By Joe Arney
Photos by Kimberly Coffin (CritMedia, StratComm鈥�18)
Tips for aspiring reporters
When he worked in Lubbock, Texas, covering Texas Tech, Brent Schrotenboer admitted he didn鈥檛 appreciate how cool of a college town it was, and all the activities it had for residents.
That sort of thing can be hard to tell with your nose to the grindstone. Schrotenboer said his willingness to work hard is why he鈥檚 become a national reporter with USA Today, but admitted his tunnel vision prevented him from enjoying the stops he鈥檚 had on the way.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to find balance, but you also gotta remember that the only way to get ahead is work really hard,鈥� he said.
He shared a few other tips with students who want to work in journalism:
- 狈别迟飞辞谤办鈥拢辞飞. Schrotenboer鈥檚 first two jobs in newspapers came from the network he started to build as a student. CU alumni and brothers Tracy and Troy Renck, now a Denver Post sports columnist, gave Schrotenboer leads on his first two jobs that kicked off his career in Louisiana and Yuma, Arizona. 鈥淔rom there, it was off to the races,鈥� he said.
- Read. And not just your subject area. Schrotenboer prefers books about history or novels to sports books: 鈥淩eading broadens your horizons, and it also makes you a better writer. Things kind of rub off by osmosis.鈥�
- Be original. So many news websites today just aggregate content, as opposed to landing actual scoops, 鈥渨hich comes from getting interviews, digging into documents and public records,鈥� Schrotenboer said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 see enough original reporting out there.鈥�
Any reporter who鈥檚 been in news long enough knows the heart-stopping, sweaty-palmed moment when a public figure holds up your story in a press conference and says something to the effect of, 鈥淣ow, we need to talk about something that was in the paper this morning.鈥�
Earlier this spring, it鈥檚 a moment Brent Schrotenboer (Jour鈥�96) endured while watching one of Deion 鈥淐oach Prime鈥� Sanders鈥� press conferences. That week, Schrotenboer, an investigative sports reporter with USA Today, published a piece examining Sanders鈥� unique recruiting strategy and to prospective players.
鈥淚t鈥檚 sort of a moment of truth, when he brings up your story in front of everybody,鈥� Schrotenboer said. 鈥淏ecause if there鈥檚 a single inaccurate thing in there, I鈥檓 about to hear about it鈥攍ike, maybe he went on a visit that I couldn鈥檛 find a record of, and that the school didn鈥檛 even know about. But he didn鈥檛 dispute any of it, so it was sort of a sigh of relief.鈥�
Instead, Coach Prime explained his strategy on how he attracts scholarship athletes鈥攁 story Schrotenboer said he tried to get for a week before finally publishing.
Chasing what鈥檚 new
His coverage of Coach Prime and the Buffs is not critical, he said, but open minded. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing wrong with trying new things and zigging while everybody else is zagging. With the recruiting thing鈥攖he jury鈥檚 out as to whether it will work, but it鈥檚 very different, and I like that he鈥檚 trying new things and trying to exploit the transfer portal, NIL and so on.鈥�
Last season was like an extended homecoming for Schrotenboer, who said he attended almost all 12 Buffaloes games as he covered a coach who generated as many headlines for his sheer popularity as his willingness to innovate on and off the field.
But landing the 鈥淐oach Prime beat鈥� has nothing to do with having attended the University of Colorado Boulder. Instead, he said, it was about working hard and never turning down an opportunity鈥攚hich is how he got his first job, as the sports editor of a small paper in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
鈥淚 was a big baseball fan, and thought I could travel with a team and cover all 162 games a year,鈥� Schrotenboer said. 鈥淏ut my career took a few different turns as I was offered opportunities in college football and more investigative work. A lot of people coming out of college have this fixed idea of what they want to do, some pro team they want to cover, but it almost never works out that way.
鈥淚鈥檓 so happy with where my career turned out. But it鈥檚 not where I had ever imagined myself, so I think it鈥檚 important to always say, yes, and to be open minded.鈥�
Brent Schrotenboer (Jour鈥�96), investigative reporter, USA Today
Leading amid industry challenges
That鈥檚 not just advice for starting out, either. As the news industry has contracted, Schrotenboer has had to embrace some storytelling techniques more familiar to a younger generation, like writing an article from viral videos on social media. A feature he wrote on the Prime Time: Public Performance and Leadership class was cobbled together entirely from videos created by Sanders and the influencers on his team; in April, he took a turn delivering a lecture as part of the course.
Being open to new techniques was something Schrotenboer learned in college, as email became a thing鈥攖hough the only place he could check it was Norlin Library鈥攁nd he started asking professors for their thoughts on the future of print news in a digital world.
鈥淭he current climate鈥攜eah, it鈥檚 tough out there. But there are still people doing great work,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 lot of people are trying hard and fighting the fight for journalism.鈥�
The old dog may have a few new tricks, but above all, Schrotenboer prizes traditional journalism values like fairness, objectivity and accuracy鈥攁ll of which come into play when he鈥檚 covering his alma mater.听听
鈥淢y job is to hold the institution accountable, which in turn makes the institution better,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I鈥檓 in the press box at a game, I鈥檓 not hoping CU scores a touchdown, I鈥檓 worrying about getting my story right and writing something people want to read.鈥�
That kind of perspective was something he was happy to share while speaking in the Prime Time course. Although he graduated before CMCI was formed, he called the course 鈥渁 smart play to take advantage of this cultural moment CU is having鈥� and said a broad education that encompasses journalism, media studies, communication and related disciplines is very valuable for professionals.
In fact, while he had inspirations as a journalism student鈥攊ncluding Douglas Looney (闯辞耻谤鈥�63), formerly of Sports Illustrated, who taught sports writing at CU Boulder鈥攕ome of the classes that left the deepest impression were in areas like law and anthropology.
鈥淚 grew up in a small town in Michigan, a first-generation college student, and it was eye-opening to come to a big university and take classes in things like Black history and culture, nuclear warfare, and stuff like that,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll this stuff was like forbidden fruit to me. I grew up in a small town, but I never lived there again. CU changed everything for me.鈥�
听