On being a resilient journalist and pivoting during COVID-19
Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY instructor and social journalism alum Luis Miguel Echegaray adapted his role at Sports Illustrated to better serve his audience during a time when sports were canceled
Luis Miguel Echegaray is the head of Latino/Hispanic audience for Sports Illustrated and Planet Fútbol. He is a graduate of the Newmark J-School’s 2015 inaugural M.A. in Social Journalism class. He teaches the Social Media Tools course in the Social Journalism program.
We asked Luis to talk a bit about how his worked changed when COVID-19 forced most leagues and teams across the world to suspend play. Here are his responses:
Tell us about your role at Sports Illustrated. Has your role changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and if so, how?
I think it changed in the way that I had to help our organization understand how we’re going to report and engage on stories when sports, or at least professional sports, were not happening due to the pandemic.
So very quickly I realized that we need to offer context. The first thing I immediately thought of was podcasts — a space that still offers a lot of possibilities, because despite what many may think when it comes to audio — it’s still a super undiscovered market — especially with young people — Generation Z-ers etc.
So I created a show, where I host, write the text, narrate etc. and interview our writers, athletes, executives, media sports people — anyone really from the sports community, and expand on how the sports industry was affected by the pandemic.
No longer was I doing content in our studios, but rather in my living room — and when you’re married to a second grade teacher, that can be tough!
The point is, and this is something I tell all my students: In this business — you have to learn not how to be a journalist or reporter, social media guru or whatever — but you have to be an INNOVATOR. You have to adapt. Constantly. And that’s how you can prove to your employer and most importantly your audience — that you are extremely valuable. When you’re a young journo, especially one of color — this is a skill you desperately need.
Talk about why you created and launched the podcast Coronavirus + Sports. How do you approach sports coverage now and what has been your favorite interview so far?
Mainly it was to create content when there was no action on the field, pitch etc.
So during the peak times of the pandemic, when there truly was no action — the content on Sports and COVID-19 was more about the people, and how they were affected by it. So many amazing interviews, but a few of my favorites were chatting to Carlos Rodriguez — who founded G2 esports, one of the biggest networks in video gaming. Basically, as sports suffered due to coronavirus, video games have surged in popularity and this community is unbelievably passionate and professional about it.
The other great conversations were with Olympians Race Imboden (Fencing), Laurie Hernandez (Gymnastics) and Dalilah Muhammad (Track) on how the suspension of the Olympics affected not just their lives but also their training and personal situations.
What have you learned about creating and launching a new product in a time like this?
That it takes a tremendous amount of effort, not just creating it, but educating the audience. This podcast was a two-person project. That’s it.
You have to be a multitasker and understand the value of not just producing, but also promoting, researching and developing. Our industry is not a one-note symphony. It’s an orchestra of needs and we need to learn all of them.
That’s why I encourage students to learn how to edit video and audio and explore the uses of social media as a reporter. If you’re not comfortable in front of the camera, then learn.
If you don’t like to hear your own voice — then get over it. If you’re not on TikTok, then at least understand why other people are. We have to constantly learn and apply.
How has your community and audience responded to Coronavirus + Sports? How are you working to create audience-centric sports content?
It was slow at first because building an audience takes time. Also, the audio audience has deceased as people’s daily routines have changed due to Covid-19. People don’t commute as much so the user experience with podcasts changed.
BUT, as the weeks went on, the audience grew. Also, to evaluate what works and what doesn’t is not easy to figure out. Some episodes that I thought were super strong didn’t do as well, but then others which I really didn’t think would do well…absolutely KILLED.
Also, the length of our episodes were different, and I learned that what people care about is quality, not length. So a 20 minute episode could prove to be more valuable than a 1 hour episode. It all depends on the content. I know this may seem like an obvious point but sometimes — more often than not — it’s totally ignored.
