I stumbled across this piece at the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) site on the the views of some editors about the experience of sports reporters coming out of college.  If you are into surveys and the numbers (as I am), take a minute to read the piece.

In viewing the data, I came away with a few thoughts…

1.  I found it a bit alarming that the sports editors surveyed complained that poor writing and grammar was the biggest weakness among college recruits, yet when asked the most important skill for a sports journalist, good grammar and writing was toward the bottom of their list.

2.  I was not surprised that it appears the editors surveyed do not value the experience blogging could have in a reporter’s development.   It appears that short, accurate writing (like a blog post!) is becoming more important to online journalism, yet only 2.8% of the editors thought blogging experience was important.

3.  It was expected that the strength of graduating college students included their knowledge of technology and their versatility.  What was troubling was their apparent lack of enthusiasm.  If you are a young sports fan and can’t get excited about covering a sporting event, don’t become a reporter.

The average age of the 108 sports editors who responded to the survey was 44.    I continue to wonder whether there is still a generational component at play as editors steer their sports departments toward the future.  I will be 44 this year.  I think I get it.