried to keep as much of an unbiased and objective attitude as possible. In the beginning of the game, I found this difficult because of all of the cheering fans and the whole atmosphere of the stadium. But after the innings went on I found i much easier to sit down and really focus on the important parts of the game. I even had a scorecard and filled it out to its entirety. Another interesting point was how I was following actual journalists on twitter who were at the game as well. For example, Evan Roberts of WFAN was in attendance and tweeted about important events that occurred throughout the game. This helped me also stay on track to focus on the specifics that should be mentioned in the morning paper and on ESPN rather than to other fans around me. Overall, this experience really opened my eyes of how journalists, especially in the sports industry, need to be objective in their work. It took the whole fan experience out of the game. I still enjoyed the game, but in a different way.