This semester, students in the Journalism 322 course are gaining real-world reporting experience by covering Delaware County Sporting events. Spearheaded by the School of Journalism and Strategic Communication’s award-winning faculty member, Dr. Adam Kuban, the class connects students with a local high school sports team and has them report on a variety of games throughout the semester.
Emma Bergman, a sophomore media production major, covers Muncie Burris’ girls’ volleyball for the class. She said she’s grateful for the experience as she’s never been in a course like this before.
“It’s a different way of learning, rather than just being talked at,” she said. “My theory is that you learn by doing and you learn by making mistakes, and this is a good chance to learn and make mistakes.”
Alongside volleyball, students are also covering local football games. Preston Swinehart, a senior double majoring in journalism and history, covers games for Yorktown’s football team.
“Our stories cover real athletes and coaches. People in our communities read these stories outside of the BSU environment,” he said. “This class is a perfect example of Ball State’s mission of immersive learning in our various fields of study.”
Swinehart added that learning the analytics and photography that go with sports writing and reporting has helped him become a more well-rounded reporter.
“Learning is messy. This class gives us the ability to learn in real time and improve as we work on our craft,” Swinehart said. “Anyone wanting to go into a sports content creation field should take this class, whether that be photography, writing, visual media, etc.”
For many students, the work begins long before kickoff or the first serve. Reporters research their assigned team, learn player names and rosters and prepare questions for coaches. On game day, they take notes on the action, capture photos, and gather stats, then turn it all into a story on a deadline.
Dr. Kuban said the course was redesigned for the Fall 2025 semester with input from Unified Media Director Corey Ohlenkamp and the Muncie Sports Commission. They aimed to address the lack of local high school sports coverage.
“This course presents them with an applied opportunity to deepen their knowledge and develop their skills,” he said.
The coverage also meets a real community need. Delaware County’s news desert means high school athletes and coaches often receive little media attention; families, alumni, and neighbors are eager to read about their local teams. By covering Delaware County games, students give those communities a fuller picture of the season while building a portfolio of published work.
For students like Bergman and Swinehart, the experience goes beyond earning a byline. It means learning to work under pressure, communicate with sources, and take responsibility for accuracy, skills that carry into any media career, sports-related or not.
Students in JOUR 322 will continue to cover and report on teams all semester long. Follow along with their coverage at cardinalmediabsu.com through the Delaware County Sports tab.
Blog by Trinity Rea, TA for JOUR322 (Sports Journalism ’25, EMDD MA ’27)