About

Storytelling Through the Lens of Sports

Tuesdays, 2-5 PM

108 North Gate

Course description: A semester-long course focusing on craft, access, voice, interviewing, and storytelling skills, all grounded in real-world experience. The sports world harbors diverse personalities, features natural narrative frameworks, and intersects with topics from business to education to race. In this age of Donald Trump and Colin Kaepernick, the lines have blurred, perhaps permanently. Students need not have a background in sports or a pre-existing interest. We’ll be viewing our subject matter as a laboratory, megaphone, and lens through which to focus on the human experience. The course will include: Reading and discussion, on-the-ground reporting at local events, navigating the pro sports PR behemoth (which is rivaled by only politics in trying to curate coverage), guest speakers, drawing out reticent interview subjects, and narrative strategies. Students will complete a series of smaller assignments – a reported column and a personal essay among them – and produce one meaty feature that is developed over the course of the semester and is suitable for publication. The format – written, audio, video – is up to the student.

Office Hours:

Tuesdays 10 AM – 1 PM

Room 213

 

About the Instructor:

Chris Ballard is a senior writer at Sports Illustrated and the author of four books, most recently “One Shot at Forever.” He’s written for The New York Times Magazine, his work has been anthologized in “The Best American Magazine Writing”, and five of his features have appeared in “The Best American Sports Writing.” He’s a National Magazine Award finalist and seven of his stories have been optioned for film. He’s covered the NBA on and off for over a decade and writes features, columns, and narrative stories for Sports Illustrated. He attended Pomona College and received a Masters in Journalism from Columbia University. This is his third year teaching at the Cal J-School.

Contact Info: 

Chrisballard33@gmail.com

Cell: (646) 342-7072